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^COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAPHYg 



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CONTAINING A 

COMPENDIUM OF LOCAL BIOGRAPHY 

Including Biographical Sketclu-s of Hundreds cif Prominent Old Settlers and Representa- 
tive Citizens of COLUMBIA. SAUK and ADAMS COUNTIES, WISCONSIN, with a 
Review of their Life Work; their Identity with the Growth and Develop- 
ment of this Region; Reminiscences of Personal History 
and Pioneer Life; and other Interesting and 
\'aluable Matter which sliould be 
Preserved in History. 

ALSO A 

COMPENDIUM OF LOCAL BIOGRAPHY, 

Containing Biograiihical Sketches of Hundreds of ' the Greatest Men and Celebrities America has I'rodiiced 

iu Various Walks of Life, including Great Statesmen. Lawyers, Jurists, Scientists, Editors. 

J'oets. Writers, Financiers. Kailroad Magnates, Army and Navy Officers, Inventors, 

Speculators, Scouts, Merchant Princes, Humorists, Electricians. Educators, 

Preachers, Philanthropists, Artists. Manufacturers, Abolitionists, 

Kxplorers, All tlie Presidents, etc. 




ILLUSTRATED. 



GEO. A. OGLE & CO. 

Engravers and Book Mi" 

1901. 



14 

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Biography is the only true History. — Emerson. 

A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors 

will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with 

pride by remote generations. — Macaulay. 




CONTENTS 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Table of Contents, 
Introductory, • 



Compendium of National Biography, 13 

Compendium of Local Biography, 223 



INDEX TO FART I. 



Compendium of National Biography. 



Biographical Sketches of National Celebrities. 



PAGE 

Abbott, Lyman 144 

Adams, Charles Kendall 143 

Adams, John 25 

Adams, John Quincy 61 

V Asassiz, Louis J. R 137 

Alger, Russell A 173 

Allison, William B 131 

Allston, Washington 190 

Altgeld, John Peter 140 

Andrews, Elisha B 184 

Anthony, Susan B 62 

Armour, Philip D 62 

Arnold, Benedict 84 

Arthur, Chester Allen 168 

Astor, John Jacob 139 

Audubon, John James 166 

Bailey, James Montgomery. . . 177 

Bancroft, George , 74 

Barnard, Frederick A. P 179 

Barnuni. Phineas T 41 

Barrett, Lawrence 156 

Barton, Clara 209 

Bayard, Thomas Francis 200 

Beard, William H 196 

Beauregard, Pierre G. T 203 

Beecher, Henry Ward 26 

Bell, Alexander Graham 96 

Bennett, James Gordon 206 

Benton, Thomas Hart 53 

Bergh, Henry 160 

Bierstadt, Albert 197 

Billings, Josh 166 

Blaine, James Gillespie 22 

Bland, Richard Parks 106 



PAGE 

Boone, Daniel 36 

Booth, Edwin 51 

Booth, Junius Brutus 177 

Brice, Calvin S 181 

Brooks, Phillips 130 

Brown, John 61 

Brow-n, Charles Farrar 91 

Brush, Charles Francis 153 

Bryan, William Jennings 158 

Bryant, William Cullen 44 

Buchanan, Franklin 105 

Buchanan, James 128 

Buckner, Simon Bolivar 188 

Burdette, Robert J 103 

Burr, Aaron Ill 

Butler, Benjamin Franklin.... 24 

Calhoun, John Caldwell 23 

Cameron, James Donald 141 

Cameron, Simon 141 

Cammack, Addison 197 

Campbell, Alexander 180 

Carlisle, John G 133 

Carnegie, Andrew 73 

Carpenter, Matthew Hale 178 

Carson, Christopher (Kit) 86 

Cass, Lewis 110 

Chase, Salmon Portland 65 

Childs, George W 83 

Choate, Rufus 207 

Claflin, Horace Brigham 107 

Clay, Henry 21 

Clemens, Samuel Langhorne.. 86 

Cleveland, Grover 174 

Clews, Henry 153 



Clinton, DeWitt. 

Colfax, Schuyler 

Conkling, Alfred 

Conkling, Roscoe 

Cooley, Thomas Mclntyre. 
Cooper, James Fenimore... 

Cooper, Peter 

Copely, John Singleton 

Corbin, Austin 

Corcoran, W. W 

Cornell, Ezra 

Cramp, William 

Crockett, David 

Cullom, Shelby Moore 

Curtis, George William 

Cushman, Charlotte 

Custer, George A 



AGE 

110 
139 
32 
32 
140 
58 
37 
191 
205 
196 
161 
189 
76 
116 
144 
107 
95 



Dana, Charles A 88 

" Danhury News Man " 177 

Davenport, Fanny 106 

Davis, Jefferson 24 

Debs, Eugene V 132 

Decatur, Stephen 101 

Deering, William 198 

Depew, Chauncey Mitchell.. .. 209 

Dickinson, Anna 103 

Dickinson, Don M 139 

Dingley, Nelson, Jr 215 

Donnelly, Ignatius 161 

Douglas, Stephen Arnold 53 

Douglass, Frederick 43 

Dow, Neal 108 

Draper, John William 184 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— PART I. 



PAGE 

Drexel. Anthony Joseph 124 

Dupont, Henry 198 

Edison, Thomas Alva 55 

Edmunds, George F 201 

Ellsworth, OUver 168 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo 57 

Ericsson, John 127 

Evarts, William Maxwell 89 

Farragut, David Glascoe 80 

Field, Cvrus West 173 

Field, David Dudley 126 

Field. Marshall 59 

Field, Stephen Johnson 216 

Fillmore, Millard 113 

Foote, Andrew Hull 176 

Foraker, Joseph B 143 

Forrest, Edwin 92 

Franklin, Benjamin 18 

Fremont, John Charles 29 

Fuller, Melville Weston 168 

Fulton, Robert 62 

Gage, Lyman J 71 

Gallatin, Albert 112 

Garfield, James A 163 

Garrett, John Work 200 

Garrison, William Lloyd 50 

Gates, Horatio 70 

Gatling, Richard Jordan 116 

(George, Henry _ 203 

Gibbons, Cardinal James 209 

Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield 77 

Girard, Stephen 137 

Gough, John B 131 

Gould, Jay 62 

Gordon, John B 215 

Grant, Ulysses S 155 

Ciray , Asa 88 

Gray, Elisha 149 

Greeley, Adolphus W 142 

Greeley, Horace 20 

Greene, Nathaniel 69 

Gresham, Walter Quintin 18'3 

Hale, Edward Everett 79 

Hall, Charles Francis 167 

Hamilton, Alexander 31 

Hamlin, Hannibal 214 

Hampton, Wade 192 

Hancock, Winlield Scott 146 

Hanna, Marcus Alonzo 169 

Harris. Isham G 214 

Harrison, William Henry 87 

Harrison, Benjamin 182 

Harvard, John 129 

Havemeyer, John Craig 182 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel 135 

Hayes, Rutherford Birchard.. . 157 
Hendricks, Thomas Andrew. . 212 

Henry, Joseph 105 

Henrv, Patrick 83 

Hill, David Bennett 90 

Hobart, Garrett A 213 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell 206 

Hooker, Joseph 52 

Howe, Elias 130 

Howells, William Dean 104 



PAGE 

Houston, Sam 120 

Hughes, Archbishop John 157 

Hughitt, Marvin 159 

Hull, Isaac 169 

Huntington, CoUis Potter 94 

Ingalls, John James 114 

Ingersoll, Robert G 85 

Irving, Washington 33 

Jackson, Andrew 71 

Jackson, " Stonewall " 67 

Jackson, Thomas Jonathan 67 

Jay, John 39 

Jefferson, Joseph 47 

Jefferson, Thomas 34 

Johnson, Andrew 145 

Johnson, Eastman 202 

Johnston, Joseph Eccleston... . 86 

Jones, James K 171 

Jones, John Paul 97 

Jones, Samuel Porter 116 

Kane, Elisha Kent 125 

Kearney, Philip 210 

Kenton, Simon 188 

Knox, John Jay 134 

Lamar, Lucius Q. C 201 

Landon, Melville D 109 

Lee, Robert Edward 38 

Lewis, Charles B 193 

Lincoln, Abraham 135 

Livermore, Mary Ashton 131 

Locke, David Ross 172 

Logan, John .A 26 

Longfellow, Henry W'adsvvorth 37 

Longstreet, James 56 

Lowell, James Russell 104 

Mackay, John William 148 

Madison, James 42 

Marshall, John 156 

Mather, Cotton 164 

Mather, Increase.. 163 

Maxim, Hiram S 194 

McClellan, George Brinton.. . . 47 

McCormick, Cyrus Hall 172 

McDonough, Com. Thomas.. . 167 

McKinley, William. 217 

Meade, George Gordon 75 

Medill, Joseph 169 

Miles, Nelson A 176 

Miller, Cincinnatus Heine 218 

Miller, Joaquin 218 

Mills, Roger Quarles 211 

Monroe, lames 64 

Moody, Dwight L 207 

Moran, Thomas 98 

Morgan, John Pierpont 208 

Morgan, John T 216 

Morris, Robert 165 

Morse, Samuel F. B 124 

Morton, Levi P 142 

Morton, Oliver Perry 215 

Motley, John Lathro'p 130 

"Nye, Bill" 59 

Nye, Edgar Wilson 69 



PAGE 

O'Conor, Charles 187 

Olney, Richard 133 

Paine, Thomas 147 

Palmer, John M 196 

Parkhurst, Charles Henry 160 

"Partington, Mrs." 202 

Peabody, George 170 

Peck, George W 187 

Peffer, William A 164 

Perkins, Eli 109 

Perry, Oliver Hazard 97 

Phillips, Wendell 30 

Pierce, Franklin 122 

Pingree, Hazen S 212 

Plant, Henry B 192 

Poe, Edgar Allen 69 

Polk, James Knox 102 

Porter, David Dixon 68 

Porter, Noah 93 

Prentice, George Denison.. . . 119 
Prescott, William Hickling. . .. 96 
Pullman, George Mortimer.... 121 

Quad, M 193 

Quay Matthews 171 

Randolph, Edmund 136 

Read, Thomas Buchanan 132 

Reed, Thomas Brackett 208 

Reid, Whitelaw 149 

Roach, John 190 

Rockefeller, John Davison.... 195 

Root, George Frederick 218 

Rothermei; Peter F 113 

Rutledge, John 57 

Sage, Russell 211 

Schofield, John .McVllister 199 

Schurz, Carl 201 

Scott, Thomas Alexander 204 

Scott, Winfield 79 

•Seward, William Henry 44 

Sharon, William 166 

Shaw, Henry W 166 

Sheridan, Phillip Henry 40 

Sherman, Charles R 87 

Sherman, John 86 

ShiUaber, Benjamin Penhallow 202 

Sherman, William Tecumseh.. 30 

Smith, Edmund Kirby 114 

Sousa, John Philip... 60 

Spreckels, Claus 169 

Stanford, Leiand , 101 

Stanton, Edwin McMasters... 179 

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 126 

Stephens, Alexander Hamilton 32 

Stephenson, Adlai Ewing... . 141 

Stewart, Alexander T 68 

Stewart, William Morris 213 

Stowe, Harriet Elizabeth 

Beecher 66 

Stuart, James E. B 122 

Sumner, Charles 34 

Talmage, Thomas DeWitt. .. . 60 

Taney, Roger Brooke 129 

Taylor, Zacharv 108 

Teller, Henrv M 127 



TABLE OF COXTENTS—rART I. 



PAGE 

Tesla, Xikola 193 

Thomas, George H 73 

Thomas, Theodore 172 

Thurman, Allen G S'O 

Thurston, John M Ifili 

Tildeii, Samuel J 48 

Tillman, Benjamin Ryan 119 

Toombs, Robert 205 

" Twain, Mark " , 8(i 

Tyler, John 93 

Van Buren, Martin 78 

Vanderbilt, Cornelius 3") 

Vail, Alfred 154 

Vest, George Graham 214 



PAGE 

\"ilas, William Freeman 140 

\"oorhees, Daniel Wolsey 95 

Waite, Morrison Remich 125 

Wallace, Lewis 199 

Wallack, Lester 121 

Wallack, John Lester 121 

Wanamaker, John 89 

Ward, "Artemus " 91 

Washburne, Elihu Benjamin. . 189 

Washington, George 17 

Walson, Thomas E 178 

Watterson, Henry 7() 

Weaver, James B 123 

Webster, Daniel 19 



PAGE 

Webster, Noah 49 

Weed, Thurlow 91 

West, Benjamin 115 

Whipple, Henry Benjamin. . . . 161 

White, Stephen \' 162 

Whitefield, George 150 

Whitman, Walt 197 

Whitney, Eli 120 

Whitney, William Collins 92 

Whittier, John Greenleaf 67 

Willard, Frances E 133 

Wilson, William L 180 

Winchell, Alexander 175 

Windom, William 138 



PORTRAITS OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. 



1'A(;f, 

Alger, Russell .\ 16 

.Allison, William B 99 

Anthonv, Susan B 63 

Armour, Philip D 151 

Arthur, Chester A 81 

Barnum, Phineas T 117 

Beecher, Henry Ward 27 

Blaine, James G 151 

Booth, Edwin 63 

Bryan, Wm. J 63 

Bryant, William CuUen 185 

Buchanan, James 81 

Buckner, Simon B 16 

Butler Benjamin F 151 

Carlisle, John G 151 

Chase, Salmon P 16 

Childs, George W 99 

Clay, Henry 81 

Cleveland, Grover 45 

Cooper, Peter 99 

Dana, Charles A 151 

Depew.Chauncey M 117 

Douglass, Fred 63 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo 27 

Evarts, William M 99 

Farragut, Com. D. G 185 

Field, Cyrus W 63 



PAGE 

Field, Marshall 117 

Franklin, Benjamin 63 

Fremont, Gen. John C 16 

Gage, Lyman J 151 

Cartield, James A 45 

Garrison, William Lloyd 63 

George, Henry 117 

Gould, fay 99 

Grant, Gen. U.S 185 

Greeley, Horace 81 

Hampton, Wade 16 

Hancock, Gen. Winfield S.. .. 185 

Hanna, MarkA 117 

Harrison, Benjamin 81 

Hayes, R. B 45 

Hendricks, Thomas A 81 

Holmes, Oliver W 151 

Hooker, Gen. Joseph 16 

Ingersoll, Robert G 117 

1 rving, Washington 27 

Jackson, Andrew 45 

Jefferson, Thomas 45 

Johnston, Gen. J. E 16 

Lee, Gen. Robert E 185 

Lincoln, Abraham 81 

Logan, Gen. John A 16 

Longfellow, Henry W 186 



PAGE 

Longstreet, Gen. James 16 

Lowell, James Russell 27 

McKinley, William 45 

Morse, S. F. B 185 

Phillips, Wendell 27 

Porter, Com. D. D 185 

Pullman, George M 117 

Quay, M. S. . ." ... 99 

Reed, Thomas B 151 

Sage, Russell 117 

Scott, Gen. Winfield 185 

Seward, William H 45 

Sherman, John 99 

Sherman, Gen. W. T 151 

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 27 

.Stowe, Harriet Beecher 27 

Sumner, Charles .... 45 

Talmage, T. DeWitt 63 

Teller,"Henry M 99 

Thurman, Allen G 81 

Tilden, Samuel J 117 

\'an Buren, Martin 81 

Vanderbilt, Commodore 99 

Webster, Daniel 27 

Whittier, John G 21 

Washington, George 45 

Watterson, Henry 63 




^ -^^^^ ^. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— PART II. 

INDEX TO PART II. 

COMPENDIUM OF kOCAk BIOGRAPHY 
OF 

COLUMBIA, SAUK AND ADAMS COUNTIES, 

WISCOISISIIM. 



PAGE 

Acers, George 2>-'5 

Allen, N. E" 554 

Alverson, Miles T 410 

Anacker, Moritz B 677 

Anacker, William E 839 

Andrus, William 78'2 

Appel, George U 477 

Ashley, Ernst P 515 

Ashley, Hon. Yates 514 

Atcherson, Oscar 456 

Austin, Ch-iuncey J '245 

Avery, Hon. Frank 250 

Ayers, Charles J 676 

Ayers, Royal 675 

Bacon, David N 458 

Bacon, George V 271 

Bacon. Rev. Joseph F 606 

Bahl, Peter 385 

Baker, Charles 683 

Bartholomew, M. C. 680 

Bartholomew, Robert N 679 

Barton, John, Sr 429 

Beach, Isaac 702 

Bell, Robert 635 

Bell, Stewart C 687 

Bement. Benjamin S 505 

Bendixen, Capt. Ole M 388 

Bentley, .Monroe 716 

Bidwel'l, William B .-. . 547 

Billings, Dana D e,52 

Blake, John W 550 

Bogue, Alan . 870 

Bohn, Christopher E 725 

Bohn, Robert L 587' 

Bolting, Francis J 361 

Bonham, James L 507 

Bonnell, David T 742 

Boutwell, John 417 

Boutwell, Simon 416 

Bowen, Joseph 686 

Bremner Bros 480 

Brenmer, Charles .-\ 481 

Bremner, George H 431 

Brimmer, William 651 

Brown, Amos 324 

Brown, Edward R 4.58 

Brown, Salmon 2."i6 

Buckley, Lewis H 569 

Biillen, Hon. Winslow 734 

Bushnell, J. .Monroe 479 

Campbell, Daniel DeW 279 

Canon, William O 578 



I'AGE 

Carpenter, Newel, Sr 299 

Cavana jgh, Perry 646 

Chipman, William R 687 

Clapp, Edwin O 634 

Clark, Charles C 443 

Coapnian, lames W 321 

Colbtirn, Alonzo W 598 

Colburn, Harvey B 563 

Colburn, J. P 594 

Colburn, Sherman 676 

Colby, Thomas P 724 

Colby, Warren 1 301 

Coleman, Daniel B 810 

Collins, Sanlord A 355 

Collipp, Platon G 248 

Colonius, Charles A 628 

Condon, Rev. Robert B 510 

Cook, George R 682 

Cook, William 408 

Coplev, lohn. . 351 

Corliss, Dr. Allen T 292 

Cottington, Amos 485 

Coughran, Samuel 270 

Councelman, Fernando 714 

Cros^, Fremont J ,. 741 

Crothers, James .M 284 

Cuddy, William T 679 

Cuff, W'iUiam 619 

Curtis, F. C 468 

Curtis, Harry H 289 

Dangel, Peter 697 

Darrow, Henry A 498 

Davis, Rees J 647 

Decker, John R 264 

Delanv, Charles W 644 

Delany, Miles B 546 

Dering, Capt. Oscar M 349 

Dieruf, F. A 658 

Dittbender, Fritz 320 

Dittbender, L 820 

Donnelly, Hugh ... 487 

Donnelly, Thomas W 291 

Dooley.John H 381 

Dorsett, A. D 718 

Doyle, Lemuel H 350 

Drager, Gus 462 

Dunn, Thomas W 383 

Eaton, Clarence C 260 

F'aton, Edward 846 

Edmin.ster, Lewis 272 

Edwards, Dr. .Adelbert 745 

Edwards, William J 649 



I'AGE 

Effinger, Ferdinaml 286 

Ellinwood, Capt. .A. P 640 

Ely, Oscar Clarke 341 

Emery, Samuel 606 

English, John 595 

Epstein, Henry 69n 

Ernsperger, Cecil R 4s8 

Evans, Jacob C 533 

Evans, William R 452 

Evarts, C. L 566 

Evarts, William H 566 

Ferris, John 692 

Field, Floyd A 442 

Held, Henry A 648 

Fisher, Edward J 826 

Fisher, Dr. William 265 

Foat, William J 419 

Foley, Martin F 335 

f'orbush, Chehar 261 

Ford, Capt. Ira H 253 

Foreman, Henry 697 

Forrest, James F 674 

Foster, Albert W 627 

Foster, John 664 

Fritz, Christ 840 

Fuhrmann, Albert 296 

Fuller, William W 755 

Galbraith, William J 623 

Galston, Robert , 495 

Gardner, Lorenzo ;}i^ 

Gattiker, John J - , 620' 

Gethers, Henry S4tJ8 

Gilbert, Warren 876 

Giles, Frederick 596 

Ginder, John 520 

Gloeckler, Theodore 280 

Goman, John 437 

Goodman, Maurice 252 

Goodrich, George 281 

Goodyear, Darius A 246 

Gottry, Edward C 294 

Grady, Daniel H 726 

Graham, John McC 715 

Graham, .Scott T 716 

(jreen, Joseph L 266 

Greenwood, Robert 686 

Griffin, John G 421 

Gunnison, Pliny H 695 

Guppy, Genl. Joshua J 228 

Hamilton, Frederick B 408 

Hanson, Hans A 286 

Harrington, George 689 



TABLE OF CONTENTS—PART II. 



PAGE 

Harris, Abner L (i60 

Harris, Ananias 387 

Harris, Milo 893 

Harvey, Ole J 5S0 

Hasey, James H 467 

Hasey, Jnhn 457 

Haskins, Daniel S 748 

Hastings, Dr. Thomas R 42(3 

Hasz, Rev. Martin 446 

Hatton, James ' 295 

Hayes, Philip 408 

Hayes, William A 844 

Heath, De.xter S 88H 

Hecocks, .■\. E 608 

Hendrickson, Holver 415 

Hennch, John .558 

Henrich, Peter 558 

Henry, Hon. John A 345 

Henry, John C 540 

Hickey. Patrick 728 

Hindes, Hon. Lemuel P 74(i 

Hodges. A.J 819 

Hofstatter, Stephen 518 

Holden. Henry S (i07 

Holm, Andrew O , 265 

Hopkins, WdlianiH. 447 

Hotchkiss, Ernest A 577 

Hotchkiss, Mortimer 577 

Hotctikiss, Ruel 576 

Houghton, Charles H 515 

Houston, John H 825 

Howland, Thomas 440 

H uber. Urban 710 

Hughes, William 490 

Hulburt, Hon. David B 800 

Huiburt, Dr. Frank D 444 

Hume, William A 711 

Hungerford, Stei^hen 670 

Hunt, Dr. Frank O -.588 

Hutchinson, Henry 574 

Hyatt, Mrs. Amelia 618 

Hyatt, William F 619 

Island Woolen Mills, The. .. . 752 

Jacobs, Marion 450 

Jamieson, Hugh 665 

Jarvis, John C 609 

Jaques, Peter G 6-56 

Jenkins, Dr. George W 688 

Jerome, John 812 

Jones, Chester 750 

Jones, James E 485 

Jones, Nelson 871 

Jones, Norman 358 

Kahl, William H 567 

Keach, Henry H 757 

Keith, George C 527 

Kelley, Lafayette M 828 

Kelloge, Hon. John 786 

Kendall, Levi G 4(15 

Kendall, William B 405 

Kershaw, Thomas C 731 

Keysar. Miles H 600 

King, Robert T 482 

King, William 482 

Kinney, William T 708 

Knapp, Comfort H 374 

Koch, Rev. Otto H 624 

Kreuger, Edward 599 



P.^GE 

Krisch, Alois 865 

Knsch, Otto 364 

Lachmund, Paul 705 

Laffan, John .530 

Lathrop, Marvin E 789 

Lawn, Dr. James 290 

Leute, Thaddeus 400 

Lewis, Mrs. Electa P 691 

Lewis, Hon. James Taylor 221 

Lohr, Gottlieb 263 

Low, Capt. Gideon 787 

Luce, 1 ra C 704 

Luckow, Edward L 625 

McChesney, Rev. James H 259 

McElwam, Calvin 719 

McFeiridge, James A 753 

McLeish, Mrs. Jane 266 

McLeish, William 2()6 

Mc.Mahon, Hugh 5.57 

McMahon, John E 451 

McWiiliams, Ira 712 

MacKenzie, James C. 680 

Maegerlein, Francis 645 

Mair, Charles .524 

Mair, Thomas 404 

Marden, Rev. Alfred C 7.54 

Warden, iMrs. Ella J 7.54 

Marsden, Dr. Arthur 261 

Marsh, Edward N 418 

Martin, Charles 459 

Mason, Arthur H 616 

Mason, Herbert L 588 

Mason, Hiram H 288 

Matthews, Orlando 639 

Ma.vfield, Edmond .540 

Meredith, John 599 

Metcalf, Holton B 698 

Mever, William C 616 

Meyer, William C. A 448 

Miller, Berdux. 577 

Mitchell, Dr. Robert 356 

Morley, Isaac W 681 

Morley, Myron M 662 

Morse', Lyman N 399 

Morse, Uri. 570 

Murphy, David 709 

Murphy, Edward 708 

.Murray, Lyman A 439 

Neff, Curtis B. 673 

Nehls, Albert W 293 

Ninman. Charles F 288 

Noble, George F " 548 

Norton, John B 672 

Noyes, Col. D. K 229 

Nutting-, Charles A 693 

Obrecht, Christian 409 

Obrion, Horace S 667 

Olson, Henry N 626 

Owen, John 383 

Owen, John G 235 

Owen, Hon. William 239 

Paddock, Hon. Benjamin G... 474 

Page, Henry D 654 

Palmer, James Parson 701 

Pardee, John 518 

Patrick, Andrew 685 

Paulson, Nels 666 

Payne, George B 6.65 



PAGE 

Pearson, Charles 385 

Pearson, Manelious 384 

Pease, Dr. William A 854 

Pells, Jeremiah.. .583 

Perry, Israel 568 

Peterson, Peter N 519 

Phelps, Wilhs 442 

Pierce, Hon. Solon W 224* 

Porter, Arthur .\ 610 

Price, James 623 

Proctor, Hon. William H 242 

Prouty, John Byron 372 

Ramsey, Robert M 365 

Rathbun, William W 274 

Reed, Calvin E 244 

Keighard, Ellis W 456 

Reighard, Jacob H 455 

Reynolds, Andrew T 539 

Reynolds, George E 688 

Reynolds, Thomas 638 

Rich, Henry 751 

Riddle, Joseph H 302 

Rice, Griffith R 332 

Rice. Rev. Thomas J 832 

Ricliards, Peter. .' 668 

Richmond, John S 604 

Richmond, Kiley S 842 

Ritchev,Rev. John H 270 

Ritter, Frank L 718 

Robbins, William H 313 

Roberts, Chauncey F 816 

Roberts, Foulk R 700 

Roberts, Holver 549 

Roberts, Robert F 586 

Robertson, David 730 

Robertson, David H 748 

Robertson, John 282 

Robinson, James W .500 

Rockafellow, C. T 690 

Rock wood. Dr. Richard C 660 

Rodgers, Alexander 518 

Rogers, Josiah H 722 

Rooney, John 366 

Rous, Francis M 484 

Rowlands, John 454 

Rowlands, Morris J 493 

Rudd, Sheldon W 480 

Rusch, August 395 

SaniDSon, Samuel 397 

Sargent, Edmund N 713 

Sarrington. Henry 398 

Sawyer, Henry • 497 

Schneider, Carl 460 

Schoff, Jeremiah M 831 

.Schroder, Charles 584 

Schultz, Christian 667 

Scoon, Alfred F 303 

.Scoon, Lyman S 303 

Scott, Charles A 598 

Scott, James 617-^ 

Scott, John 749 

Scott, Kennedy 422 

Seymour, Merton E 576 

Seymour, Hon. Silas J 284 

Shafer, Elijah L 753 

Shanahan. Edward . . ........ 667 

Shanahan, Henry M 727 

Siefert, August 589 

Simons, George T 516 

Smith, Chester W 445 



TABLE OF COXTEXTS—PART II. 



I'AOE 

Smith, John &h 

Smith, Lewis J 569 

Smith, S.K 814 

Snyder, WilHs E 526 

Sperbeck, Martm G 475 

Spiehr, Christopher 386 

Stahl, Samuel 646 

Stanton, George P 46.5 

Staudenmayer, John G 638 

Staudenmayer, John L 686 

Steckelberg, Henry 740 

Stevens, Wilham 466 

Stevenson, David 659 

Stoddard, Asa 536 

Stoddard, Charles H 536 

Stolte, Edward G 362 

Stolte, William 368 

Stone, James 704 

Stone, James A 668 

Streeter, John Franklin 651 

Swartz, George L 428 

Sweany, James A 508 

Sylvester, William . 292 

Taylor, Emmons 427 

Taylor, Hon. James H 232 



PAGE 

Teal, Joseph 829 

Thiessen, Eugene C 373 

Thompson, Charles R 293 

Thompson, Mrs. Harriet 292 

Thompson, Wallace 654 

Tillotson, Joseph 489 

Tompkins, Charles S 555 

Trumble, Edward N 528 

Trumbull, James W 664 

Tucker, Milo G 476 

Turner, Hon. Andrew J 306 

Underdahl, Gunder O 275 

Van Aernam, Alfred E 464 

Van Aernam, Charles A 644 

Van Alstine, G. B 690 

Van Alstme, James F .^£L6, 

\'on Gonten, John (z76 

Vroman, Jacob R 360 

Vroman, John W 499 

Waldref, Elmer M 660 

Walreth, Hamilton 809 

Walton, John 693 

Walton, Ruf us S 693 



I'AGK 

W'aterman, George W 233 

Ward, William 685 

Warren, Marcus A 241 

Wentworth, Hon. Robert B. . . 226 

White, John H .i.56 

Willard, Hubbard S. 603 

Willcox, Alfred 720 

Williams, John L.... 407 

Williams, Peter 671 

Williams, Robert M 496 

Williams, Thomas J 449 

Williams, Dr. William E .584 

Wilson, Ezra 629 

Wilson, George Thomas •')29 

Winnie, Menzo 311 

Witt, Fritz 539 

Wohlfert, Franz ,382 

Wood, Ned C 735 

Woodruff, Martin R 462 

Worthman, James S 721 

Wright, Joel B 706 

Wright, Lemuel S 305 

York, Oliver M ^ 699 

Young, Hon. Ephraim W 2.52 

Young, William Henry 744 



SLSLSLSLSUiSUiJiSiSLSiSiJiJiSiSiJLSLSLSLJLSiSiSiJiSLSLSL^ 

I IRTR©DWeT0RY [ 




|HE greatest of English historians, Macaulay, and one of the most 
brilliant writers and profound thinkers of the present century, has 
said: "The history of a country is best told in a record of the 
lives of its people." This is a fact which is becoming more and 
more recognized as our people advance in education and intelli- 
gence, and our own great Emerson, whose name stands at the 
head of American writers of his day, in carrying forward and 
emphasizing the great fact expressed by Macaulay, says: "Biog- 
raphy is the only true history." It was for the purpose of gathering and preserving 
this biographical matter in enduring form that the design for this volume originated. 

COMPENDIUM OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY. 

Regarding the fore part of this volume, "Part I," which is devoted to a "Com- 
pendium OF National Biography," but little need be said. The lives of the great 
men and celebrities of America are so inaccessible to the general public, and are so 
often in demand without being accessible, that it has been deemed wise to gather 
together a vast number of the biographies of our nation's greatest men and include 
them in this work as a fitting preface to the life histories and biographies of the 
local parties which follow and embrace the latter part of the volume. It is not 
given to all men to become great in a national sense, but the life history of those 
who do, makes up the history of our nation, and as such the history of their lives 
should be in every home and library as a means of reference and education. 

COMPENDIUM of LOCAL BIOGRAPHY. 

That portion of the volume devoted to a "Compendium of Local Biography," 
or "Part II," is of the greatest value, and its value will increase as the years go by. 
In this department of local biography is carried out the object which led to the com- 
pilation of this work, in gathering together and placing in enduring form, before it 
becomes too late, the life history of those who have helped to build up this region 
and who have taken part in the progress and development in business, political, 
social, and agricultural affairs. The rank that any county holds among its sister 
counties depends largely upon the achievements of its citizens. Some add to its rep- 
utation by efficient public .service, some by increasing its manufacturing or commercial 



INTRODUC TOR T. 



interests, and some by adJiiij^ to the ^'cn- ral wealth and prosperity in cultivating; and 
improving its l.iiids. To gi\e a f.iit.if.d account of the lives of old settlers and rep- 
resentative citizens of this region is to write its history in the truest sense. Each 
year, as it rolls its endless way along the mighty pathway of time, is thinning the 
ranks of those hardy pioneers and old settlers whose lives are so thoroughly id.-nti- 
fied with this region. Tne relentless hand of death, pursuing its remorseless and 
unceasing avocation, is cutting down, one by one, those whose life histories should 
be preserved as a part of the history of the growth and development of this region. 
The necessity for the collection and preservation of this matter, before it becomes 
too late, is the object of this work. 

Instead of going to musty records and taking therefrom dry statistical matter and 
official generalities, which can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have 
gone direct to the people, to the men and women who have by their enterprise and 
industry, brought about the development found in this region, and from their lips 
have written the story of their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive mat- 
ter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this department, devoted to Loc.-\l 
Biography, will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of 
coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and 
economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for 
securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an inflLience 
widely e.xtended. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to 
eminence, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in 
life who have striven to succeed, and records how success has usually crowned their 
efforts. It tells, also, of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the 
world, have pursued "the even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them 
as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy, — "they have done what 
they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left 
the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting room, left every trade 
and profession, and at their country's call went forth valiantly "to do or die," for 
the cause and principles they held so dear. In the life of every man and of every 
woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treas- 
ure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into pub- 
lic records, and which would otherwise be inaccessible and lost forever. Great care 
has been taken in the compilation of this work, and every opportunity for revision 
possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, 
and the publishers feci warranted in saying that they give to their readers a work 
with very few, if any, errors of consequence. 

In closing this brief introductory the memorable words of Carlyle fittingly e.xpress 
the hope, aim, and desire of the publishers in the compilation of this volume: "Let 
the record be made of the men and things of to-day, lest they pass out of memory 
to-morrow and are lost Then perpetuate them, not upon wood or stone that crum- 
bles to dust, but chronicled in picture and in words that endure forever." 




l^^i^^i^^;^, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



Celebrated Americans 



^^^ 



'^i^'^^'^z^'^g' 






i\ 



G 



|EORGE WASHINGTON, 
'g, ^ m ■ f the first president of the Unit- 
I Li ^*^^ f ed States, called the "Father 
-»> i»)\<i>ii \)t»n»n^ of his Country," was one of 
^^'^^yf^ the most celebrated characters 
VfefSy in history. He was born Feb- 
* ruary 22, 1732, in Washing- 

ton Parish, Westmoreland county, Virginia. 
His father, Augustine Washington, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore him four 
children, and March 6, 1730, he -married 
Mary Ball. Of si.x children by his second 
marriage, George was the eldest. 

Little is known of the early years of 
Washington, beyond the fact that the house 
in which he was born was burned during his 
early childhood, and that his father there- 
upon moved to another farm, inherited from 
his paternal ancestors, situated in Stafford 
county, on the north bank of the Rappahan- 
nock, and died there in 1743. From earliest 
childhood George developed a noble charac- 
ter. His education was somewhat defective, 
being confined to the elementary branches 
taught him by his mother and at a neighbor- 
ing school. On leaving school he resided 
some time at Mount Vernon with his half 




brother, Lawrence, who acted as bis guar» 
dian. George's inclinations were for a sea- 
faring career, and a midshipman's warrant 
was procured for him; but through the oppo- 
sition of his mother the project was aban- 
doned, and at the age of si.xteen he was 
appointed surveyor to the immense estates 
of the eccentric Lord Fairfa.x. Three years 
were passed by Washington in a rough fron- 
tier life, gaining experience which afterwards 
proved very essential to him. In 175 1, 
when the Virginia militia were put under 
training with a view to active service against 
France, Washington, though only nineteen 
years of age, was appointed adjutant, with 
the rank of major. In 1752 Lawrence 
Washington died, leaving his large property 
to an infant daughter. In his will George 
was named one of the executors and as an 
eventual heir to Mount Vernon, and by the 
death of the infant niece, soon succeeded to 
that estate. In 1753 George was commis- 
sioned adjutant-general of the Virginia 
militia, and performed important work at 
the outbreak of the French and Indian 
war, was rapidly promoted, and at the close of 
that war we find him commander-in-chief of 



u 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



all the forces raised in Virginia. A cessation 
of Indian hostilities on the frontier havjng 
followed the expulsion of the French from 
the Ohio, he resigned his commission as 
commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces, 
and then proceeded to Williamsburg to take 
his seat in the Virginia Assembly, of which 
he had been elected a member. 

January 17, 1759, Washington married 
Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Curtis, a young 
and beautiful widow of great wealth, and 
devoted himself for the ensuing hf teen years 
to the quiet pursuits of agriculture, inter- 
rupted only by the annual attendance in 
winter upon the colonial legislature at 
Williamsburg, until summoned by his coun- 
try to enter upon that other arena in which 
his fame was to become world-wide. The 
war for independence called Washington 
into service again, and he was made com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces, and 
^^■as the most gallant and conspicuous figure 
in that bloody struggle, serving until Eng- 
land acknowledged the independence of 
each of the thirteen States, and negotiated 
with them jointly, as separate sovereignties. 
December 4, 1783, the great commander 
took leave of his officers in most affection- 
ate and patriotic terms, and went to An- 
napolis, Maryland, where the congress of 
the States was in session, and to that body, 
when peace and order prevailed everywhere, 
resigned his commission and retired to 
Mount Vernon. 

It was in 1789 that W'ashington was 
called to the chief magistracy of the na- 
tion. The inauguration took place April 
30, in the presence of an immense multi- 
tude which had assembled to witness the new 
and imposing ceremony. In the manifold de- 
tails of his civil administration Washington 
proved himself fully equal to the requirements 
of his position. In 1792, at the second presi- 



dential election, Washington was desirous 
to retire; but he yielded to the general wish 
of the country, and was again chosen presi- 
dent. At the third election, in 1796, he 
was again most urgently entreated to con- 
sent to remain in the executive chair. This 
he positively refused, and after March 4, 
1797, he again retired to Mount Vernon 
for peace, quiet, and repose. 

Of the call again made on this illustrious 
chief to quit his repose at Mount Ver- 
non and take command of all the United 
States forces, with rank of lieutenant-gen- 
eral, when war was threatened with France 
in 179S, nothing need here be stated, ex- 
cept to note the fact as an unmistakable 
testimonial of the high regard in which he 
was still held by his countrymen of all 
shades of political opinion. He patriotic- 
ally accepted this trust, but a treaty of 
peace put a stop to all action under it. He 
again retired to Mount Vernon, where he 
died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth 
year of his age. His remains were depos- 
ited in a family vault on the banks of the 
Potomac, at Mount Vernon, where they still 
lie entombed. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, an eminent 
American statesman and scientist, was 
born of poor parentage, January 17, 1706, 
in Boston, Massachusetts. He was appren- 
ticed to his brother James to learn the print- 
er's trade to prevent his running away and 
going to sea, and also because of the numer- 
ous family his parents had to support (there 
being seventeen children, Benjamin being 
the fifteenth). He was a great reader, and 
soon developed a taste for writing, and pre- 
pared a number of articles and had them 
published in the paper without his brother's 
knowledge, and when the authorship be- 
came known it resulted in difficulty for tiie 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



young apprentice, although his articles had 
been received with favor by the public. 
James was afterwards thrown into prison for 
political reasons, and young Benjamin con- 
ducted the paper alone during the time. In 
1823, however, he determined to endure his 
bonds no longer, and ran away, going to 
Philadelphia, where he arrived with only 
three pence as his store of wealth. With 
these he purchased three rolls, and ate them 
as he walked along the streets. He soon 
found employment as a journeyman printer. 
Two years later he was sent to England by 
the governor of Pennsylvania, and was 
promised the public printing, but did not get 
it. On his return to Philadelphia he estab- 
lished the "Pennsylvania Gazette," and 
soon found himself a person of great popu- 
larity in the province, his ability as a writer, 
philosopher, and politician having reached 
the neighboring colonies. He rapidly grew 
in prominence, founded the Philadelphia Li- 
brary in 1842, and two years later the 
American Philosophical Society and the 
University of Pennsylvania. He was made 
Fellow of the Royal Society in London in 
1775. His world-famous investigations in 
electricity and lightning began in 1746. He 
became postmaster-general of the colonies 
in 1753, having devised an inter-colonial 
postal system. He advocated the rights of 
the colonies at all times, and procured the 
repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. He was 
elected to the Continental congress of 1775, 
and in 1776 was a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, being one of the commit- 
tee appointed to draft that paper. He rep- 
resented the new nation in the courts of 
Europe, especially at Paris, where his simple 
dignity and homely wisdom won him the 
admiration of the court and the favor of the 
people. He was governor of Pennsylvania 
lour years; was also a member of the con- 



vention in 1787 that drafted the constitution 
of the United States. 

His writings upon political topics, anti- 
slavery, finance, and economics, stamp him 
as one of the greatest statesmen of his time, 
while his "Autobiography" and "Poor 
Richard's Almanac" give him precedence in 
the literary field. In early life he was an 
avowed skeptic in religious matters, but 
later in life his utterances on this subject 
were less extreme, though he never ex- 
pressed approval of any sect or creed. He 
died in Philadelphia April 17, 1790. 



DANIEL WEBSTER.— Of world wide 
reputation for statesmanship, diplo- 
macy, and oratory, there is perhaps no more 
prominent figure in the history of our coun- 
try in the interval between 181 5 and 1861, 
than Daniel Webster. He was born at 
Salisbury (now Franklin), New Hampshire, 
January 18, 1782, and was the second son 
of Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster. 
He enjoyed but limited educational advan- 
tages in childhood, but spent a few months 
in 1797, at Phillip Exeter Academy. He 
completed his preparation for college in the 
family of Rev. Samuel Wood, at Boscawen, 
and entered Dartmouth College in the fall 
of 1797. He supported himself most of the 
time during these years by teaching school 
and graduated in 1801, having the credit of 
being the foremost scholar of his class. He 
entered the law office of Hon. Thomas W. 
Thompson, at Salisbury. In 1S02 he con- 
tinued his legal studies at Fryeburg, Maine, 
where he was principal of the academy and 
copyist in the office of the register of 
deeds. In the office of Christopher Gore, 
at Boston, he completed his studies in 
1804-5, ^^'^ w^s admitted to the bar in the 
latter year, and at Boscawen and at Ports- 
mouth soon rose to eminence in his profes- 



20 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



sion. He became known as a federalist 
but did not court political honors; but, at- 
tracting attention by his eloquence in oppos- 
ing the war with England, he was elected 
to congress in 1812. During the special 
session of May, 18 13, he was appointed on 
the committee on foreign affairs and made 
his maiden speech June 10, 181 3. Through- 
out this session (as afterwards) he showed 
his mastery of the great economic questions 
of the day. He was re-elected in 18 14. In 
1 8 16 he removed to Boston and for seven 
years devoted himself to his profession, 
earning by his arguments in the celebrated 
"Dartmouth College Case" rank among 
the most distinguished jurists of the country. 
In 1820 Mr. Webster was chosen a member 
of the state convention of Massachusetts, to 
revise the constitution. The same year he 
delivered the famous discourse on the " Pil- 
grim fathers," which laid the foundation for 
his fame as an orator. Declining a nomi- 
nation for United States senator, in 1822 he 
was elected to the lower house of congress 
and was re-elected in 1824 and 1826, but in 
1827 was transferred to the senate. He 
retained his seat in the latter chamber until 
1841. During this time his voice was ever 
lifted in defence of the national life and 
honor and although politically opposed to 
him he gave his support to the administra- 
tion of President Jackson in the latter's con- 
test with nullification. Through all these 
years he was ever found upon the side of 
right and justice and his speeches upon all 
the great questions of the day have be- 
come household words in almost every 
family. In 1841 Mr. Webster was appointed 
secretary of state by President Harrison 
and was continued in the same office by 
President Tyler. While an incumbent of 
this office he showed consummate ability as 
a diplomat in the negotiation of the "Ash- 



burton treaty " of August 9, 1849, which 
settled many points of dispute between the 
United States and England. In May, 1843, 
he resigned his post and resumed his pro- 
fession, and in December, 1845, took his 
place again in the senate. He contributed 
in an unofficial way to the solution of the 
Oregon question with Great Britain.i«'j847, 
He was disappointed in 1848 in not receiv- 
ing the nomination for the presidency. He 
became secretary of state under President 
Fillmore in 1850 and in dealing with all the 
complicated questions of the day showed a 
wonderful mastery of the arts of diplomacy. 
Being hurt in an accident he retired to his 
home at Marshfield, where he died Octo- 
ber 24, 1852. 

HORACE GREELEY. —As journalist, 
author, statesman and political leader, 
there is none more widely known than the 
man whose name heads this article. He 
was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, Feb- 
ruary 3, 181 1, and was reared upon a farm. 
At an early age he evinced a remarkable 
intelligence and love of learning, and at 
the age of ten had read every book he could 
borrow for miles around. About 182 i the 
family removed to Westhaven, Vermont, 
and for some years young Greeley assisted 
in carrying on the farm. In 1826 he entered 
the office of a weekly newspaper at East 
Poultney, Vermont, where he remained 
about four years. On the discontinuance 
of this paper he followed his father's 
family to Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
whither they had moved, and for a time 
worked at the printer's trade in that neigh- 
borhood. In 1 83 1 Horace went to New 
York City, and for a time found employ- 
ment as journeyman printer. January, 
1833, in partnership with Francis Story, he 
published the Morning Post, the first penny 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



21 



paper ever printed. This proved a failure 
and was discontinued after three weeks. 
The business of job printing was carried on, 
however, until the death of Mr. Story in 
July following. In company with Jonas 
Winchester, March 22, 1834, Mr. Greeley 
commenced the publication of the New 
Yor-licr, a weekly paper of a high character. 
For financial reasons, at the same time, 
Greeley wrote leaders for other papers, and, 
in ICS38, took editorial charge of the Jcjfcr- 
sonian, a Whig paper published at Albany. 
In 1840, on the discontinuance of that sheet, 
ha devoted his energies to the Log Cabin, a 
campaign paper in the interests of the Whig 
party. In the fall of 1841 the latter paper 
was consolidated with the Nci<.< Yorker, un- 
der the name of the Tribune, the first num- 
ber of which was issued April 10, 184 1. At 
the head of this paper Mr. Greeley remained 
until the day of his death. 

In 1848 Horace Greeley was elected to 
the national house of representatives to 
fill a vacancy, and was a member of that 
body until March 4, 1S49. In 1851 he went 
to Europe and served as a juror at the 
World's Fair at the Crystal Palace, Lon- 
don. In 1855, he made a second visit to 
the old world. In 1859 he crossed the 
plains and received a public reception at 
San Francisco and Sacramento. He was a 
member of the Republican national con- 
vention, at Chicago in i860, and assisted in 
the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for 
President. The same year he was a presi- 
dential elector for the state of New York, 
and a delegate to the Loyalist convention 
at Philadelphia. 

At the close of the war, in 1865, Mr. 
Greeley became a strong advocate of uni- 
versal amnesty and complete pacification, 
and in pursuance of this consented to be- 
come one of the bondsmen for Jefiferson 



Davis, who was imprisoned for treason. In 
1867 he was a delegate to the New York 
state convention for the revision of the 
constitution. In 1870 he was defeated for 
congress in the Sixth New York district. 
At the Liberal convention, which met in 
Cincinnati, in May, 1872, on the fifth ballot 
Horace Greeley was nominated for presi- 
dent and July following was nominated for 
the same office by the Democratic conven- 
tion at Baltimore. He was defeated by a 
large majority. The large amount of work 
done by him during the campaign, together 
with the loss of his wife about the same 
time, undermined his strong constitution, 
and he was seized with inflammation of the 
brain, and died November 29, 1872. 

In addition to his journalistic work, Mr. 
Greeley was the author of several meritori- 
ous works, among which were: "Hints 
toward reform," "Glances at Europe," 
" History of the struggle for slavery exten 
sion," "Overland journey to San Francis- 
co," "The American conflict," and " Rec-- 
ollections of a busy life." 



HENRY CLAY.— In writing of this em- 
inent American, Horace Greeley once 
said: "He was a matchless party chief, an 
admirable orator, a skillful legislator, wield- 
ing unequaled influence, not only over his 
friends, but even over those of his political 
antagonists who were subjected to the magic 
of his conversation and manners. " A law- 
yer, legislator, orator, and statesman, few 
men in history have wielded greater influ- 
ence, or occupied so prominent a place in 
the hearts of the generation in which they 
lived. 

Henry Clay was born near Richmond, 
in Hanover county, Virginia, April 12, 
1777, the son of a poor Baptist preacher 
who died when Henry was but five years 



22 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



old. The mother married again about ten 
years later and removed to Kentucky leav- 
ing Henry a clerk in a store at Richmond. 
Soon afterward Henry Clay secured a posi- 
tion as copyist in the office of the clerk of the 
high court of chancery, and four years later 
entered the law office of Robert Brooke, 
then attorney general and later governor of 
his native state. In 1797 Henry Clay was 
licensed as a lawyer and followed his mother 
to Kentucky, opening an office at Lexington 
and soon built up a profitable practice. 
Soon afterward Kentucky, in separating from 
Virginia, called a state convention for the 
purpose of framing a constitution, and Clay 
at that time took a prominent part, publicly 
urging the adoption of a clause providing 
for the abolition of slavery, but in this he 
was overruled, as he was fifty years later, 
vhen in the height of his fame he again ad- 
vised the same course when the state con- 
stitution was revised in 1850. Young Clay 
took a very active and conspicuous part in 
the presidential campaign in 1 800, favoring 
the election of Jefferson; and in 1803 was 
chosen to represent Fayette county in the 
state 'egislature. In 1806 General John 
Adair, then United States senator from 
Kentucky, resigned and Henry Clay was 
elected to fill the vacancy by the legislature 
and served through one session in which he 
at once assumed a prominent place. In 
1807 he was again a representative in the 
legislature and was elected speaker of the 
house. At this time originated his trouble 
with Humphrey Marshall. Clay proposed 
that each member clothe himself and family 
wholly in American fabrics, which Marshall 
characterized as the " language of a dema- 
gogue." This led to a duel in which both 
parties were slightly injured. In 1809 
Henry Clay was again elected to fill a va- 
cancy in the United States senate, and two 



j'ears later elected representative in tne low- 
er house of congress, being chosen speaker 
of the house. About this time war was de- 
clared against Great Britain, and Clay took 
a prominent public place during this strug- 
gle and was later one of the commissioners 
sent to Europe by President Madison to ne- 
gotiate peace, returning in September, 181 5, 
having been re-elected speaker of the 
house during his absence, and was re-elect- 
ed unanimously. He was afterward re- 
elected to congress and then became secre- 
tary of state under John Quincy Adams. 
In 1 83 1 he was again elected senator from 
Kentucky and remained in the senate most 
of the time until his death. 

Henry Clay was three times a candidate 
for the presidency, and once very nearly 
elected. He was the unanimous choice of 
the Whig party in 1844 for the presidency, 
and a great effort was made to elect him 
but without success, his opponent, James K. 
Polk, carrying both Pennsylvania and New 
York by a very slender margin, while either 
of them alone would have elected Clay. 
Henry Clay died at Washington June 29, 
1852. 

TAMES GILLESPIE BLAINE was one 
<J of the most distinguished of American 
statesmen and legislators. He was born 
January 31, 1830, in Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, and received a thorough edu- 
cation, graduating at Washington College in 
1847. In early life he removed to Maine 
and engaged in newspaper work, becoming 
editor of the Portland "Advertiser." While 
yet a young man he gained distinction as a 
debater and became a conspicuous figure in 
political and public affairs. In 1862 he was 
elected to congress on the Republican ticket 
in Maine and was re-elected five times. In 
March, 1869, he'vvas chosen speaker of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



23 



house of represtntatives and was re-elected 
in 1 8/ I and again in 1873. In 1876 he was 
a representative in the lower house of con- 
gress and during that year was appointed 
United States senator by the Governor to 
fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of 
Senator Morrill, who had been appointed 
secretary of the treasury. Mr. Blaine 
served in the senate until March 5, 1881, 
when President Garfield appointed him sec- 
retary of state, which position he resigned 
in December, 1881. Mr. Blaine was nom- 
inated for the presidency by the Republic- 
ans, at Chicago in June, 18S4, but was de- 
feated by Grover Cleveland after an exciting 
and spirited campaign. During the later 
years of his life Mr. Blaine devoted most of 
his time to the completion of his work 
"Twenty Years in Congress," which had a 
remarkably large sale throughout the United 
States. Blaine was a man of great mental 
ability and force of character and during the 
latter part of his life was one of the most 
noted men of his time. He was the origina- 
tor of what is termed the " reciprocity idea" 
in tariff matters, and outlined the plan of 
carrying it into practical effect. In 1876 
Robert G. Ingersoll in making a nominating 
speech placing Blaine's name as a candidate 
for president before the national Republican 
convention at Cincinnati, referred to Blaine 
as the " Plumed Knight " and this title clung 
to him during the remainder of his life. His 
death occurred at Washington, January 27, 
1893- 



JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, a dis- 
tinguished American statesman, was a 
native of- South Carolina, born in Abbeville 
district, March iS, 17S2. He was given 
the advantages of a thorough education, 
graduating at Yale College in 1804, and 
adopted the calling of a lawyer. A Demo- 



crat politically, at that time, he took a fore- 
most part in the councils of his party and 
was elected to congress in iSi t, supporting 
the tariff of 18 16 and the establishing of 
the United States Bank. In 18 17 he be- 
came secretary of war in President Monroe's 
cabinet, and in 1 824 was elected vice-president 
of the United States, on the ticket with John 
Quincy Adams, and re-elected in 1 828, on the 
ticket with General Jackson. Shortly after 
this Mr. Calhoun became one of the strongest 
advocates of free trade and the principle of 
sovereignty of the states and was one of 
the originators of the doctrine that "any 
state could nullify unconstitutional laws of 
congress." Meanwhile Calhoun had be- 
come an aspirant for the. presidency, and 
the fact that General Jackson advanced the 
interests of his opponent. Van Buren, led 
to a quarrel, and Calhoun resigned the vice- 
presidency in 1832 and was elected United 
States senator from South Carolina. It was 
during the same year that a convention was 
held in South Carolina at which the " Nul- 
lification ordinance " was adopted, the ob- 
ject of which was to test the constitution- 
ality of the protective tariff measures, and 
to prevent if possible the collection of im- 
port duties in that state which had been 
levied more for the purpose of ' ' protection " 
than revenue. This ordinance was to go 
into effect in February, 1833, and created a 
great deal of uneasiness throughout the 
country as it was feared there would be a 
clash between the state and federal authori- 
ties. It was in this serious condition of 
public affairs that Henry Clay came forward 
with the the famous "tariff compromise" 
of 1833, to which measure Calhoun and 
most of his followers gave their support and 
the crisis was averted. In 1843 Mr. Cal- 
houn was appointed secretary of state in 
President Tyler's cabinet, and it was under 



24 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



his administration that the treaty concern- 
ing the annexation of Texas was negotiated. 
In 1 845 he was re-elected to the United 
States senate and continued in the senate 
until his death, which occurred in March, 
1 850. He occupied a high rank as a scholar, 
student and orator, and it is conceded that 
he was one of thegreatest debaters America 
has produced. The famous debate between 
Calhoun and Webster, in 1833, is regarded 
as the most noted for ability and eloquence 
in the history of the country. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, one 
of America's most brilliant and pro- 
found lawyers and noted public men, was 
a native of New England, born at Deer- 
field, New Hampshire, November 5, 18 18. 
His father, Captain John Butler, .was a 
prominent man in his day, commanded a 
company during the war of 1812, and 
served under Jackson at New Orleans. 
Benjamin F. Butler was given an excellent 
education, graduated at Waterville College, 
Maine, studied law, was admitted to the 
bar in 1840, at Lowell, Massachusetts, 
where he commenced the practice of his 
profession and gained a wide reputation for 
his ability at the bar, acquiring an extensive 
practice and a fortune. Early in life he 
began taking an active interest in military 
affairs and served in the state militia through 
all grades from private to brigadier-general. 
In 1853 he was elected to the state legisla- 
ture on the Democratic ticket in Lowell, 
and took a prominent part in the passage of 
legislation in the interests of labor. Dur- 
ing the same year he was a member of the 
constitutional convention, and in 1859 rep- 
resented his district in the Massachusetts 
■senate. When the Civil war broke out 
-General Butler took the field and remained 
at the front most of the time during that 



bloody struggle. Part of the time he had 
charge of Fortress Monroe, and in Febru- 
ary, 1862, took command of troops forming 
part of the expedition against New Orleans, 
and later had charge of the department of 
the Gulf. He was a conspicuous figure dur- 
ing the continuance of the war. After the 
close of hostilities General Butler resumed 
his law practice in Massachusetts and in 
1866 was elected to congress from the Es- 
sex district. In 1882 he was elected gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, and in 1884 was the 
nominee of the " Greenback" party for 
president of the United States. He con- 
tinued his legal practice, and maintained his 
place as one of the most prominent men in 
New England until the time of his death, 
which occurred January 10, 1893. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS, an officer, states- 
<J man and legislator of prominence in 
America, gained the greater part of his fame 
from the fact that he was president of the 
southern confederacy. Mr. Davis was born 
in Christian county, Kentucky, June 3, 
1808, and his early education and surround- 
ings were such that his sympathies and in- 
clinations were wholly with the southern 
people. He received a thorough education, 
graduated at West Point in 1828, and for a 
number of years served in the army at west- 
ern posts and in frontier service, first as 
lieutenant and later as adjutant. In 1835 
he resigned and became a cotton planter in 
Warren county, Mississippi, where he took 
an active interest in public affairs and be- 
came a conspicuous figure in politics. In 
1844 he was a presidential elector from 
Mississippi and during the two following 
3'ears served as congressman from his dis- 
trict. He then became colonel of a iviissis- 
sippi regiment in the war with Mexico ana 
participated in some of the most severe lml- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



25 



ties, being seriously wounded at Buena 
Vista. Upon his return to private life he 
again took a prominent part in political af- 
fairs and represented his state in the United 
States senate from 1847 to 1S51. Hethen 
entered President Pierce's cabinet as secre- 
tary of war, after which he again entered 
the United States senate, remaining until 
the outbreak of the Civil war. He then be- 
came president of the southern confederacy 
and served as such until captured in May, 
1865, at Irwinville Georgia. He was held 
as prisoner of war at Fortress Monroe, until 
1867, when he was released on bail and 
finally set free in 1868. His death occurred 
December 6, 1889. 

Jefferson Davis was a man of excellent 
abilities and was recognized as one of the 
best organizers of his day. He was a 
forceful and fluent speaker and a ready 
writer. He wrote and published the " Rise 
and Fall of "the Southern Confederacy," a 
work which is considered as authority by 
the southern peopl • 



JOHN ADAMS, the second president of 
the United States, and one of the moft 
conspicuous figures in the early struggles of 
his country for independence, was born in 
the present town of Quincy, then a portion 
of Braintree, Massachusetts, October 30, 
'735- He received a thorough education, 
graduating at Harvard College in 1755, 
studied law aad was admitted to the bar in 
1758. He was well adapted for this profes- 
sion and after opening an office in his native 
town rapidly grew in prominence and public 
favor and soon was regarded as one of the 
leading lawyers of the country. His atten- 
tion was called to political affairs by the 
passage of the Stamp Act, in 1765, and he 
drew up a set of resolutions on the subject 
which were very popular. In 1768 he re- 



moved to Boston and became one of the 
most courageous and prominent advocates 
of the popular cause and was chosen a 
member of the Colonial legislature from 
Boston. He was one of the delegates that 
represented Massjichusetts in the first Con- 
tinental congress, which met in September, 
1774. In a letter written at this crisis he 
uttered the famous words: "The die is now 
cast; I have passed the Rubicon. Sink or 
swim, live or die, survive or perish with my 
country, is my unalterable determination." 
He was a prominent figure in congress and 
advocated the movement for independence 
when a majority of the members were in- 
clined to temporize and to petition the King. 
In May, 1776, he presented a resolution in 
congress that the colonies should assume 
the duty of self-government, which was 
passed. In June, of the same year, a reso- 
lution that the United States "are, and of 
right ought to be, free and independent," 
was moved by Richard H. Lee, seconded by 
Mr. Adams and adopted by a small majority. 
Mr. Adams was a member of the committee 
of five appointed June 1 1 to prepare a 
declaration of independence, in support of 
wliich he made an eloquent speech. He was 
chairman of the Board of War in 1776 and 
in 1 778 was sent as commissioner to France, 
but returned the following year. In 1780 
he went to Europe, having been appointed 
as minister to negotiate a treaty of peace 
and commerce with Great Britain. Con- 
jointly with Franklin and Jay he negotiated 
a treaty in 1782. He was employed as a 
minister to the Court of St. James from 
1785 to 1788, and during that period wrote 
his famous "Defence of the American Con- 
stitutions." In 1789 he became vice-presi- 
dent of the United States and was re-elected 
in 1792. 

In 1796 Mr. Adams was chosen presi- 



26 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



dent of the United States, his competitor 
being Thomas Jefferson, who became vice- 
president. In 1800 he was the Federal 
candidate for president, but he was not 
cordially supported by Gen. Hamilton, the 
favorite leader of his party, and was de- 
feated by Thomas Jefferson. 

Mr. Adams then retired from public life 
to his large estate at Quincy, Mass., where 
he died July 4, 1826, on the same day that 
witnessed the death of Thomas Jefferson. 
Though his physical frame began to give way 
many years before his death, his mental 
powers retained their strength and vigor to 
the last. In his ninetieth year he was glad- 
dened by .the elevation of his son, John 
Quincy Adams, to the presidential office. 



HENRY WARD BEECHER, one of the 
most celebrated American preachers 
and authors, was born at Litchfield, Connec- 
ticut, June 24, 18 13. His father was Dr. Ly- 
man Beecher, also an eminent divine. At 
an early age Henry Ward Beecher had a 
strong predilection for a sea-faring life, and 
it was practically decided that he would fol- 
low this inclination, but about this time, in 
consequence of deep religious impressions 
which he experienced during a revival, he 
renounced his former intention and decided 
to enter the ministry. After having grad- 
uated at Amherst College, in 1834, he stud- 
ied theology at Lane Seminary under the 
tuition of liis father, who was then president 
of that institution. In 1847 he became pas- 
tor of the Plymouth Congregational church 
in Brooklyn, where his oratorical ability and 
original eloquence attracted one of the larg- 
est congregations in the country. He con- 
tinued to served this church until the time 
of his death, March 8, 1887. Mr. Beecher 
also found time for a great amount of liter- 
ary work- For a number of years he was 



editor of the "Independent" and also the 
" Christian Union. " He also produced many 
works which are widely known. Among his 
principal productions are ' 'Lectures to Young 
Men," " Star Papers, " "Life of Christ," 
"Life Thoughts," "Royal Truths" (a 
novel), "Norwood," " Evolution and Rev- 
olution," and " Sermons on Evolution and 
Religion." Mr. Beecher was also long a 
prominent advocate of anti-slavery princi- 
ples and temperance reform, and, at a later 
period, of the rights of women. 



JOHN A. LOGAN, the illustrious states- 
man and general, was born in Jackson 
county, Illinois, February 9, 1824. In his 
boyhood days he received but a limited edu- 
cation in the schools of his native county. 
On the breaking out of the war with Mexico 
he enlisted in the First Illinois Volunteers 
and became its quartermaster. At the close 
of hostilities he returned home and was 
elected clerk of the courts of Jackson county 
in 1849. Determining to supplement his 
education Logan entered the Louisville Uni- 
versity, from which he graduated in 1852 
and taking up the study of law was admitted 
to the bar. He attained popularity and suc- 
cess in his chosen profession and was elected 
to the legislature in 1852, 1853, 1856 and 
1857. He was prosecuting attorney from 
1853 to 1857. He was elected to congress- 
in 1858 to fill a vacancy and again in i860. 
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, Logan re- 
signed his office and entered the army, and 
in September, 1861, was appointed colonel 
of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, which he 
led in the battles of Belmont and Fort Don- 
elson. In the latter engagement he was 
wounded. In March, 1862, he was pro- 
moted to be brigadier-general and in the 
following month participated in the battles 
of Pittsburg Landing. In November, 1S62,. 



CUMPEXDJUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



29- 



for gallant conduct he was made major-gen- 
eral. Throughout the Vicksburg campaign 
he was in command of a division of the Sev- 
enteenth Corps and was distinguished at 
Port Gibson, Champion Hills and in the 
siege and capture of Vicksburg. In October, 
1863, he was placed in command of the 
Fifteenth Corps, which he led with great 
credit. During the terrible conflict before 
Atlanta, July 22, 1864, on the death of 
General McPherson, Logan, assuming com- 
mand of the Army of the Tennessee, led it 
on to victory, saving the day by his energy 
and ability. He was shortly after succeeded 
by General O. O. Howard and returned to 
the command of his corps. He remained 
in command until the presidential election, 
when, feeling that his influence was needed 
at home he returned thither and there re- 
mained until the arrival of Sherman at Sa- 
vannah, when General Logan rejoined his 
command. In May, 1865, he succeeded 
General Howard at the head of the Army of 
the Tennessee. He resigned from the army 
in August, the same year, and in November 
was appointed minister to Me.xico, but de- 
clined the honor. He served in the lower 
house of the fortieth and forty-first con- 
gresses, and was elected United States sena- 
tor from his native state in 1870, 1878 and 
1885. He was nominated for the vice-presi- 
dency in 1884 on the ticket with Blaine, but 
was defeated. General Logan was the 
author of "The Great Conspiracy, its origin 
and history," published in 1885. He died 
at Washington, December 26, 1886. 



JOHN CHARLES FREMONT, the first 
Republican candidate for president, was 
born in Savannah, Georgia, January 21, 
1S13. He graduated from Charleston Col- 
lege (South Carolina) in 1S30, and turned his 
attention to civil engineering. He was shortly 



afterward employed in the department of 
government surveys on the Mississippi, and 
constructing maps of that region. He was 
made lieutenant of engineers, and laid be- 
fore the war department a plan for p: ne- 
trating the Rocky Mountain regions, which 
was accepted, and in 1842 he set out upon 
his first famous exploring e.xpedition and ex- 
plored the South Pass. He also planned an 
expedition to Oregon by a new route further 
south, but afterward joined his expedition 
with that of Wilkes in the region of the 
Great Salt Lake. He made a later expedi- 
tion which penetrated the Sierra Nevadas, 
and the San Joaquin and Sacramento river 
valleys, making maps of all regions explored. 
In 1845 he conducted the great expedi- 
tion which resulted in the acquisition of 
California, which it was believed the Mexi- 
can government was about to dispose of to 
England. Learning that the Mexican gov- 
ernor was preparing to attack the American 
settlements in his dominion, Fremont deter- 
mined to forestall him. The settlers rallied 
to his camp, and in June, 1846, he defeated 
the Mexican forces at Sonoma Pass, and a 
month later completely routed the governor 
and his entire army. The Americans at 
once declared their independence of Mexico, 
and Fremont was elected governor of Cali- 
fornia. By this time Commodore Stockton 
had reached the coast with instructions from 
Washington to conquer California. Fre- 
mont at once joined him in that effort, which 
resulted in the annexation of California with 
its untold mineral wealth. Later Fremont 
became involved in a difficulty with fellow 
officers which resulted in a court martial, 
and the surrender of his commission. He 
declined to accept reinstatement. He af- 
terward laid out a great road from the Mis- 
sissippi river to San Francisco, and became 
the first United States senator from Califor- 



t80 



COMPEXDILM OF JUOGRA Pi: }'. 



nia, in 1S49. In 1856 he was nominated 
hy the new Republican party as its first can- 
didate for president against Buchanan, and 
received 114 electoral votes, out of 296. 

In 1 861 he was made major-general and 
placed in charge of the western department. 
He planned the reclaiming of the entire 
Mississippi valley, and gathered an army of 
thirty thousand men, with plenty of artil- 
lery, and was ready to move upon the con- 
federate General Price, when he was de- 
prived of his command. He was nominated 
for the presidency at Cincinnati in 1864, but 
withdrew. He was governor of Arizona in 
1878, holding the position four years. He 
was interested in an engineering enterprise 
looking toward a gre'at southern trans-con- 
tinental railroad, and in his later years also 
practiced law in New York. He died Jul}- 1 3, 
1890. 

WENDELL PHILLIPS, the orator and 
abolitionist, and a conspicuous figure 
in American history, was born November 
29, 181 1, at Boston, Massachusetts. He 
received a good education at Plarvard 
College, from which he graduated in 1831, 
and then entered the Cambridge Law School . 
After completing his course in that institu- 
tion, in 1833, he was admitted to the bar, 
in 1834, at Suffolk. He entered the arena 
of life at the time when the forces of lib- 
erty and slavery had already begun their 
struggle that was to culminate in the Civil 
war. William Lloyd Garrison, by his clear- 
headed, courageous declarations of the anti- 
slavery principles, had done much to bring 
about this struggle. Mr. Phillips was not a 
man that could stand aside and see a great 
struggle being carried on in the interest of 
humanity and look passively on. He first 
iittracted attention as an orator in 1837, at 
a meeting that was called to protest against 



the murder of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. 
The meeting would have ended in a few 
perfunctory resolutions had not Mr. Phillips 
by his manly eloquence taken the meeting 
out of the hands of the few that were in- 
clined to temporize and avoid radical utter- 
ances. Having once started out in this ca- 
reer as an abolitionist Phillips never swerved 
from what he deemed his duty, and never 
turned br.ck. He gave up his legal practice, 
and humched himself heart and soul in the 
movement for the liberation of the slaves. 
He was an orator of very great ability and 
by his earnest efforts and eloquence he did 
much in arousing public sentiment in behalf 
of the anti-slavery cause — possibly more 
than any one man of his time. After the 
abolition of slavery Mr. Phillips was, if pos- 
sible, even busier than before m the literary 
and lecture field. Besides temperance and 
women's rights, he lectured often and wrote 
m,uch on finance, and the relations of labor 
and capital, and his utterances on whatever 
subject alwaj's bore the stamp of having 
emanated from a master mind. Eminent 
critics have stated that it might fairly be 
questioned whether there has ever spoken 
in America an orator superior to Phillips. 
The death of this great man occurred Feb- 
ruary 4, 1884. 



WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 
was one of the greatest generals that 
the world has ever produced and won im- 
mortal fame by that strategic and famous 
" march to the Sea," in the war of the Re- 
bellion. He was born February 8, 1820, at 
Lancaster, Ohio, and was reared in the 
family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, as his 
father died when he was but nine years of 
age. He entered West Point in 1836, was 
graduated from the same in 1840, and ap- 
pointed a second lieutenant in the Third 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



311 



Artillery. He passed through the various 
grades of the service and at the outbreak of 
the Civil war was appointed colonel of the 
Thirteenth Regular Infantry. A full history 
of General Sherman's conspicuous services 
would be to repeat a history of the army. 
He c inmanded a division at Shiloh, and 
W'as instrumental in the winning of that bat- 
tle, and WHS also present at the siege of Vicks- 
burg. On July 4, 1863, he was appointed 
brigadier-general of the regular army, and 
shared with Hooker the victory of Mission- 
ary Ridge. He was commander of the De- 
partment of the Tennessee from October 
27th until the appjintment of General 
Grant as lieutenant-general, by whom he 
was appointed to the command of the De- 
partment of the Mississippi, which he as- 
sumed in March, 1864. He at once began 
organizing the army and enlarging his com- 
munications preparatory to his march upon 
Atlanta, which he started the same time of 
the beginning of the Richmond campaign by 
Grant. He started on May 6, and was op- 
posed by Johnston, who had fifty thousand 
men, but by consummate generalship, he 
cnpturtd Atlanta, on September 2, after 
Several months of hard fighting and a severe 
loss of men. General Sherman started on 
his famous march to the sea November 15, 
1864, and by December 10 he was before 
Savannah, which he took on December 23. 
This campaign is a monument to the genius 
of General Sherman as he only lost 567 
men from Atlanta to the sea. After rest- 
ing his army he moved northward and occu- 
pied the following places: Columbia, 
Cheraw. Fayetteville, Ayersboro, Benton- 
ville, Goldsboro, Raleigh, and April 18, he 
accepted the surrender of Johnston's army 
on a basis of agreement that was not re- 
ceived by the Government with favor, but 
finally accorded Johnston the same terms as 



Lee was given by General Grant. He was 
present at the grand review at Washington, 
and after the close of the war was appointed 
to the command of the military division of 
the Mississippi; later was appointed lieu- 
tenant-general, and assigned to the militar}' 
division of the Missouri. When General 
Grant was elected president Sherman became 
general, March 4, 1869, and succeeded tO' 
the command of the army. His death oc- 
curred February 14, 1891, at Washington. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON, one of the 
most prominent of the early American 
statesmen and financiers, was born in Nevis, 
an island of the West Indies, January 11, 
1757, his father being.a Scotchman and his 
mother of Huguenot descent. Owing to the 
death of his mother and business reverses 
which came to his father, young Hamilton 
was sjnt to his mother's relatives in Santa 
Cruz; a few years later was sent to a gram- 
mar school at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, 
and in 1773 entered what is now known as 
Columbia College. Even at that time he 
began taking an active part in public affairs 
and his speeches, pamphlets, and newspaper 
articles on political affairs of the day at- 
tracted considerable attention. In 1776 he 
received a captain's commission and served 
in Washington's army with credit, becoming 
aide-de-camp to \\'ashington with rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. In 1781 he resigned his 
commission because of a rebuke from Gen- 
eral Washington. He next received com- 
mand of a New York battalion and partici- 
pated in the battle of Yorktown. After 
this Hamilton studied law, served several 
terms in congress and was a member of the 
convention at which the Federal Constitu- 
tion was drawn up. His work connected 
with "The Federalist" at about this time 
attracted much attention. Mr. Hamilton 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



was chosen as the first secretary of the 
United States treasury and as such was the 
author of the funding system and founder of 
the United States Bank. In 1798 he was 
made inspector-general of the army with the 
rank of major-general and was also for a 
short time commander-in-chief. In 1804 
Aaron Burr, then candidate for governor of 
New York, challenged Alexander Hamilton 
to fight a duel. Burr attributing his defeat 
to Hamilton's opposition, and Hamilton, 
though declaring the code as a relic of bar- 
barism, accepted the challenge. They met 
at Weehawken, New Jersey, July 11, 1804. 
Hamilton declined to fire at his adversary, 
but at Burr's first fire was fatally wounded 
-and died July 12, 1804. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPH- 
ENS, vice-president of the southern 
confederacy, a former United States senator 
and governor of Georgia, ranks among the 
great men of American history. He was born 
February 11, 18 12, near Crawfordsville, 
Georgia. He was a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Georgia, and admitted to the bar 
in 1834. In 1837 he made his debut in 
political life as a member of the state house 
of representatives, and in 1841 declined the 
nomination for the same office; but in 1842 
he was chosen by the same constituency as 
state senator. Mr. Stephens was one of 
the promoters of the Western and Atlantic 
Railroad. In 1843 he was sent by his dis- 
trict to the national house of representatives, 
which office he held for sixteen consec- 
utive years. He was a member of the 
house during the passing of the Compromise 
Bill, and was one of its ablest and most 
active supporters. The same year (1850) 
Mr. Stephens was a delegate to the state 
convention that framed the celebrated 
" Georgia Platform," and was also a dele- 



gate to the convention' that passed the ordi- 
nance of secession, though he bitterly op- 
posed that bill by voice and vote, yet he 
readily acquiesced in their decision after 
it received the votes of the majority of the 
convention. He was chosen vice-president 
of the confederacy without opposition, and 
in 1865 he was the head of the commis- 
sion sent by the south to the Hampton 
Roads conference. He was arrested after 
the fall of the confederacy and was con- 
fined in Fort Warren as a prisoner of state 
but was released on his own parole. Mr. 
Stephens was elected to the forty-third, 
forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth and for- 
ty-seventh congresses, with hardly more than 
nominal opposition. He was one of the 
Jeffersonian school of American politics. 
He wrote a number of works, principal 
among which are: "Constitutional View 
of the War between the States," and a 
' ' Compendium of the History of the United 
States." He was inaugurated as governor 
of Georgia November 4th, 1882, but died 
March 4, 1883, before the completion of 
his term. 

ROSCOE CONKLING was one of the 
most noted and famous of American 
statesmen. He was among the most fin- 
ished, fluent and eloquent orators that have 
ever graced the halls of the American con- 
gress; ever ready, witty and bitter in de- 
bate he was at once admired and feared by 
his political opponents and revered by his 
followers. True to his friends, loyal to the 
last degree to those with whom his inter- 
ests were associated, he was unsparing to his 
foes and it is said "never forgot an injury." 
Roscoe Conkling was born at Albany, 
New York, on the 30th of October, 1829, 
being a son of Alfred Conkling. Alfred 
Conkling was also a native of New York, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHf. 



33 



born at East Hampton, October 12, 1789, 
and became one of the most eminent law- 
yers in the Empire state; pubhshed several 
legal works; served a term in congress; aft- 
erward as United States district judge for 
Northern New York, and in 1852 was min- 
ister to Mexico. Alfred Conkling died in 
1874. 

Roscoe Conkling, whose name heads 
this article, at an early age took up the 
study of law and soon became successful and 
prominent at the bar. About 1846 he re- 
moved to Utica and in 1858 was elected 
mayor of that city. He was elected repre- 
sentative in congress from this district and 
was re-elected three times. In 1867 he was 
elected United States senator from the state 
of New York and was re-elected in 1873 
and 1S79. In May, 1881, he resigned on 
account of differences with the president. 
In March, 1882, he was appointed and con- 
firmed as associate justice of the United 
States supreme court but declined to serve. 
His death occurred April 18, 1888. 



'ASHINGTON IRVING, one of the 
most eminent, talented and popu- 
lar of American authors, was born in New 
York City, April 3, 1783. His father was 
William Irving, a merchant and a native of 
Scotland, who had married an English lady 
and emigrated to America some twenty 
years prior to the birth of Washington. 
Two of the older sons, William and Peter, 
were partially occupied with newspaper 
work and literary pursuits, and this fact 
naturally inclined Washington to follow 
their example. Washington Irving was given 
the advantages afforded by the common 
schools until about sixteen years of age 
when he began studying law, but continued 
to acquire his literary training by diligent 
perusal at home of the older English writers. 



When nineteen he made his first literary 
venture by printing in the "Morning Chroni- 
cle," then edited by his brother, Dr. Peter 
Irving, a series of local sketches under the 
noui-dc-phimc oi " Jonathan Oldstyle." In 
1804 he began an extensive trip through 
Europe, returned in 1806, quickly com- 
pleted his legal studies and was admitted to 
the bar, but never practiced the profession. 
In 1807 he began the amusing serial "Sal- 
magundi," which had an immediate suc- 
cess, and not only decided his future 
career but long determined the charac- 
ter of his writings. In 1808, assisted by 
his brother Peter, he wrote "Knickerbock- 
er's History of New York," and in 18 10 an 
excellent biography of Campbell, the poet. 
After this, for some time, Irving's attention 
was occupied by mercantile interests, but 
the commercial house in which he was a 
partner failed in 1817. In 1814 he was 
editor of the Philadelphia "Analectic Maga- 
zine." About 1818 appeared his " Sketch- 
Book, " over the noin-de-pluinc of ' 'Geoffrey 
Crayon," which laid the foundation of Ir- 
ving's fortune and permanent fame. This 
was soon followed by the legends of 
"Sleepy Hollow," and " Rip Van Winkle," 
which at once took high rank as literary 
productions, and Irving's reputation was 
firmly established in both the old and new 
worlds. After this the path of Irving was 
smooth, and his subsequent writings ap- 
peared with rapidity, including "Brace- 
bridge Hall," "The Tales of a Traveler," 
" History of the Life and Voyages of Chris- 
topher Columbus," "The Conquest of 
Granada," "The Alhambra, " " Tour on 
the Prairies," "Astoria," "Adventures oi 
Captain Bonneville," "Wolfert's Roost," 
" Mahomet and his Successors," and "Life 
of Washington," besides other works. 

Washington Irving was never married. 



84 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



He resided during the closing years of iiis 
life at Sunnyside (Tarrytown) on the Hud- 
son, where he died November 28, 1859. 



CHARLES SUMNER.— Boldly outlined 
on the pages of our history stands out 
the rugged figure of Charles Sumner, states- 
man, lawyer and writer. A man of unim- 
peachable integrity, indomitable will and 
with the power of tireless toil, he was a fit 
leader in troublous times. First in rank as 
an anti-slavery leader in the halls of con- 
gress, he has stamped his image upon the 
annals of his time. As an orator he took 
front rank and, in wealth of illustration, 
rhetoric and lofty tone his eloquence equals 
anything to be found in history. 

Charles Sumner was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, January 6, 181 1, and was 
the son of Charles P. and Relief J. Sumner. 
The family had long been prominent in that 
state. Charles was educated at the Boston 
Public Latin School; entered Harvard Col- 
lege in 1826, and graduated therefrom in 
1830. In I 83 I he joined the Harvard Law 
School, then under charge of Judge Story, 
and gave himself up to the study of law 
with enthusiasm. His leisure was devoted 
to contributing to the American Jurist. Ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1834 he was appointed 
reporter to the circuit court by Judge Story. 
He published several works about this time, 
and from 1S35 to 1837 and again in 1843 
was lecturer in the law school. He had 
planned a lawyer's life, but in 1845 he gave 
his attention to politics, speaking and working 
against the admission of Texas to the Union 
and subsequently against the Mexican war. 
In 1848 he was defeated for congress on the 
Free Soil ticket. His stand on the anti- 
slavery question at that time alienated both 
friends and clients, but he never swerved 
from his convictions. In 185 1 he was elected 



to the United States senate and took his 
seat therein December i of that year. From 
this time his life became the history of the 
anti-slavery cause in congress. In August, 
1852, he began his attacks on slavery by a 
masterly argument for the repeal of the 
fugitive slave law. On May 22, 1856, Pres- 
ton Brooks, nephew of Senator Butler, of 
South Carolina, made an attack upon Mr. 
Sumner, at his desk in the senate, striking 
him over the head with a heavy cane. The 
attack was quite serious in its effects and 
kept Mr. Sumner absent from his seat in the 
senate for about four years. In 1857, 1863 
and 1869 he was re-elected to the office of 
senator, passing some twenty-three years in 
that position, always advocating the rights 
of freedom and equity. He died March il, 
1874. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, the third pres- 
ident of the United States, was born 
near Charlottesville, Albemarle county, Vir- 
ginia, April 13, 1743, and was the son of 
Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson. He 
received the elements of a good education, 
and in 1760 entered William and Mary Col- 
lege. After remaining in that institution for 
two years he took up the study of law with 
George Wythe, of Williamsburg, Virginia, 
one of the foremost lawyers of his day, and 
was admitted to practice in 1767. He ob- 
tained a large and profitable practice, which 
he held for eight years. The conflict be- 
tween Great Britain and the Colonies then 
drew him into public life, he having for 
some time given his attention to the study 
of the sources of law, the origin of liberty 
and equal rights. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to the Virginia 
house of burgesses in 1769, and served in 
that body several years, a firm supporter of 
liberal measures, and, although a slave- 



co^IPEXDlc^^ of nioGRAriir 



85 



holder himself, an opponent of slavery. 
With others, he was a leader among the op- 
positi-^n to the king. He took his place as 
a • ^t of the Continental congress June 

75, and after serving on several com- 
mittees was appointed to draught a Declara- 
tion of Independence, which he did, some 
corrections being suggested by Dr. Franklin 
and John Adams. This document was pre- 
sented to congress June 28, 1776, and after 
six days' debate was passed and was signed. 
In the following September Mr. Jefferson 
resumed his seat in the Virginia legislature, 
, and gave much time to the adapting of laws 
of that state to the new condition of things. 
He drew up the law, the first ever passed by 
a legislature or adopted by a government, 
which secured perfect religious freedom. 
June I, 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry 
as governor of Virginia, an office which, 
after co-operating with Washington in de- 
fending the country, he resigned two years 
later. One of his own estates was ravaged 
by the British, and his house at Monticello 
was held by Tarleton for several days, and 
Jefferson narrowly escaped capture. After 
the death of his wife, in 1782, he accepted 
the position of plenipotentiary to France, 
which he had declined in 1776. Before 
leaving he served a short time in congress 
at Annapolis, and succeeded in carrying a 
bill for establishing our present decimal sys- 
tem of currency, one of his most useful pub- 
lic services. He remained in an official ca- 
pacity until October, 1789, and was a most 
active and vigilant minister. Besides the 
onerous duties of his office, during this time, 
he published "Notes on Virginia," sent to 
the United States seeds, shrubs and plants, 
forwarded literary and scientific news and 
gave useful advice to some of the leaders of 
the French Revolution. 

Mr. Jefferson landed in Virginia Novem- 



ber 18, 1789, having obtained a leave of 
absence from his post, and shortly after ac- 
cepted Washington's offer of the portfolio 
of the department of state in his cabinet. 
He entered upon the duties of his office in 
March, 1791, and held it until January i^ 
1794, when he tendered his resignation^ 
About this time he and Alexander Hamilton 
became decided and aggressive political op- 
ponents, Jefferson being in warm sympathy 
with the people in the French revolation 
and strongly democratic in his feelings, 
while Hamilton took the opposite side. In 
1796 Jefferson was elected vice-president of 
the United States. In 1800 he was elected 
to the presidency and was inaugurated 
March 4, 1801. During his administration, 
which lasted for eight years, he having been 
re-elected in 1804, he waged a successful 
war against the Tripolitan pirates; purchased 
Louisiana of Napoleon; reduced the public 
debt, and was the originator of many wise 
measures. Declining a nomination for a 
third term he returned to Monticello, where 
he died July 4, 1826, but a few hours before. 
the death of his friend, John Adams. 

Mr. Jefferson was married January i, 
1772, to Mrs. Martha Skelton, a young, 
beautiful, and wealthy widow, who died 
September 6, 1782, leaving three children, 
three more having died previous to her 
demise. 



CORNELIUS VANDERBILT,known as 
"Commodore" Vanderbilt, was the 
founder of what constitutes the present im- 
mense fortune of the Vanderbilt family. He 
was born May 27, 1794, at Port Richmond, 
Staten Island, Richmond count}', New 
York, and we find him at sixteen years run- 
ning a small vessel between his home and 
New York City. The fortifications of Sta- 
ten and Long Islands were just in course of 



86 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



construction, and lie carried tlie laborers 
from New York to the fortifications in his 
" perianger, " as it was called, in the day, 
and at night carried supplies to the fort on 
the Hudson. Later he removed to New 
York, where he added to his little fleet. At 
the age of twenty-three he was free from 
•debt and was worth $9,000, and in 1817, 
with a partner he built the first steamboat 
that was run between New York and New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, and became her 
captain at a salary of $1,000 a year. The 
next year he took command of a larger and 
better boat and by 1824 he was in complete 
control of the Gibbon's Line, as it was 
called, which he had brought up to a point 
Avhere it paid $40,000 a year. Commodore 
Vanderbilt acquired the ferry between New 
York and Elizabethport, New Jersey, on a 
fourteen years' lease and conducted this on 
a paying basis. He severed. his connections 
with Gibbons in 1829 and engaged in 
business alone and for twenty years he was 
the leading steamboat man in the country, 
building and operating steamboats on the 
Hudson River, Long Island Sound, on the 
Delaware River and the route to' Boston, 
and he had the monopoly of trade on these 
routes. In 1850 he determined to broaden 
his field of operation and accordingly built 
the steamship Prometheus and sailed for 
the Isthmus of Darien, where he desired to 
make a personal investigation of the pros- 
pects of the American Atlantic and Pacific 
Ship Canal Company, in which he had pur- 
chased a controlling interest. Commodore 
Vanderbilt planned, as a result of this visit, 
a transit route from Greytown on the At- 
lantic coast to San Juan del Sud on the Pa- 
cific coast, which was a saving of 700 miles 
over the old route. In 1851 he placed three 
steamers on the Atlantic side and four on 
the Pacific side to accommodate the enor- 



mous traffic occasioned by the discovery of 
gold in California. The following year 
three more vessels were added to his fleet 
and a branch line established from New 
Orleans to Greytown. In 1853 the Com- 
modore sold out hisNicarauguaTransit Com- 
pany, which had netted him $1,000,000 
and built the renowned steam yacht, the 
" North Star. " He continued in the ship- 
ping business nine years longer and accu- 
mulated some $10,000,000. In 1861 he 
presented to the government his magnifi- 
cent steamer " Vanderbilt, " which had cost 
him $800,000 and for which he received the 
thanks of congress. In 1844 he became 
interested in the railroad business which he 
followed in later years and became one of 
the greatest railroad magnates of his time. 
He founded the Vanderbilt University at a 
cost of $1,000,000. He died January 4, 
1877, leaving a fortune estimated at over 
$100,000,000 to his children. 



ANIEL BOONE v/as one of the most 
famous of the many American scouts, 
pioneers and hunters which the early settle- 
ment of the western states brought into 
prominence. Daniel Boone was born Feb- 
ruary II, 1735, in Bucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania, but while yet a young man removed 
to North Carolina, where he was married. 
In 1769, with five companions, he pene- 
trated into the forests and wilds of Kentucky 
■ — then uninhabited by white men. He had 
frequent conflicts with the Indians and was 
captured by them but escaped and continued 
to hunt in and explore that region for over 
a year, when, in 1771, he returned to his 
home. In the summer of 1773, he removed 
with his own and five other families into 
what was then the wilderness of Kentucky, 
and to defend his colony against the savages, 
he built, in 1775, a fort at Boonesborough, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



37 



on the Kentucky river. This fort was at- 
tacked by the Indians several times in 1777, 
but they were repulsed. The following 
year, however, Boone was surprised and 
captured by them. They took him to De- 
troit and treated him with leniency, but he 
soon escaped and returned to his fort which 
he defended with success against four hun- 
dred and fifty Indians in August, 1778. His 
son, Enoch Boone, was the first white male 
child born in the state of Kentucky. In 
1795 Daniel Boone removed with his family 
to Missouri, locating about forty-five miles 
west of the present site of St. Louis, where 
he found fresh fields for his favorite pursuits 
— adventure, hunting, and pioneer life. His 
death occurred September 20, 1820. 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFEL- 
LOW, said to have been America's 
greatest " poet of the people," was born at 
Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. He 
entered Bowdoin College at the age of four- 
teen, and graduated in 1825. During his 
college days he distinguished himself in mod- 
ern languages, and wrote several short 
poems, one of the best known of which was 
the "Hymn of the Moravian Nuns." After 
his graduation he entered the law office of 
his father, but the following year was offered 
the professorship of modern languages at 
Bowdoin, with the privilege of three years 
study in Europe to perfect himself in French, 
Spanish, Italian and German. After the 
three years were passed he returned to the 
United States and entered upon his profes- 
sorship in 1829. His first volume was a 
small essay on the "Moral and Devotional 
Poetry of Spain " in 1833. In 1835 he pub- 
lished some prose sketches of travel under 
the title of " Outre Mer, a Pilgrimage be- 
yond the Sea." In 1835 he was elected to 
the chair of modern languages and literature 



at Harvard University and spent a year in 
Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, culti- 
vating a knowledge of early Scandinavian 
literature and entered upon his professor- 
ship in 1836. Mr. Longfellow published in 
1839 " Hyperion, a Romance," and "Voices 
of the Night, " and his first volume of original 
verse comprising the selected poems of 
twenty years work, procured him immediate 
recognition as a poet. " Ballads and other 
poems" appeared in 1842, the "Spanish 
Student " a drama in three acts, in 1843, 
"The Belfry of Bruges " in 1846, "Evan- 
geline, a Tale of Acadia," in 1847, which 
was considered his master piece. In 1845 
he published a large volume of the "Poets 
and Poetry of Europe," 1849 " Kavanagh, 
a Tale," ''The Seaside and Fireside" in 
1850, "The Golden Legend " in 1851, "The 
Song of Hiawatha " in 1855, " The Court- 
ship of Miles Standish " in 1858, " Tales of 
a Wayside Inn " in 1863; " Flower de Luce" 
in 1866;" "New England Tragedies" in 
1869; "The Divine Tragedy" in 1871; 
"Three Books of Song" in 1872; "The 
Hanging of the Crane " in 1874. He also 
published a masterly translation of Dante 
in 1867-70 and the " Morituri Salutamus," 
a poem read at the fiftieth anniversary of 
his class at Bowdoin College. Prof. Long- 
fellow resigned his chair at Harvard Univer- 
sity in 1854, but continued to reside at Cam- 
bridge. Some of his poetical works have 
been translated into many languages, and 
their popularity rivals that of the best mod- 
ern English poetry. He died March 24, 
1882, but has left an imperishable fame as 
one of the foremost of American poets. 



PETER COOPER was in three partic- 
ulars — as a capitalist and manufacturer, 
as an inventor, and as a philanthropist — • 
connected intimately with some of the most 



38 



C0MPEXD7CM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



important and useful accessions to the in- 
dustrial arts of America, its progress in in- 
vention and the promotion of educational 
and benevolent institutions intended for the 
benefit of people at large. He was born 
in New York city, February 12, 1791. His 
life was one of labor and struggle, as it was 
with most of America's successful men. In 
early boyhood he commenced to help his 
father as a manufacturer of hats. He at- 
tended school only for half of each day for 
a single year, and beyond this his acquisi- 
tions were all his own. When seventeen 
years old he was placed with John Wood- 
ward to learn the trade of coach-making and 
served his apprenticeship so satisfactorily 
that his master oP?red to set him up in busi- 
ness, but this he declined because of the 
debt and obligation it would involve. 

The foundation of Mr. Cooper's fortune 
was laid in the invention of an improvement 
in machines for shearing cloth. This was 
largely called into use during the war of 
1812 with England when all importations 
of cloth from that country were stopped. 
The machines lost their value, however, on 
the declaration of peace. Mr. Cooper then 
turned his shop into the manufacture of 
cabinet ware. He afterwards went into the 
grocery business in New York and finally he 
engaged in the manufacture of glue and isin- 
glass which he carried on for more than 
fifty years. In 1830 he erected iron works 
in Canton, near Baltimore. Subsequently 
he erected a rolling and a wire mill in the 
city of New York, in which he first success- 
full}' applied anthracite to the puddling of 
iron. In these works, he was the first to 
roll wrought-iron beams for fire-proof build- 
ings. These works grew to be very exten- 
sive, including mines, blast furnaces, etc. 
While in Baltimore Mr. Cooper built in 
1830, after his own designs, the first loco- 



motive engine ever constructed on this con- 
tinent and it was successfully operated on 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He also 
took a great interest and invested large cap- 
ital in the extension of the electric telegraph, 
also in the laying of the first Atlantic cable; 
besides interesting himself largely in the 
New York state canals. But the most 
cherished object of Mr. Cooper's life was 
the establishment of an institution for the 
instruction of the industrial classes, which 
he carried out on a magnificent scale in New 
York city, where the "Cooper Union" 
ranks among the most important institu- 
tions. 

In May, 1876, the Independent party 
nominated Mr. Cooper for president of the 
United States, and at the election following 
he received nearly 100,000 votes. His 
death occurred April 4, 18S3. 



GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 
one of the most conspicuous Confeder- 
ate generals during the Civil war, and one 
of the ablest military commanders of mod- 
ern times, was born at Stratford House, 
Westmoreland county, Virginia, January 1-9, 
1807. In 1825 he entered the West Point 
academy and was graduated second in his 
class in 1829, and attached to the army as 
second lieutenant of engineers. For a 
number of years he was thus engaged in en- 
gineering work, aiding in establishing the 
boundary line between Ohio and Michigan, 
and superintended various river and harbor 
improvements, becoming captain of engi- 
neers in 1838. He first saw field service in 
the Mexican war, and under General Scott 
performed valuable and efficient service. 
In that brilliant campaign he was conspicu- 
ous for professional ability as well as gallant 
and meritorious conduct, winning in quick 
succession the brevets of major, lieutenant- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir 



39 



colonel, and colonel for his part in the bat- 
tles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, 
Chapultepec, and in the capture of the city 
Mexico. At the close of that war he re- 
sumed his engineering work in connection 
with defences along the Atlantic coast, and 
from 1852 to 1855 was superintendent of 
the Military Academy, a position which he 
gave up to become lieutenant-colonel of the 
Second Cavalry. For several years there- 
after he served on the Texas border, but 
happening to be near Washington at the 
time of John Brown's raid, October 17 to 
25, 1859, Colonel Lee was placed in com- 
mand of the Federal forces employed in its 
repression. He soon returned to his regi- 
ment in Texas where he remained the 
greater part of i860, and March 16, 1861, 
became colonel of his regiment by regular 
promotion. Three weeks later, April 25, he 
resigned upon the secession of Virginia, 
went at once to Richmond and tendered his 
services to the governor of that state, being 
by acclamation appointed commander-in- 
chief of its military and naval forces, with 
the rank of major-general. 

He at once set to work to organize and 
develop the defensive resources of his state 
and within a month directed the occupation 
in force of Manassas Junction. Meanwhile 
Virginia having entered the confederacy and 
Richmond become the capitol, Lee became 
one of the foremost of its military officers 
and was closely connected with Jefferson 
Davis in planning the moves of that tragic 
time. Lee participated in many of the 
hardest fought battles of the war among 
which were Fair Oaks, White Lake Swamps, 
Cold Harbor, and the Chickahominy, Ma- 
nassas, Cedar Run, Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville, Malvern Hill, Get- 
tysburg, the battles of the Wilderness cam- 
paign, all the campairns about Richmond, 



Petersburg, Five Forks, and others. Lee's 
surrender at Appomatox brought the war to 
a close. It is said of General Lee that but 
few commanders in history have been so 
quick to detect the purposes of an opponent 
or so quick to act upon it. Never surpassed, 
if ever equaled, in the art of winning the 
passionate, personal love and admiration of 
his troops, he acquired and held an influ- 
ence over his army to the very last, founded 
upon a supreme trust in his judgment, pre- 
science and skill, coupled with his cool, 
stable, equable courage. A great writer has 
said of him: "x\s regards the proper meas- 
ure of General Lee's rank among the sol- 
diers of history, seeing what he wrought 
with such resources as he had, under all the 
disadvantages that ever attended his oper- 
ations, it is impossible to measure what he 
might have achieved in campaigns and bat- 
tles with resources at his own disposition 
equal to those against which he invariably 
contended." 

Left at the close of the war without es- 
tate or profession, he accepted the presi- 
dency of Washington College at Lexington, 
Virginia, where he died October 12, 1870. 



JOHN JAY, first chief-justice of the 
United States, was born in New York, 
December 12, 1745. He took up the study 
of law, graduated from King's College 
(Columbia College), and was admitted to 
the bar in 1768. He was chosen a member 
of the committee of New York citizens to 
protest against the enforcement by the 
British government of the Boston Port Bill, 
was elected to the Continental congress 
which met in 1774, and was author of the 
addresses to the people of Great Britian and 
of Canada adopted by that and the suc- 
ceeding congress. He was chosen to the 
provincial assembly of his own state, and 



40 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



resigned from the Continental congress to 
serve in that body, wrote most of its public 
papers, including the constitution of the new 
state, and was then made chief-justice. He 
was again chosen as a member of the Con- 
tinental congress in 1778, and became presi- 
dent of that body. He was sent to Spain 
as minister in 1780, and his services there 
resulted in substantial and moral aid for the 
struggling colonists. Jay, Franklin, and 
Adams negotiated the treaty of peace with 
Great Britain in 1782, and Jay was ap- 
pointed secretary of foreign affairs in 1784, 
and held the position until the adoption of 
the Federal constitution. During this time 
he had contributed strong articles to the 
"Federalist" in favor of the adoption of 
the constitution, and was largely instru- 
mental in securing the ratification of that 
instrument by his state. He was appointed 
by Washington as first chief-justice of the 
United States in 1789. In this high capac- 
ity the great interstate and international 
questions that arose for immediate settle- 
ment came before him for treatment. 

In 1794, at a time when the people in 
gratitude for the aid that France had ex- 
tended to us, were clamoring for the privilege 
of going to the aid of that nation in her 
struggle with Great Britain and her own op- 
pressors, John Jay was sent to England as 
special envoy to negotiate a treaty with 
that power. The instrument known as 
"Jay's Treaty " was the result, and while 
in many of its features it favored our nation, 
yet the neutrality clause in it so angered the 
masses that it was denounced throughout 
the entire country, and John Jay was burned 
in effigy in the city of New York. The 
treaty was finally ratified by Washington, 
and approved, in August, 1795. Having 
been elected governor of his state for three 
consecutive terms, he then retired from 



active life, declining an appointment as 
chief-justice of the supreme court, made by 
John Adams and confirmed by the senate. 
He died in New York in 1829. 



PHILLIP HENRY SHERIDAN was 
one of the greatest American cavalry 
generals. He was born March 6, 1831, at 
Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, and was ap- 
pointed to the United States Military Acad- 
emy at West Point, from which he graduat- 
ed and was assigned to the First Infantry as 
brevet second lieutenant July i, 1853. 
After serving in Texas, on the Pacific coast, 
in Washington and Oregon territories until 
the fall of 1 86 1, he was recalled to the 
states and assigned to the army of south- 
west Missouri as chief quartermaster from 
the duties of which he was soon relieved. 
After the battle of Pea Ridge, he was quar- 
termaster in the Corinth campaign, and on 
May 25 he was appointed colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry. On July i, in 
command of a cavalry brigade, he defeated 
a superior force of the enemy and was com- 
missioned brigadier-general of volunteers. 
General Sheridan was then transferred to 
the army of the Ohio, and commanded a 
division in the battle of Perrysville and also 
did good service at the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, where he was commissioned major- 
general of volunteers. He fought with 
great gallantry at Chickamauga, after which 
Rosecrans was succeeded by General Grant, 
under whom Sheridan fought the battle of 
Chattanooga and won additional renown. 
Upon the promotion of Grant to lieutenant- 
general, he applied for the transfer of Gen- 
eral Sheridan to the east, and appointed 
him chief of cavalry in the army of the 
Potomac. During the campaign of 1864 
the cavalry covered the front and flanks of 
the infantry until May 8, when it was wif.^ 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAriir. 



41 



drawn and General Sheridan started on a 
raid against the Confederate lines of com- 
munication with Richmond and on May 25 
he rejoined the armj^ having destroyed con- 
siderable of the confederate stores and de- 
feated their cavalry under General Stuart at 
Yellow Tavern. The outer line of defences 
around Richmond were taken, but the sec- 
ond line was too strong to be taken by as- 
sault, and accordingly Sheridan crossed the 
Chickahominy at Meadow Bridge, reaching 
James River May 14, and thence by White 
House and Hanover Court House back to 
the army. The cavalry occupied Cold 
Harbor May 31, which they held until the 
arrival of the infantry. On General Sheri- 
dan's next raid he routed Wade Hampton's 
cavalry, and August 7 was assigned to the 
command of the Middle Military division, 
and during the campaign of the Shenan- 
doah Valley he performed the unheard of 
feat of " destroying an entire army." He 
was appointed brigadier-general of the reg- 
ular army and for his victory at Cedar Creek 
he was promoted to the rank of major-gen- 
eral. General Sheridan started out Febru- 
ary 27, 1865, with ten thousand cavalry 
and destroyed the Virginia Central Railroad 
and the James River Canal and joined the 
army again at Petersburg March 27. He 
commanded at the battle of Five Forks, the 
decisive victory which compelled Lee to 
evacuate Petersburg. On April 9, Lee tried 
to break through Sheridan's dismounted 
command but when the General drew aside 
his cavalry and disclosed the deep lines of 
infantry the attempt was abandoned. Gen- 
eral Sheridan mounted his men and was about 
to charge when a white flag was flown at the 
head of Lee's column which betokened the 
surrender of the army. After the war Gen- 
eral Sheridan had command of the army of 
the southwest, of the gulf and the depart- 



ment of Missouri until he was appointed 
lieutenant-general and assigned to the di- 
vision of Missouri with headquarters at Chi- 
cago, and assumed supreme command of 
the army November i, 1883, which post he 
held until his death, August 5, 1888. 



PHINEAS T. BARNUM, the greatest 
showman the world has ever seen, was 
born at Danbury, Connecticut, July 5, 18 10. 
At the age of eighteen years he began busi- 
ness on his own account. He opened a re- 
tail fruit and confectionery house, including 
a barrel of ale, in one part of an old car- 
riage house. He spent fifty dollars in fitting 
up the store and the stock cost him seventy 
dollars. Three years later he put in a full 
stock, such as is generally carried in a 
country store, and the same year he started 
a Democratic newspaper, known as the 
"Herald of Freedom." He soon found 
himself in jail under a sixty days' sentence 
for libel. During the winter of 1834-5 he 
went to New York and began soliciting busi- 
ness for several Chatham street houses. In 

1835 he embarked in the show business at 
Niblo's Garden, having purchased the cele- 
brated " Joice Heth" for one thousand dol- 
lars. He afterward engaged the celebrated 
athlete, Sig. Vivalia, and Barnum made his 
' ' first appearance on any stage, " acting as a 
"super" to Sig. Vivalia on his opening 
night. He became ticket seller, secretary 
and treasurer of Aaron Turner's circus in 

1836 and traveled with it about the country. 
His next venture was the purchase of a 
steamboat on the Mississippi, and engaged 
a theatrical company to show in the princi- 
pal towns along that river. In 1840 he 
opened Vaux Hall Garden, New Y^ork, with 
variety performances, and introduced the 
celebrated jig dancer, John Diamond, to the 
public. The next year he quit the show 



42 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArilT. 



business and settled down in New York as 
agent of Sear's Pictorial Illustration of the 
Bible, but a few months later again leased 
Vaux Hall. In September of the same year 
he again left the business, and became 
' ' puff" writer for the Bowery Amphitheater. 
In December he bought the Scudder Museum, 
and a year later introduced the celebrated 
Tom Thumb to the world, taking him to 
England in 1844, and remaining there three 
years. He then returned to New York, and 
in 1849, through James Hall Wilson, he en- 
gaged the "Swedish Nightingale," Jenny 
Lind, to come to this country and make a 
tour under his management. He also had 
sent the Swiss Bell Ringers to America in 
1844. He became owner of the Baltimore 
Museum and the Lyceum and Museum at 
Philadelphia. In 1850 he brought a dozen 
elephants from Ceylon to make a tour of this 
country, and in 1851 sent the " Bateman 
Children" to London. During 185 1 and 
1852 he traveled as a temperance lecturer, 
and became president of a bank at Pequon- 
nock, Connecticut. In 1S52 he started a 
weekly pictorial paper known as the " Illus- 
trated News." In 1865 his Museum was 
destroyed by fire, and he immediately leased 
the Winter Garden Theatre, where he played 
his company until he opened his own 
Museum. This was destroyed by fire in 
1868, and he then purchased an interest in 
the George Wood Museum. 

After dipping into politics to some ex- 
tent, he began his career as a really great 
showman in 1871. Three years later he 
erected an immense circular building in New 
York, in which he produced his panoramas. 
He has frequently appeared as a lecturer, 
some times on temperance, and some times 
on other topics, among which were "Hum- 
bugs of the World," "Struggles and 
Triumphs," etc. He was owner of the im- 



mense menagerie and circus known as the 
"Greatest Show on Earth," and his fame 
extended throughout Europe and America. 
He died in 1891. 



JAMES MADISON, the fourth president 
of the United States, 1809-17, was 
born at Port Conway, Prince George coun- 
ty, Virginia, March 16, 1751. He was the 
son of a wealthy planter, who lived on a fine 
estate called " Montpelier, " which was but 
twenty-five miles from Monticello, the home 
of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Madison was the 
eldest of a family of seven children, all of 
whom attained maturity. He received his 
early education at home under a private 
tutor, and consecrated himself with unusual 
vigor to study. At a very early age he was 
a proficient scholar in Latin, Greek, French 
and Spanish, and in 1769 he entered Prince- 
ton College, New Jersey. He graduated in 
1 77 1, but remained for several months after 
his graduation to pursue a course of study 
under the guidance of Dr. Witherspoon. 
He permanently injured his health at this 
time and returned to Virginia in 1772, and 
for two years he was immersed in the study 
of law, and at the same time made extend- 
ed researches in theology, generalliterature, 
and philosophical studies. He then directed 
his full attention to the impending struggle 
of the colonies for independence, and also 
took a prominent part in the religious con- 
troversy at that time regarding so called 
persecution of other religious denominations 
by the Church of England. Mr. Madison 
was elected to the Virginia assembly in 1776 
and in November, 1777, he was chosen 
a member of the council of state. He took 
his seat in the continental congress in 
March, 1/80. He was made chairman of 
the committee on foreign relations, and 
drafted an able memoranda for the use of 



COMTENDIUM OF BIOGRArHY. 



48 



the American ministers to the French and 
Spanish governments, that established the 
claims of the republic to the territories be- 
tween the Alleghany Mountains and the 
Mississippi River. He acted as chairman of 
the ways and means committee in 1783 and 
as a member of the Virginia legislature in 
1784-86 he rendered important services to 
the state. Mr. Madison represented Vir- 
giana in the national constitutional conven- 
tion at Philadelphia in 17S7, and was one of 
the chief framers of the constitution. He 
was a member of the first four congresses, 
1789-97, and gradually became identified 
with the anti-federalist or republican party 
of which he eventually became the leader. 
He remained in private life during the ad- 
ministration of John Adams, and was secre- 
tary of state under President Jefferson. Mr. 
Madison administered the affairs of that 
post with such great ability that he was the 
natural successor of the chief magistrate 
and was chosen president by an electoral 
vote of 122 to 53. He was inaugurated 
March 4, 1809, at that critical period incur 
history when the feelings of the people were 
embittered with those of England, and his 
first term was passed in diplomatic quarrels, 
which finally resulted in the declaration of 
war, June 18, 1812. In theautumn of that 
year President Madison was re-elected by a 
vote of 128 to 89, and conducted the war 
for three years with varying success and 
defeat in Canada, by glorious victories at 
sea, and by the battle of New Orleans that 
was fought after the treaty of peace had 
been signed at Ghent, December 24, 18 14. 
During this war the national capitol at 
Washington was burned, and many valuable 
papers were destroyed, but the declaration 
of independence was saved to the country 
by the bravery and courage of Mr. Madi- 
son's illustrious wife. A commercial treaty 



was negotiated with Great Britain in 181 5, 
and in April, 1S16, a national bank was in- 
corporated by congress. Mr. Madison was 
succeeded, March 4, 1817, by James Monroe, 
and retired into private life on his estate at 
Montpelier, where he died June 28, 1836. 



Frederick; Douglass, a noted 
American character, was a protege of 
the great abolitionist, William Lloyd Garri- 
son, by whom he was aided in gaining his 
education. Mr. Douglass was born in Tuck- 
ahoe county, Maryland, in February, 1817, 
his mother being a negro woman and his 
father a white man. He was born in slav- 
ery and belonged to a man by the name of 
Lloyd, under which name he went until he 
ran away from his master and changed it to 
Douglass. At the age of ten years he was 
sent to Baltimore where he learned to read 
and write, and later his owner allowed him 
to hire out his own time for three dollars a 
week in a shipyard. In September, 1838, 
he fled from Baltimore and made his way to 
New York, and from thence went to New 
Bedford, Massachusetts. Here he was mar- 
ried and supported himself and family by 
working at the wharves and in various work- 
shops. In the summer of 1841 he attended 
an anti-slavery convention at Nantucket, 
and made a speech which was so well re- 
ceived that he was offered the agency of the 
Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society. In this 
capacity he traveled through the New En- 
gland states, and about the same time he 
published his first book called "Narrative 
of my Experience in Slavery." Mr. Doug- 
lass went to England in 1845 and lectured 
on slavery to large and enthusiastic audi- 
ences in all the large towns of the country, 
and his friends made up a purse of seven 
hundred and fifty dollars and purchased his 
freedom in due form of law. 



44 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Mr. Douglass applied himself to the de- 
livery of lyceum lectures after the abolition 
of slavery, and in 1870 he became the editor 
of the " New National Era " in Washington. 
In 1 87 1 he was appointed assistant secretary 
of the commission to San Domingo and on 
his return he was appointed one of the ter- 
ritorial council for the District of Colorado 
by President Grant. He was elected presi- 
dential elector-at-large for the state of New 
York and was appointed to carry the elect- 
oral vote to Washington. He was also 
United States marshal for the District of 
Columbia in 1876, and later was recorder 
of deeds for the same, from which position 
he was removed by President Cleveland in 
1886. In the fall of that year he visited 
England to inform the friends that he had 
made while there, of the progress of the 
colored race in America, and on his return 
he was appointed minister to Hayti, by 
President Harrison in 18S9. His career as 
a benefactor of his race was closed by his 
death in February, 1895, near Washington. 



WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.— The 
ear for rhythm and the talent for 
graceful expression are the gifts of nature, 
and they were plentifully endowed on the 
above named poet. The principal charac- 
teristic of his poetry is the thoughtfulness 
and intellectual process by which his ideas 
ripened in his mind, as all his poems are 
bright, clear and sweet. Mr. Bryant was 
born November 3, 1794, at Cummington, 
Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and was 
educated at Williams College, from which 
he graduated, having entered it in 18 10. 
He took up the study of law, and in 18 15 
was admitted to the bar, but after practicing 
successfully for ten years at Plainfield and 
Great Barrington, he removed to New York 
in 1825. The following year he became 



the editor of the "Evening Post," which 
he edited until his death, and under his di- 
rection this paper maintained, through a 
long series of years, a high standing by the 
boldness of its protests against slavery be- 
fore the war, by its vigorous support of the 
government during the war, and by the 
fidelity and ability of its advocacy of the 
Democratic freedom in trade. Mr. Bry- 
ant visited Europe in 1834, 1845, 1849 and 
1857, and presented to the literary world 
the fruit of his travels in the series of "Let- 
ters of a Traveler," and "Letters from 
Spain and Other Countries." In the world 
of literature he is known chiefly as a poet, 
and here Mr. Bryant's name is illustrious, 
both at home and abroad. He contributed 
verses to the "Country Gazette " before he 
was ten years of age, and at the age of nine- 
teen he wrote " Thanatopsis," the most im- 
pressive and widely known of his poems. 
The later outgrowth of his genius was his 
translation of Homer's "Iliad" in 1870 
and the "Odyssey" in 1871. He also 
made several speeches and addresses which 
have been collected in a comprehensive vol- 
ume called " Orations and Addresses." He 
was honored in many ways by his fellow 
citizens, who delighted to pay tributes of 
respect to his literary eminence, the breadth 
of his public spirit, the faithfulness of his 
service, and the worth- of his private char- 
acter. Mr. Bryant died in New York City 
June 12, 1878. 



WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, the 
secretary of state during one of the 
most critical times in the history of our 
country, and the right hand man of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, ranks among the greatest 
statesmen America has produced. Mr. 
Seward was born May 16, 1801, at Florida, 
Orange county, New York, and with such 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



47 



facilities as the place afforded he fitted him- 
self for a college course. He attended 
Union College at Schenectady, New York, 
at the age of fifteen, and took his degree in 
the regular course, with signs of promise in 
1820, after which he diligently addressed 
himself to the study of law under competent 
instructors, and started in the practice of 
his profession in 1823. 

Mr. Seward entered the political arena 
and in 1828 we find him presiding over a 
convention in New York, its purpose being 
the nomination of John Quincy Adams for a 
second term. He was married in 1824 and 
in 1830 was elected to the state senate. 
From 1838 to 1842 he was governor of the 
state of New York. Mr. Seward's next im- 
portant position was that of United States 
senator from New York. 

\V. H. Seward was chosen by President 
Lincoln to fill the important office of the 
secretary of state, and b.y his firmness and 
diplomacy in the face of difficulties, he aided 
in piloting the Union through that period of 
strife, and won an everlasting fame. This 
great statesman died at Auburn, New York, 
October 10, 1872, in the seventy-second 
year of his eventful life. 



JOSEPH JEFFERSON, a name as dear 
<J as it is familiar to the theater-going 
world in America, suggests first of all a fun- 
loving, drink-loving, mellow voiced, good- 
natured Dutchman, and the name of "Rip 
Van Winkle " suggests the pleasant features 
of Joe Jefferson, so intimately are play and 
player associated in the minds of those who 
have had the good fortune to shed tears of 
laughter and sympathy as a tribute to the 
greatness of his art. Joseph Jefferson was 
born in Philadelphia, February 20, 1829. 
His genius was an inheritance, if there be 
such, as his great-grandfather, Thomas 



Jefferson, was a manager and actor in Eng- 
land. His grandfather, Joseph Jefferson, 
was the most popular comedian of the New 
York stage in his time, and his father, Jos- 
eph Jefferson, the second, was a good actor 
also, but the third Joseph Jefferson out- 
shone them all. 

At the age of three years Joseph Jeffer- 
son came on the stage as the child in "Pi- 
zarro," and his training was upon the stage 
from childhood. Later on he lived and 
acted in Chicago, Mobile, and Texas. After 
repeated misfortunes he returned to New 
Orleans from Texas, and his brother-in-law, 
Charles Burke, gave him money to reach 
Philadelphia, where he joined the Burton 
theater company. Here his genius soon as- 
serted itself, and his future became promis- 
ing and brilliant. His engagements through- 
out the United States and Australia were 
generally successful, and when he went to 
England in 1865 Mr. Boucicault consented 
to make some important changes in his 
dramatization of Irving's story of Rip Van 
Winkle, and Mr. Jefferson at once placed 
it in the front rank as a comedy. He made 
a fortune out of it, and played nothing else 
for many years. In later years, however, 
Mr. Jefferson acquitted himself of the charge 
of being a one-part actor, and the parts of 
"Bob Acres," "Caleb Plummer" and 
"Golightly " all testify to the versatility of 
his genius. 

GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN, 
a noted American general, was born 
in Philadelphia, December 3, 1826. He 
graduated from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1846 from West Point, and 
was breveted second lieutenant of engineers. 
He was with Scott in the Mexican war, 
taking part in all the engagements from 
Vera Cruz to the final capture of the Mexi- 



48 



C 0\[PEXDIL 'M OF BIO GRA Plir. 



can capital, and was breveted first lieuten- 
ant and captain for gallantry displaj'ed on 
various occasions. In 1S57 he resigned his 
commission and accepted the position of 
chief engineer in the construction of the 
Illinois Central Railroad, and became presi- 
dent of the St. Louis & Cincinnati Railroad 
Company. He was commissioned major- 
general by the state of Ohio in 1861, 
placed in command of the department of 
the Ohio, and organized the first volunteers 
called for from that state. In May he was 
appointed major-general in the United 
States army, and ordered to disperse the 
confederates overrunning West Virginia. 
He accomplished this task promptly, and 
received the thanks of congress. After the 
first disaster at Bull Run he was placed 
in command of the department of Wash- 
ington, and a few weeks later of the 
Army of the Potomac. Upon retirement 
of General Scott the command of the en- 
tire United States army devolved upon Mc- 
Clellan, but he was relieved of it within a 
few months. In March, 1862, after elabor- 
ate preparation, he moved upon Manassas, 
only to find it deserted by the Confederate 
army, which had been withdrawn to im- 
pregnable defenses prepared nearer Rich- 
mond. He then embarked his armies for 
Fortress Monroe and after a long delay at 
Yorktown, began the disastrous Peninsular 
campaign, which resulted in the Army of the 
Potomac being cooped up on the James 
River below Richmond. His forces were 
then called to the support of General Pope, 
near Washington, and he was left without an 
^army. After Pope's defeat McClellan was 
placed in command of the troops for the de- 
fense of the capital, and after a thorough or- 
ganization he followed Lee into Maryland 
and the battles of Antietam and South Moun- 
tain ensued. The delay which followed 



caused general dissatisfaction, and he was re- 
lieved of his command, and retired from active 
service. 

In 1864 McClellan was nominated for 
the presidency by the Democrats, and over- 
whelmingly defeated by Lincoln, three 
states only casting their electoral votes for 
McClellan. On election day he resigned 
his commission and a few months later went 
to Europe where he spent several years. 
He wrote a number of military text- books 
and reports. His death occurred October 
29. 1885. 

SAMUEL J. TILDEN.— Among the great 
statesmen whose names adorn the pages 
of American history may be found that of 
the subject of this sketch. Known as a 
lawyer of highest ability, his greatest claim 
to immortality will ever lie in his successful 
battle against the corrupt rings of his native 
state and the elevation of the standard of 
official life. 

Samuel J. Tilden was born in New Leb- 
anon, New York, February 9, 1814. He 
pursued his academic studies at Yale Col- 
lege and the University of New York, tak- 
ing the course of law at the latter. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1841. His rare 
ability as a thinker and writer upon public 
topics attracted the attention of President 
Van Buren, of whose policy and adminis- 
tration he became an active and efficient 
champion. He made for himself a high 
place in his profession and amassed quite a 
fortune as the result of his industry and 
judgment. During the days of his greatest 
professional labor he was ever one of the 
leaders and trusted counsellors of the Demo- 
cratic party. He was a member of the 
conventions to revise the state constitution, 
both in 1846 and 1867, and served two 
terms in the lower branch of the state leg- 



COMPEXDICM OF BIOGRArilV 



49 



islature. He was one of the controlling 
spirits in the overthrow of the notorious 
" Tweed ring " and the reformation of the 
f;overnment of the city of New York. In 
1S74 he was elected governor of the state 
of New York. While in this position he 
assailed corruption in high places, success- 
fully battling with the iniquitous "canal 
ring " and crushed its sway over all depart- 
ments of the government. Recognizing his 
character and executive ability Mr. Tilden 
was nominated for president by the na- 
tional Democratic convention in 1S76. At 
the election he received a much larger popu- 
lar vote than his opponent, and 184 uncon- 
tested electoral votes. There being some 
electoral votes contested, a commission ap- 
pointed by congress decided in favor of the 
Republican electors and Mr. Hayes, the can- 
didate of that party was declared elected. 
In 1880, the Democratic party, feeling that 
Mr. Tilden had been lawfully elected to the 
presidency tendered the nomination for the 
same office to Mr. Tilden, but he declined, 
retiring from all public functions, owing to 
failing health. He died August 4, 1886. 
By will he bequeathed several millions of 
dollars toward the founding of public libra- 
ries in New York City, Yonkers, etc. 



NOAH WEBSTER.— As a scholar, law- 
yer, author and journalist, there is no 
one who stands on a higher plane, or whose 
reputation is better established than the 
honored gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. He was a native of West Hartford, 
Connecticut, and was born October 17, 
1758. He came of an old New England 
family, his mother being a descendant of 
Governor William Bradford, of the Ply- 
mouth colony. After acquiring a solid edu- 
cation in early life Dr. Webster entered 
Yale College, from which he graduated in 



1778. For a while he taught school in 
Hartford, at the same time studying law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1781. He 
taught a classical school at Goshen, Orange 
county. New York, in 1782-83, and while 
there prepared his spelling book, grammar 
and reader, which was issued under the title 
of "A Grammatical Institute of the English 
Language ," in three parts, — so successful a 
work that up to 1876 something like forty 
million of the spelling books had been 
sold. In 1786 he delivered a course of lec- 
tures on the English language in the seaboard 
cities and the following year taught an 
academy at Philadelphia. From December 
•7. ^I'^l ^ until November, 1788, he edited 
the "American Magazine, "a periodical that 
proved unsuccessful. In 1789-93 he prac- 
ticed law in Hartford having in the former 
year married the daughter of William Green- 
leaf, of Boston. He returned to New York 
and November, 1793, founded a daily paper, 
the "Minerva," to which was soon added a 
semi-weekly edition under the name of the 
" Herald." The former is still in existence 
under the name of the " Commercial Adver- 
tiser." In this paper, over the signature of 
" Curtius,"' he published a lengthy and schol- 
arly defense of "John Jay's treaty." 

In 1798, Dr. Webster moved to New 
Haven and in 1807 commenced the prepar- 
ation of his great work, the "American Dic- 
tionary of the English Language," which 
was not completed and published until 1828. 
He made his home in Amherst, Massachu- 
setts, for the ten years succeeding 181 2, and 
was instrumental in the establishment of 
Amherst College, of which institution he was 
the first president of the board of trustees. 
During 1824-5 he resided in Europe, pursu- 
ing his philological studies in Paris. He 
completed his dictionary from the libraries 
of Cambridge University in 1825, and de- 



50 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



voted his leisure for the remainder of his 
life to the revision of that and his school 
books. 

Dr. Webster was a member of the legis- 
latures of both Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts, was judge of one of the courts of the 
former state and was identified with nearly 
all the literary and scientific societies in the 
neighborhood of Amherst College. He died 
in New Haven, May 28, 1843. 

Among the more prominent works ema- 
nating from the fecund pen of Dr. Noah 
Webster besides those mentioned above are 
the following: "Sketches of American 
Policy," " Winthrop's Journal," " A Brief 
History of Epidemics," "Rights of Neutral 
Nations in time of War," "A Philosophical 
and Practical Grammar of the English Lan- 
guage," "Dissertations on the English 
Language," "A Collection of Essays," 
"The Revolution in France," "Political 
Progress of Britain," "Origin, History, and 
Connection of the Languages of Western 
Asia and of Europe," and many others. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, the 
great anti-slavery pioneer and leader, 
was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, 
December 12, 1804. He was apprenticed 
to the printing business, and in 1828 was in- 
duced to take charge of the "Journal of the 
Times" at Bennington, Vermont. While 
supporting John Quincy Adams for the presi- 
dency he took occasion in that paper to give 
expression of his views on slavery. These 
articles attracted notice, and a Quaker 
named Lundy, editor of the "Genius of 
Emancipation," published in Baltimore, in- 
duced him to enter a partnership with him 
for the conduct of his paper. It soon 
transpired that the views of the partners 
were not in harmony, Lundy favoring grad- 
ual emancipation, while Garrison favored 



immediate freedom. In 1850 Mr. Garrison 
was thrown into prison for libel, not being 
able to pay a fine of fifty dollars and costs. 
In his cell he wrote a number of poems 
which stirred the entire north, and a mer- 
chant, Mr. Tappan, of New York, paid his 
fine and liberated him, after seven weeks of 
confinement. He at once began a lecture 
tour of the northern cities, denouncing 
slavery as a sin before God, and demanding 
its immediate abolition in the name of re- 
ligion and humanity. He opposed the col- 
onization scheme of President Monroe and 
other leaders, and declared the right of 
every slave to immediate freedom. 

In 1 83 1 he formed a partnership with 
Isaac Knapp, and began the publication of 
the "Liberator" at Boston. The "imme- 
diate abolition " idea began to gather power 
in the north, while the south became 
alarmed at the bold utterance of this jour- 
nal. The mayor of Boston was besought 
by southern influence to interfere, and upon 
investigation, reported upon the insignifi- 
cance, obscurity, and poverty of the editor 
and his staff, which report was widely 
published throughout the country. Re- 
wards were offered by the southern states 
for his arrest and conviction. Later Garri- 
son brought from England, where an eman- 
cipation measure had just been passed, 
some of the great advocates to work for the 
cause in this country. In 1835 a mob 
broke into his office, broke up a meeting of 
women, dragged Garrison through the street 
with a rope around his body, and his life 
was saved only by the interference of the 
police, who lodged him in jail. Garrison 
declined to sit in the World's Anti-Slavery 
convention at London in 1840, because 
that body had refused women representa- 
tion. He opposed the formation of a po- 
litical party with emancipation as its basis. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



51 



He favored a dissolution of the union, and 
declared the constitution which bound the 
free states to the slave states " A covenant 
with death and an agreement with hell. " 
In 1843 he became president of the Amer- 
ican Anti-Slavery society, which position he 
held until 1865, when slavery was no more. 
During all this time the " Liberator " had 
continued to promulgate anti-slavery doc- 
trines, but in 1865 Garrison resigned his 
position, and declared his work was com- 
pleted. He died May 24, 1879. 



JOHN BROWN ("Brown of Ossawato- 
mie"), a noted character in American 
history, wasbornatTorrington, Connecticut, 
May 9, iSoo. In his childhood he removed 
to Ohio, where he learned the tanner's 
trade. He married there, and in 1855 set- 
tled in Kansas. He lived at the village of 
Ossawatomie in that state, and there began 
his fight against slavery. He advocated im- 
mediate emancipation, and held that the 
negroes of the slave states merely waited 
for a leader in an insurrection that would re- 
sult in their freedom. He attended the 
convention called at Chatham, Canada, in 
1859, and was the leading spirit in organiz- 
ing a raid upon the United States arsenal at 
Harper's Ferry, Virginia. His plans were 
well laid, and carried out in great secrecy. 
He rented a farm house near Harper's Ferry 
in the summer of 1859, and on October 
1 6th of that year, with about twenty follow- 
ers, he surprised and captured the United 
States arsenal, with all its supplies and 
arms. To his surprise, the negroes did not 
come to his support, and the next day he 
was attacked by the Virginia state militia, 
wounded and captured. He was tried in 
the courts of the state, convicted, and was 
hanged at Charlestown, December 2, 1859. 
The raid and its results had a tremendous 



effect, and hastened the culmination of the 
troubles between the north and south. The 
south had the advantage in discussing this 
event, claiming that the sentiment which 
inspired this act of violence was shared by 
the anti-slavery element of the country. 

EDWIN BOOTH had no peer upon the 
American stage during his long career 
as a star actor. He was the son of a famous 
actor, Junius Brutus Booth, and was born 
in 1833 at his father's home at Belair, neaf 
Baltimore. At the age of si.xteen he made his 
first appearance on the stage, at the Boston 
Museum, in a minor part in "Richard III." 
It was while playing in California in 185 1 
that an eminent critic called general atten* 
tion to the young actor's unusual talent. 
However, it was not until 1863, at the great 
Shakspearian revival at the Winter Garden 
Theatre, New York, that the brilliancy of 
his career began. His Hamlet held the 
boards for 100 nights in succession, and 
from that time forth Booth's reputation was 
established. In 1868 he opened his own 
theatre (Booth's Theater) in New York. 
Mr. Booth never succeeded as a manager, 
however, but as an actor he was undoubted- 
ly the most popular man on the American 
stage, and perhaps the most eminent one in 
the world. In England he also won the 
greatest applause. 

Mr. Booth's work was confined mostly 
to Shakspearean roles, and his art was 
characterized by intellectual acuteness, 
fervor, and poetic feeling. His Hamlet, 
Richard II, Richard III, and Richelieu gave 
play to his greatest powers. In 1865, 
when his brother, John Wilkes Booth, 
enacted his great crime, Edwin Booth re- 
solved to retire from the stage, but waspur- 
suaded to reconsider that decision. The 
odium did not in any way attach to the 



52 



COMPENDIUM OF BIO GRAPH 2: 



great actor, and his popularity was not 
affected. In all his work Mr. Booth clung 
closel}' to the legitimate and the traditional 
in drama, making no experiments, and offer- 
ing little encouragement to new dramatic 
authors. His death occurred in New York, 
June 7, 1894. 



JOSEPH HOOKER, a noted American 
officer, was born at Hadley, Massachu- 
setts, November 13, 18 14. He graduated 
from West Point Military Academy in 1837, 
and was appointed lieutenant of artillery. 
He served in Florida in the Seminole war, 
and in garrison until the outbreak of the 
Mexican war. During the latter he saw 
service as a staff officer and was breveted 
captain, major and lieutenant-colonel for 
gallantry at Monterey, National Bridge and 
Chapultepec. Resigning his commission in 
1 833 he took up farming in California, which 
he followed until 1861. During this time 
he acted as superintendent of military roads 
in Oregon. At the outbreak of the Rebel- 
lion Hooker tendered his services to the 
government, and. May 17, 1861, was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers. He 
served in the defence of Washington and on 
the lower Potomac until his appointment to 
the command of a division in the Third 
Corps, in March, 1862. For gallant con- 
duct at the siege of Yorktown and in the 
battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Fra- 
zier's Farm and Malvern Hill he was made 
major-general. At the head of his division 
he participated in the battles of Manassas 
and Chantilly. September 6, 1S62, he was 
placed at the head of the First Corps, and 
in the battles of South Mountain and An- 
tietam acted with his usual gallantry, being 
wounded in the latter engagement. On re- 
joining the army in November he was made 
brigadier-general in the regular army. On 



General Burnside attaining the command of 
the Army of the Potomac General Hooker 
was placed in command of the center grand 
division, consisting of the Second and Fifth 
Corps. At the head of these gallant men 
he participated in the battle of Fred- 
ericksburg, December 13, 1862. In Janu- 
ary, 1863, General Hooker assumed com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac, and in 
May following fought the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville. At the time of the invasion of 
Pennsylvania, owing to a dispute with Gen- 
eral Halleck, Hooker requested to be re- 
lieved of his command, and June 28 was 
succeeded by George G. Meade. In Sep- 
tember, 1863, General Hooker was given 
command of the Twentieth Corps and trans- 
ferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and 
distinguished himself at the battles of Look- 
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Ring- 
gold. In the Atlanta campaign he saw 
almost daily service and merited his well- 
known nickname of " Fighting Joe." July 
30, 1864, at his own request, he was re- 
lieved of his command. He subsequently 
was in command of several military depart- 
ments in the north, and in October, 1868, 
was retired with the full rank of major-gen- 
eral. He died October 31, 1879. 



JAY GOULD, one of the greatest finan- 
ciers that the world has ever produced, 
was born May 27, 1836, at Roxbury, Dela- 
ware county, New York. He spent his early 
years on his father's farm and at the age of 
fourteen entered Hobart Academy, New 
York, and kept books for the village black- 
smith. He acquired a taste for mathematics 
and surveying and on leaving school found 
employment in making the surveyor's map 
of Ulster county. He surveyed very exten- 
sively in the state and accumulated five thou- 
sand dollars as the fruits of his labor. He 



coyrrExnii'M of niOGRAriir. 



58 



was then stricken with typhoid fever but re- 
covered and made the acquaintance of one 
Zadock Pratt, who sent him into the west- 
ern part of the state to locate a site for a 
tannery. He chose a fine hemlock grove, 
built a sawmill and blacksmith shop and 
was soon doing a large lumber business with 
Mr. Pratt. Mr. Gould soon secured control 
of the entire plant, which he sold out just 
before the panic of 1857 and in this year he 
became the largest stock holder in the Strouds- 
burg, Pennsylvania, bank. Shortly after the 
crisis he bought the bonds of the Rutland 
& Washington Railroad at ten cents on the 
dollar, and put all his money into railroad 
securities. For a long time he conducted 
this road which he consolidated with the 
Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad. In 1859 
he removed to New York and became a 
heavy investor in Erie Railroad stocks, en- 
tered that company and was president until 
its reorganization in 1872. In December, 
1880, Mr. Gould was in control of ten thou- 
sand miles of railroad. In 1887 he pur- 
chased the controlling interest in the St. 
Louis & San Francisco Railroad Co., and 
was a joint owner with the Atchison, Topeka 
& Santa Fe Railroad Co. of the western 
portion of the Southern Pacific line. Other 
lines soon came under his control, aggregat- 
ing thousand of miles, and he soon was rec- 
ognized as one of the world's greatest rail- 
road magnates. He continued to hold his 
place as one of the master financiers of the 
century until the time of his death which 
occurred December 2, 1892. 



THOMAS HART BENTON, a very 
prominent United States senator and 
statesman, was born at Hillsborough, North 
Carolina, March 14, 1782. He removed to 
Tennessee in early life, studied law, and be- 
gan to practice at Nashville about 18 10. 



During the war of 1S12-1815 he served as 
colonel of a Tennessee regiment under Gen- 
eral Andrew Jackson. In 18 15 he removed 
to St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1820 was 
chosen United States senator for that state. 
Having been re-elected in 1826, he sup- 
ported President Jackson in his opposition 
to the United States bank and advocated a 
gold and silver currency, thus gaining the 
name of " Old Bullion," by which he was 
familiarly known. For many years he was 
the most prominent man in Missouri, and 
took rank among the greatest statesmen of 
his day. He was a member of the senate 
for thirty years and opposed the extreme 
states' rights policy of John C. Calhoun. 
In 1852 he was elected to the house of rep- 
resentatives in which he opposed the repeal 
of the ^fissouri compromise. He was op- 
posed by a powerful party of States' Rights. 
Democrats in Missouri, who defeated him as a 
candidate for governor of that state in 1856. 
Colonel Benton published a considerable 
work in two volumes in 1854-56, entitled 
" Thirty Years' View, or a History of the 
Working of the American Government for 
Thirty Years, 1820-50." He died April 10, 
1858. 

STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS.— One 
of the most prominent figures in politic- 
al circles during the intensely exciting days 
that preceded the war, and a leader of the 
Union branch of the Democratic party was 
the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. 

He was born at Brandon, Rutland coun- 
ty, Vermont, April 23, 1813, of poor but 
respectable parentage. His father, a prac- 
ticing physician, died while our subject was 
but an infant, and his mother, with two 
small children and but small means, could 
give him but the rudiments of an education. 



54 



COMPENDJUM OF BIOGRAPH}'. 



At the age of fifteen young Douglas engaged 
at work in the cabinet making business to 
raise funds to carry him through college. 
After a few years of labor he was enabled to 
pursue an academical course, first at Bran- 
don, and later at Canandaigua, New York. 
In the latter place he remained until 1833, 
taking np the study of law. Before he was 
twenty, however, his funds running low, he 
abandoned all further attempts at educa- 
tion, determining to enter at once the battle 
of life. After some wanderings through the 
western states he took up his residence at 
Jacksonville, Illinois, where, after teaching 
school for three months, he was admitted to 
the bar, and' opened an office in 1834. 
Within a year from that time, so rapidly had 
he risen in his profession, he was chosen 
attorney general of the state, and warmly 
espoused the principles of the Democratic 
party. He soon became one of the most 
popular orators in Illinois. It was at this 
time he gained the name of the "Little 
Giant." In 1835 he resigned the position 
of attorney general having been elected to 
the legislature. In 184 1 he was chosen 
judge of the supreme court of Illinois which 
he resigned two years later to take a seat in 
congress. It was during this period of his 
life, while a member of the lower house, 
that he established his reputation and took 
the side of those who contended that con- 
.gress had no constitutional right to restrict 
the extension of slavery further than the 
agreement between the states made in 1820. 
This, in spite of his being opposed to slav- 
ery, and only on grounds which he believed 
to be right, favored what was called the 
Missouri compromise. In 1847 Mr. Doug- 
las was chosen United States senator for 
six years, and greatly distinguished himself. 
In 1852 he was re-elected to the same office. 
During this latter term, under his leader- 



ship, the " Kansas-Nebraska bill " was car- 
ried in the senate. In 1858, nothwith- 
standing the fierce contest made by his able 
competitor for the position, Abraham Lin- 
coln, and with the administration of Bu- 
chanan arrayed against him, Mr. Douglas 
was re-elected senator. After the trouble 
in the Charleston convention, when by the 
withdrawal of several state delegates with- 
out a nomination, the Union Democrats, 
in convention at Baltimore, in 1S60, nomi- 
nated Mr. Douglas as their candidate for 
presidency. The results of this election are 
well known and the great events of 1861 
coming on, Mr. Douglas was spared their 
full development, dying at Chicago, Illinois, ■ 
June 3, 1 86 1, after a short illness. His 
last words to his children were, " to obey 
the laws and support the constitution of the 
United States." 



JAMES MONROE, fifth president of the 
United States, was born in Westmore- 
land county, Virginia, April 28, 1758. At 
the age of sixteen he entered William and 
Mary College, but two years later the 
Declaration of Independence having been 
adopted, he left college and hastened to New 
York where he joined Washington's army as 
a military-cadet. 

At the battle of Trenton Monroe per- 
formed gallant service and received a wound 
in the shoulder, and was promoted to a 
captaincy. He acted as aide to Lord Ster- 
ling at the battles of Brandywine, German- 
town and Monmouth. Washington then 
sent him to Virginia to raise a new regiment 
of which he was to be colonel. The ex- 
hausted condition of Virginia made this im- 
possible, but he received his commission. 
He next entered the law office of Thomas 
Jefferson to study law, as there was no open- 
ing for him as an officer in the army. In 



COMTENDILM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



55 



1782 he was elected to the Virginia assem- 
bly, and the next year he was elected to the 
Continental congress. Realizing the inade- 
quacy of the old articles of confederation, 
he advocated the calling of a convention to 
consider their revision, and introduced in 
congress a resolution empowering congress 
to regulate trade, lay import duties, etc. 
This resolution was referred to a committee, 
of which he was chairman, and the report 
led to the Annapolis convention, which 
called a general convention to meet at Phila- 
delphia in 1787, when the constitution was 
drafted. Mr. Monroe began the practice of 
law at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was 
soon after elected to the legislature, and ap- 
pointed as one of the committee to pass 
upon the adoption of the constitution. He 
opposed it, as giving too much power to the 
central government. He was elected to the 
United States senate in 1789, where he 
allied himself with the Anti-Federalists or 
"Republicans," as they were sometimes 
called. Although his views as to neutrality 
between France and England were directly 
opposed to those of the president, yet Wash- 
ington appointed him minister to France. 
His popularity in France was so great that 
the antagonism of England and her friends 
in this country brought about his recall. He 
then became governor of Virginia. He was 
sent as envoy to France in 1802; minister 
to England in 1803; and envoy to Spain in 
1805. The next year he returned to his 
estate in Virginia, and with an ample in- 
heritance enjoyed a few years of repose. He 
was again called to be governor of Virginia, 
and was then appointed* secretary of state 
by President Madison. The war with Eng- 
land soon resulted, and when the capital 
was burned by the British, Mr. Monroe be- 
came secretary of war also, and planned the 
measures for the defense of New Orleans. 



The treasury being exhausted and credit 
gone, he pledged his own estate, and thereby 
made possible the victory of Jackson at New 
Orleans. 

In 1817 Mr. Monroe became president 
of the United States, having been a candi- 
date of the "Republican" party, which at 
that time had begun to be called the " Demo- 
cratic " party. In 1820 he was re-elected, 
having two hundred and thirty-one electoral 
votes out of two hundred and thirty-two. 
His administration is known as the "Era of 
good-feeling, " and party lines were almost 
wiped out. The slavery question began to 
assume importance at this time, and the 
Missouri Compromise was passed. The 
famous "Monroe Doctrine" originated in a 
great state paper of President Monroe upon 
the rumored interference of the Holy Alli- 
ance to prevent the formation of free repub- 
lics in South America. President Monroe 
acknowledged their independence, and pro- 
mulgated his great "Doctrine," which has 
been held in reverence since. Mr. Monroe's 
death occurred in New York on July 4, 1831. 



THOMAS ALVA EDISON, the master 
wizard of electrical science and whose 
name is synonymous with the subjugation 
of electricity to the service of man, was 
born in 1847 at Milan, Ohio, and it was at 
Port Huron, Michigan, whither his parents 
had moved in 1854, that his self-education 
began — for he never attended school for 
more than two months. He eagerly de- 
voured every book he could lay his hands on 
and is said to have read through an encyclo- 
pedia without missing a word. At thirteen he 
began his working life as a trainboy upon the 
Grand Trunk Railway between Port Huron 
and Detroit. Much of his time was now 
spent in Detroit, where he found increased 
facilities for reading at the public libraries. 



60 



COMPEXDIUM OF BWGRAPlir 



He was not content to be a newsboy, so he 
got together three hundred pounds of type 
and started the issue of the " Grand Trunk 
Herald." It was only a small amateur 
weekly, printed on one side, the impression 
being made from the type by hand. Chemi- 
cal research was his next undertaking and 
a laboratory was added to his movable pub- 
lishing house, which, by the way, was an 
old freight car. One day, however, as he 
Was experimenting with some phosphorus, 
it ignited and the irate conductor threw the 
young seeker after the truth, chemicals and 
all, from the train. His office and laboratory 
were then removed to the cellar of his fa- 
ther's house. As he grew to manhood he 
decided to become an operator. He won 
his opportunity by saving the life of a child, 
whose father was an old operator, and out of 
gratitude he gave Mr. Edison lessons in teleg- 
raphy. Five months later he was compe- 
tent to fill a position in the railroad office 
at Port Huron. Hence he peregrinated to 
Stratford, Ontario, and thence successively 
to Adrian, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cin- 
cmnati, Memphis, Louisville and Boston, 
gradually becoming an expert operator and 
gaming experience that enabled him to 
evolve many ingenious ideas for the im- 
provement of telegraphic appliances. At 
Memphis he constructed an automatic re- 
peater, which enabled Louisville and New 
Orleans to communicate direct, and received 
nothing more than the thanks of his em- 
ployers. Mr. Edison came to New York in 
1870 in search of an opening more suitable 
to his capabilities and ambitions. He hap- 
pened to be in the office of the Laws Gold 
Reporting Company when one of the in- 
struments got out of order, and even the 
inventor of the system could not make it 
work. Edison requested to be allowed to 
attempt the task, and in a few minutes he 



had overcome the difficulty and secured an 
advantageous engagement. For several 
>ears he had a contract with the Western 
Union and the Gold Stock companies, 
whereby he received a large salary, besides 
a special price for all telegraphic improve- 
ments he could suggest. Later, as the 
head of the Edison General Electric com- 
pany, with its numerous subordinate organ- 
izations and connections all over the civil- 
ized world, he became several times a 
millionaire. Mr. Edison invented the pho- 
nograph and kinetograph which bear his 
name, the carbon telephone, the tasimeter, 
and the duplex and quadruplex systems of 
telegraphy. 

JAMES LONGSTREET, one of the most 
conspicuous of the Confederate generals 
during the Civil war, was born in 1820, in 
South Carolina, but was early taken by his 
parents to Alabama where he grew to man- 
hood and received his early education. He 
graduated at the United States military 
academy in 1842, entering the army as 
lieutenant and spent a few years in the fron- 
tier service. When the Mexican war broke 
out he was called to the front and partici- 
pated in all the principal battles of that war 
up to the storming of Chapultepec, where 
he received severe wounds. For gallant 
conduct at Contreras, Cherubusco, and Mo- 
lino del Rey he received the brevets of cap- 
tain and major. After the close of the 
Mexican war Longstreet served as adjutant 
and captain on frontier service in Texas un- 
til 1858 when he was transferred -to the staff 
as paymaster with rank of major. In June, 
1 86 1, he resigned to join the Confederacy 
and immediately went to the front, com- 
manding a brigade at Bull Run the follow- 
ing month. Promoted to be major-general 
in 1862 he thereafter bore a conspicuous 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



57 



part and rendered valuable service to the 
Confederate cause. He participated in 
many of the most severe battles of the Civil 
war including Bull Run (first and second), 
Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill, Fraziers Farm, 
Malvern Hill, Antietam, Frederickburg, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, 
the Wilderness, Petersburg and most of the 
fighting about Richmond. 

When the war closed General Long- 
street accepted the result, renewed his alle- 
giance to the government, and thereafter 
labored earnestly to obliterate all traces of 
war and promote an era of good feeling be- 
tween all sections of the country. He took 
up his residence in New Orleans, and took 
an active interest and prominent part in 
public affairs, served as surveyor of that 
port for several years; was commissioner of 
engineers for Louisiana, served four years 
as school commissioner, etc. In 1875 he 
was appointed supervisor of internal revenue 
and settled in Georgia. After that time he 
served four years as United States minister 
to Turkey, and also for a number of years 
was United States marshal of Georgia, be- 
sides having held other important official 
positions. 

JOHN RUTLEDGE, the second chief- 
justice of the United States, was born 
at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1739. 
He was a son of John Rutledge, who had 
left Ireland for America about five years 
prior to the birth of our subject, and a 
brother of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the 
Declaration of Independence. John Rut- 
ledge received his legal edLication at the 
Temple, London, after which he returned 
to Charleston and soon won distinction at 
the bar. He was elected to the old Colonial 
congress in 1765 to protest against the 
" Stamp Act," and was a member of the 



South Carolina convention of 1774, and of 
the Continental congress of that and the 
succeeding year. In 1776 he was chairman 
of the committee that draughted the con- 
stitution of his state, and was president of 
the congress of that state. He was not 
pleased with the state constitution, how- 
ever, and resigned. In 1779 he was again 
chosen governor of the state, and granted 
extraordinary powers, and he at once took 
the field to repel the British. He joined 
the army of General Gates in 1782, and the 
same year was elected to congress. He 
was a member of the constitutional con- 
vention which framed our present constitu- 
tion. In 1 7S9 he was appointed an associate 
justice of the first supreme court of the 
United States. He resigned to accept the 
position of chief- justice of his own state. 
Upon the resignation of Judge Jay^ he was 
appointed chief-justice of the United States 
in 1795. The appointment was never con- 
firmed, for, after presiding at one session, 
his mind became deranged, and he was suc- 
ceeded by Judge Ellsworth. He died at 
Charleston, July 23, 1800. 



RALPH WALDO EMERSON was one 
of the most noted literary men of his 
time. He was born in Boston, Massachu- 
setts, May 25, 1803. He had a minister for 
an ancestor, either on the paternal or ma- 
ternal side, in every generation for eight 
generations back. His father, Rev. Will- 
iam Emerson, was a native of Concord, 
Massachusetts, born May 6, 1769, graduated 
at Harvard, in 1789, became a Unitarian 
minister; was a fine writer and one of the 
best orators of his day; died in 181 1. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was fitted for 
college at the public schools of Boston, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1821, win- 
ning about this time several prizes for es- 



58 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



says. For five years he taught school in 
Boston; in 1S26 was licensed to preach, and 
in 1829 was ordained as a colleague to Rev. 
Henry Ware of the Second Unitarian church 
in Boston. In 1832 he resigned, rqaking 
the announcement in a sermon of his un- 
;villingness longer to administer the rite of 
vhe Lord's Supper, after which he spent 
about a year in Europe. Upon his return 
he began his career as a lecturer before the 
Boston Mechanics Institute, his subject be- 
ing "Water." His early lectures on " Italy" 
and "Relation of Man to the Globe " also 
attracted considerable attention; as did also 
his biographical lectures on Michael Angelo, 
Milton, Luther, George Fox, and Edmund 
Burke. After that time he gave many 
courses of lectures in Boston and became 
one of the best known lecturers in America. 
But very few men have rendered such con- 
tinued service in this field. He lectured for 
forty successive seasons before the Salem, 
Massachusetts, Lyceum and also made re- 
peated lecturing tours in this country and in 
England. In 1835 Mr. Emerson took up 
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts, 
where he continued to make his home until 
his death which occurred April 27, 1SS2. 

Mr. Emerson's literary work covered a 
wide scope. He wrote and published many 
works, essays and poems, which rank high 
among the works of American literary men. 
A few of the many which he produced are 
the following: "Nature;" "The Method 
of Nature;" " Man Thinking;" "The Dial;" 
"Essays;" "Poems;" "English Traits;" 
"The Conduct of Life;" "May-Day and 
other Poems " and " Society and Solitude;" 
besides many others. He was a prominent 
member of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences, of the American Philosophical 
Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society 
and other kindred associations. 



ALEXANDER T. STEWART, one of 
the famous merchant princes of New 
York, was born near the city of Belfast, Ire- 
land, in 1803, and before he was eight years 
of age was left an orphan without any near 
relatives, save an aged grandfather. The 
grandfather being a pious Methodist wanted 
to make a minister of young Stewart, and 
accordingly put him in a school with that 
end in view and he graduated at Trinity Col- 
lege, in Dublin. When scarcely twenty 
years of age he came to New York. His 
first employment was that of a teacher, but 
accident soon made him a merchant. En- 
tering into business relations with an ex- 
perienced man of his acquaintance he soon 
found himself with the rent of a store on 
his hands and alone in a new enterprise. 
Mr. Stewart's business grew rapidly in all 
directions, but its founder had executive 
ability sufficient for any and all emergencies, 
and in time his house became one of the 
greatest mercantile establishments of mod- 
ern times, and the name of Stewart famous. 
Mr. Stewart's death occurred April 10, 
1876. 

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. — In 
speaking of this noted American nov- 
elist, William CuJlen Bryant said: " He 
wrote for mankind at large, hence it is that 
he has earned a fame wider than any Amer- 
ican author of modern times. The crea- 
tions of his genius shall survive through 
centuries to come, and only perish with our 
language." Another eminent writer (Pres- 
cott) said of Cooper: " In his productions 
every American must take an honest pride; 
for surely no one has succeeded like Cooper 
in the portraiture of American character, or 
has given such glowing and eminently truth- 
ful pictures of American scenery." 

James Fenimore Cooper was born Sep- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



59 



tember 15, 1789, at Burlington, New Jer- 
sey, and was a son of Judge William Cooper. 
About a year after the birth of our subject 
the family removed to Otsego county, New 
York, and founded the town called " Coop- 
erstown." James Fenimore Cooper spent 
his childhood there and in 1802 entered 
Yale College, and four years later became a 
midshipma'n in the United States navy. In 
181 1 he was married, quit the seafaring life, 
and began devoting more or less time to lit- 
erary pursuits. His first work was "Pre- 
caution," a novel published in 18 19, and 
three years later he produced "The Spy, a 
Tale of Neutral Ground," which met with 
p;reat favor and was a universal success. 
This was followed by many other works, 
among which may be mentioned the follow- 
ing: "The Pioneers," "The Pilot," "Last 
of the Mohicans," "The Prairie," "The 
Red Rover," "The Manikins," "Home- 
ward Bound," " Home as Found," "History 
of the United States Navy," "The Path- 
finder," "Wing and Wing," "Afloat and 
Ashore," "The Chain- Bearer, " "Oak- 
Openings," etc. J. Fenimore Cooper died 
at Cooperstown, New York, September 14, 
1851. 



M- 



ARSHALL FIELD, one of the mer- 
chant princes of America, ranks among 
the most successful business men of the cen- 
tury. He was born in 1835 ^t Conway, 
Massachusetts. He spent his early life on 
a farm and secured a fair education in the 
common schools, supplementing this with a 
course at the Conway Academy. His 
natural bent ran in the channels of commer- 
cial life, and at the age of seventeen he was 
given a position in a store at Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts. Mr. Field remained there 
four years and removed to Chicago in 1856. 
He began his career in Chicago as a clerk 



in the wholesale dry goods house of Cooley, 
Wadsworth & Company, which later be- 
came Cooley, Farwell & Company, and still 
later John V. Farwell & Company. He 
remained with them four years and exhibit- 
ed marked ability, in recognition of which 
he was given a partnership. In 1865 Mr. 
Field and L. Z. Leiter, who was also a 
member of the firm, withdrew and formed 
the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter, the 
third partner being Potter Palmer, and they 
continued in business until 1867, when Mr. 
Palmer retired and the firm became Field, 
Leiter & Company. They ran under the 
latter name until 1881, when Mr. Leiter re- 
tired and the house has since continued un- 
der the name of Marshall Field & Company. 
The phenomenal success accredited to the 
house is largely due to the marked ability 
of Mr. Field, the house had become one of 
the foremost in the west, with an annual 
sale of $8,000,000 in 1S70. The total loss 
of the firm during the Chicago fire was 
$3,500,000 of which $2,500,000 was re- 
covered through the insurance companies. 
It rapidly recovered from the effects of this 
and to-day the annual sales amount to over 
$40,000,000. Mr. Field's real estate hold- 
ings amounted to $[ 0,000, 000. He was 
one of the heaviest subscribers to the Bap- 
tist University fund although he is a Presby- 
terian, and gave $ 1,000,000 for the endow- 
ment of the Field Columbian Museum — 
one of the greatest institutions of the kind 
in the world. 

EDGAR WILSON NYE, who won an im- 
mense popularity under the pen name 
of " Bill Nye," was one of the most eccen- 
tric humorists of his day. He was born Au- 
gust 25, 1850, at Shirley, Piscataqua coun- 
ty, Maine, "at a very early age " as he ex- 
presses it. He took an academic course in 



60 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



River Falls, Wisconsin, from whence, after 
his graduation, he removed to Wyoming 
Territory. He studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1S76. He began when 
quite young to contribute humorous sketches 
to the newspapers, became connected with 
various western journals and achieved a 
brilliant success as a humorist. Mr. Nye 
settled later in New York City where he 
devoted his time to writing funny articles for 
the big newspaper syndicates. He wrote for 
publication in book form the following : 
"Bill Nye and the Boomerang," "The 
Forty Liars," "Baled Hay," "Bill Nye's 
Blossom Rock," "Remarks," etc. His 
death occurred February 21, 1896, at Ashe- 
ville. North Carolina. 



THOMAS DE WITT TALMAGE, one of 
the most celebrated American preach- 
ers, was born January 7, 1832, and was the 
youngest of tv.'elve children. He made his 
preliminary studies at the grammar school 
in New Bnmswick, New Jersey. At the age 
of eighteen he joined the church and entered 
the University of the City of New York, and 
graduated in May, 1853. The exercises 
were held in Niblo's Garden and his speech 
aroused the audience to a high pitch of en- 
thusiasm. At the close of his college duties 
he imagined himself interested in the law 
and for three years studied law. Dr. Tal- 
mage then perceived his mistake and pre- 
pared himself for the ministry at the 
Reformed Dutch Church Theological Semi- 
nary at New Brunswick, New Jersey. Just 
after his ordination the young minister re- 
ceived two calls, one from Piermont, New 
York, and the other from Belleville, New 
Jersey. Dr. Talmage accepted the latter 
and for three years filled that charge, when 
he was called to Syracuse, New York. Here 
it was that his sermons first drew large 



crowds of people to his church, and from 
thence dates his popularity. Afterward he 
became the pastor of the Second Reformed 
Dutch church, of Philadelphia, remaining 
seven jears, during which period he first 
entered upon the lecture platform and laid 
the foundation for his future reputation. At 
the end of this time he received three calls, 
one from Chicago, one from San Francisco, 
and one from the Central Presbyterian 
church of Brooklyn, which latter at that 
time consisted of only nineteen members 
with a congregation of about thirty-five. 
This church offered him a salary of seven 
thousand dollars and he accepted the call. 
He soon induced the trustees to sell the old 
church and build a new one. They did so 
and erected the Brooklyn Tabernacle, but 
it burned down shortly after it was finished. 
By prompt sympathy and general liberality 
a new church was built and formally opened 
in February, 1874. It contained seats for 
four thousand, si.x hundred and fifty, but if 
necessary seven thousand could be accom- 
modated. In October, 1878, his salary was 
raised from seven thousand dollars totwelve 
thousand dollars, and in the autumn of 1889 
the second tabernacle was destroyed by fire. 
A third tabernacle was built and it was for- 
mally dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1891. 



JOHN PHILIP SOUSA, conceded as 
being one of the greatest band leaders 
in the world, won his fame while leader of 
the United States Marine Band at Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia. He was not 
originally a band player but was a violinist, 
and at the age of seventeen he was conduc- 
tor of an opera company, a profession which 
he followed for several years, until he was 
offered the leadership of the Marine Band 
at Washington. The proposition was re- 
pugnant to him at first but he accepted the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



61 



offer and then ensued ten jears of brilliant 
success with that organization. When he 
first took the Marine Band he began to 
gather the national airs of all the nations 
that have representatives in Washington, 
and compiled a comprehensive volume in- 
cluding nearly all the national songs of the 
different nations. He composed a number 
of marches, waltzes and two-steps, promi- 
nent among which are the "Washington 
Post," "Directorate," "King Cotton," 
"High School Cadets," "Belle of Chica- 
go," "Liberty Bell March," "Manhattan 
Beach," "On Parade March," " Thunderer 
March," "Gladiator March," " El Capitan 
March," etc. He became a very extensive 
composer of this class of music. 



JOHN QUINCY AD.\MS, sixth president 
of the United States, was born in 
Braintree, Massachusetts, July ii, 1767, 
the son of John Adams. At the age of 
eleven he was sent to school at Paris, and 
two years later to Leyden, where he entered 
that great university. He returned to the 
United States in 17S5, and graduated from 
Harvard in 17S8. He then studied law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1791. His 
practice brought no income the first two 
years, but he won distinction in literary 
fields, and was appointed minister to The 
Hague in 1794. He married in 1797, and 
■went as minister to Berlin the same year, 
serving until 1801, when Jefferson became 
president. He was elected to the senate in 
I S03 by the Federalists, but was condemned 
by that party for advocating the Embargo 
Act and other Anti-Federalist measures. He 
■was appointed as professor of rhetoric at 
Harvard in 1805, and in 1809 was sent as 
minister to Russia. He assisted in negotiat- 
ing the treaty of peace with England in 
3814, and became minister to that power 



the next year. He served during Monroe's 
administration two terms as secretary of 
state, during which time party lines were 
obliterated, and in 1824 four candidates for 
president appeared, all of whom were iden- 
tified to some extent with the new " Demo- 
cratic" party. Mr. Adams received 84 elec- 
toral votes, Jackson 99, Crawford 41, and 
Clay 37. As no candidate had a majority 
of all votes, the election went to the house 
of representatives, which elected Mr. Adams. 
As Clay had thrown his influence to Mr. 
Adams, Clay became secretary of state, and 
this caused bitter feeling on the part of the 
Jackson Democrats, who were joined by 
Mr. Crawford and his following, and op- 
posed every measur-e of the administration. 
In the election of 1828 Jackson was elected 
over Mr. Adams by a great majorit}'. 

Mr. Adams entered the lower house of 
congress in 1830, elected from the district 
in which he was born and continued to rep- 
resent it for seventeen years. He was 
known as " the old man eloquent," and his 
work in congress was independent of party. 
He opposed slavery extension and insisted 
upon presenting to congress, one at a time, 
the hundreds of petitions against the slave 
power. One of these petitions, presented in 
1842, was signed by forty-five citizens of 
Massachusetts, and prayed congress for a 
peaceful dissolution of the Union. His 
enemies seized upon this as an opportunity 
to crush their powerful foe, and in a caucus 
meeting determined upon his expulsion from 
congress. Finding they would not be able 
to command enough votes for this, they de- 
cided upon a course that would bring equal 
disgrace. They formulated a resolution to 
the effect that while he merited expulsion, 
the house would, in great mercy, substitute 
its severest censure. When it was read in the 
house the old man, then in his seventy-fifth 



62 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



year, arose and demanded that the first para- 
graph of the Declaration of Independence 
be read as his defense. It embraced the 
famous sentence, "that whenever any form 
of government becomes destructive to those 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or 
abolish it, and to institute new government, 
etc., etc." After eleven days of hard fight- 
ing his opponents were defeated. On Febru- 
ary 2 1, 1S48, he rose to address the speaker 
on the Oregon question, when he suddenly 
fell from a stroke of paralysis. He died 
soon after in the rotunda of the capitol, 
where he had been conveyed by his col- 
leagues. 

SUSAN B. ANTHONY was one of the 
most famous women of America. She 
was born at South Adams, Massachusetts, 
February 15, 1820, the daughter of a 
Quaker. She received a good education 
and became a school teacher, following that 
profession for fifteen years in New York. 
Beginning with about 1852 she became the 
active leader of the woman's rights move- 
ment and won a wide reputation for her 
2eal and ability. She also distinguished 
herself for her zeal and eloquence in the 
temperance and anti-slavery causes, and 
became a conspicuous figure during the war. 
After the close of the war she gave most of 
her labors to the cause of woman's suffrage. 



PHILIP D. ARMOUR, one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the mercantile 
history of America, was born May 16, 1S32, 
on a farm at Stockbridge, Madison county. 
New York, and received his early education 
in the common schools of that county. He 
was apprenticed to a farmer and worked 
faithfully and well, being very ambitious and 
desiring to start out for himself. At the 
age of twenty he secured a release from his 



indentures and set out overland for the 
gold fields of California. After a great 
deal of hard work he accumulated a little 
money and then cam.e east and settled 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went into 
the grain receiving and warehouse busi- 
ness and was fairly successful, and later on 
he formed a partnership with John Flankin- 
ton in the pork packing line, the style of the 
firm being Plankinton & Armour. Mr. Ar- 
mour made his first great "deal" in selling 
pork "short " on the New York market in 
the anticipation of the fall of the Confed- 
eracy, and Mr. Armour is said to have made 
through this deal a million dollars. He then 
established packing houses in Chicago and 
Kansas City, and in 1875 he removed to 
Chicago. He increased his business by add- 
ing to it the shipment of dressed beef to 
-the European markets, and many other lines 
of trade and manufacturing, and it rapidly 
assumed vast proportions, employing an 
army of men in different lines of the busi- 
ness. Mr. Armour successfully conducted a 
great many speculative deals in pork and 
grain of immense.proportions and also erected 
many large warehouses for the storage of 
grain. He became one of the representative 
business men of Chicago, where he became 
closely identified with all enterprises of a 
public nature, but his fame as a great busi- 
ness man extended to all parts of the world. 
He founded the "Armour Institute " at Chi- 
cago and also contributed largely to benevo- 
lent and charitable institutions. 



ROBERT FULTON.— Although Fulton 
is best known as the inventor of the 
first successful steamboat, yet his claims to 
distinction do not rest alone upon that, for 
he was an inventor along other lines, a 
painter and an author. He was born at 
Little Britain, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 



coMPExniCM ()/■' niocRAPiir. 



65 



vania, in 1765, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
At the age of seventeen he removed to Phila- 
delphia, and there and in New York en- 
gaged in miniature painting with success 
both from a pecuniary and artistic point of 
view. With the results of his labors he pur- 
chased a farm for the support of his mother. 
He went to London and studied under the 
great painter, Benjamin West, and all 
through life retained his fondness for art 
and gave evidence of much ability in that 
line. While in England he was brought in 
contact- with the Duke of Bridgewater, the 
father of the English canal system; Lord 
Stanhope, an eminent mechanician, and 
James Watt, the inventor of the steam en- 
gine. Their influence turned his mind to its 
true field of labor, that of mechanical in- 
vention. Machines for flax spinning, 
marble sawing, rope making, and for remov- 
ing earth from excavations, are among his 
earliest ventures. His "Treatise on the 
Improvement of Canal Navigation, " issued 
in 1796, and a series of essays on canals 
were soon followed by an English patent 
for canal improvements. In 1797 he went 
to Paris, where he resided until 1S06, and 
there invented a submarine torpedo boat for 
maritime defense, but which was rejected 
by the governments of France, England and 
the United States. In 1803 he offered to con- 
struct for the Emperor Napoleon a steam- 
boat that would assist in carrying out the 
plan of invading Great Britain then medi- 
tated by that great captain. In pursuance 
he constructed his first steamboat on the 
Seine, but it did not prove a full success 
and the idea was abandoned by the French 
government. By the aid of Livingston, 
then United States minister to France, 
Fulton purchased, in 1806, an engine which 
he brought to this country. After studying 
the defects of his own and other attempts in 



this line he built and launched in 1807 the 
Clermont, the first successful steamboat. 
This craft only attained a speed of five 
miles an hour while going up North river. 
His first patent not fully covering his in- 
vention, Fulton was engaged in many law 
suits for infringement. He constructed 
many steamboats, ferryboats, etc., among 
these being the United States steamer 
" Fulton the First," built in 18 14, the first 
war steamer ever built. This craft never 
attained any great speed owing to some de- 
fects in construction and accidentally blew 
up in 1829. Fulton died in New York, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1S15. 



SALMON PORTLAND CHASE, sixth 
chief-justice of the United States, and 
one of the most eminent of American jurists, 
was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, Jan- 
uary 13, 1 80S. At the age of nine he was 
left in poverty by the death of his father, 
but means were found to educate him. He 
was sent to his uncle, a bishop, who con- 
ducted an academy near Columbus, Ohio, 
and here young Chase worked on the farm 
and attended school. At the age of fifteen 
he returned to his native state and entered 
Dartmouth College, from which he gradu- 
ated in 1 826. He then went to Washington, 
and engaged in teaching school, and study- 
ing law under the instruction of William 
Wirt. He was licensed to practice in 1829, 
and went to Cincinnati, where he had a 
hard struggle for several years following. 
He had in the meantime prepared notes on 
the statutes of Ohio, which, when published, 
brought him into prominence locally. He 
was soon after appointed solicitor of the 
United States Bank. In 1837 he appeared 
as counsel for a fugitive slave woman, Ma- 
tilda, and sought by all the powers of his 
learning and eloquence to prevent her owner 



'66 



COMPENDIUM OF lUOGRAPIir. 



from reclaiming her. He acted in many 
other cases, and devolved the trite expres- 
sion, "Slavery is sectional, freedom is na- 
tional." He was employed to defend Van 
if andt before the supreme court of the United 
States in 1846, which was one of the most 
noted cases connected with the great strug- 
gle against slavery. By this time Mr. Chase 
had become the recognized leader of that 
element known as " free-soilers." He was 
elected to the United States senate in 1849, 
and was chosen governor of Ohio in 1855 
and re-elected in 1857. He was chosen to 
the United States senate from Ohio in 1861, 
but was made secretary of the treasury by 
Lincoln and accepted. He inaugurated a 
financial system to replenish the exhausted 
treasury and meet the demands of the great- 
est war in history and at the same time to 
revive the industries of the country. One 
of the measures which afterward called for 
his judicial attention was the issuance of 
currency notes which were made a legal 
tender in payment of debts. When this 
question came before him as chief-justice 
of the United States he reversed his former 
action and declared the measure unconstitu- 
tional. The national banking system, by 
which all notes issued were to be based on 
funded government bonds of equal or greater 
amounts, had its direct origin with Mr. Chase. 
Mr. Chase resigned the treasury port- 
folio in 1864, and was appointed the same 
year as chief-justice of the United States 
supreme court. The great questions that 
came up before him at this crisis in the life 
of the nation were no less than those which 
confronted the first chief-justice at the for- 
mation of our government. Reconstruction, 
private, state and national interests, the 
constitutionality of the acts of congress 
passed in times of great excitement, the 
-construction and interpretation to be placed 



upon the several amendments to the national 
constitution, — these were among the vital 
questions requiring prompt decision. He 
received a paralytic stroke in 1870, which 
impaired his health, though his mental 
powers were not affected. He continued to 
preside at the opening terms for two years 
iollowing and died Ma}' 7, 1873. 



HARRIET ELIZABETH BEECHER 
STOWE, a celebrated American writ- 
er, was born June 14, 1812, at Litchfield, 
Connecticut. She was a daughter of Lyman 
Beecher and a sister of Henry Ward Beecher, 
two noted divines; was carefully educated, 
afid taught school for several years at Hart- 
ford, Connecticut. In 1832 Miss Beecher 
married Professor Stowe, then of Lane Semi- 
nary, Cincinnati, Ohio, and afterwards at 
Bowdoin College and Andover Seminary. 
Mrs. Stowe published in 1849 "The May- 
flower, or sketches of the descendants of the 
Pilgrims," and in 1851 commenced in the 
" National Era "of Washington, a serial story 
which was published separately in 1852 under 
the title of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This 
book attained almost unparalleled success 
both at home and abroad, and within ten years 
it had been translated in alinost every lan- 
guage of the civilized world. Mrs. Stowe pub- 
lished in 1853 a "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
in which the data that she used was published 
and its truthfulness was corroborated. In 
1853 she accompanied her husband and 
brother to Europe, and on her return pub- 
lished "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands" 
in 1854. Mrs. Stowe was for some time 
one of the editors of the ' ' Atlantic Monthly " 
and the " Hearth and Home," for which 
she had written a number of articles. 
Among these, also published separately, are 
" Dred, a tale of the Great Dismal Swamp" 
(later published under the title of "Nina 



COMrEXDlL'M OF BJOGRAPIIi' 



G7 



Gordon"); "The Minister's Wooing;" "The 
Pearl of Orr's Island;" "Agnes of Sorrento;" 
"Oldtovvn Folks;" " My Wife and I;" "Bible 
Heroines," and "A Dog's Mission." Mrs. 
Stowe's death occurred July i, 1896, at 
Hartford, Connecticut. 



THOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON, bet- 
ter known as "Stonewall" Jackson, 
was one of the most noted of the Confeder- 
ate generals of the Civil war. He was a 
S(jldier by nature, an incomparable lieuten- 
ant, sure to execute any operation entrusted 
to him with marvellous precision, judgment 
and courage, and all his individual cam- 
paigns and combats bore the stamp of a 
masterly capacity for war. He was born 
January 21, 1824, at Clarksburg, Harrison 
county, West Virginia. He was early in 
life imbued with the desire to be a soldier 
and it is said walked from the mountains of 
Virginia to W^ashington, secured the aid of 
his congressman, and was appointed cadet 
at the United States Military Academy at 
West Point from which he was graduated in 

1846. 'Attached to the army as brevet sec- 
ond lieutenant of the First Artillery, his first 
service was as a subaltern with Magruder's 
battery of light artillery in the Mexican war. 
He participated at the reduction of Vera 
Cruz, and was noticed for gallantry in the 
battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Molina 
del Rey, Chapultepec, and the capture of 
the city of Alexico, receiving the brevets of 
captain for conduct at Contreras and Cher- 
ubusco and of major at Chapultepec. In 
the meantime he had been advanced by 
regular promotion to be first lieutenant in 

1847. In 1852, the war having closed, he 
resigned and became professor of natural 
and experimental philosophy and artillery 
instructor at the Virginia State Military 
Institute at Lexington, Virginia, where he 



remained until Virginia declared for seces- 
sion, he becoming chiefly noted for intense 
religious sentiment coupled with personal 
eccentricities. Upon the breaking out of 
the war he was made colonel and placed in 
command of a force sent to sieze Harper's 
Ferry, which he accomplished May 3, 1861. 
Relieved by General J. E. Johnston, May 
23, he took command of the brigade of 
Valley Virginians, whom he moulded into 
that brave corps, baptized at the first 
Manassas, and ever after famous as the 
" Stonewall Brigade." After this "Stone- 
wall " Jackson was made a major-general, 
in 1 861, and participated until his death in 
all the famous campaigns about Richmond 
and in Virginia, and was a conspicuous fig- 
ure in the memorable battles of that time. 
May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville, he wa? 
v.'Ounded severely by his own troops, two 
balls shattering his left arm and anotiier 
passing through the palm of his right hand. 
The left arm was amputated, but pneumonia 
intervened, and, weakened by the great loss 
of blood, he died May 10, 1863. The more 
his operations in the Shenandoah valley in 
1862 are studied the more striking must the 
merits of this great soldier appear. 



JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.— 
Near to the heart of the people of the 
Anglo-Saxon race will ever lie the verses of 
this, the "Quaker Poet." The author of 
"Barclay of Ury," "Maud Muller" and 
"Barbara Frietchie," always pure, fervid 
and direct, will be remembered when many 
a more ambitious writer has been forgotten. 
John G. Whittier was born at Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, December 7, 1807, of 
Quaker parentage. He had but a common- 
school education and passed his boyhood 
days upon a farm. In early life he learned 
the trade of shoemaker. At the age of 



OS 



COMPEXBIi'M OF BIOGRAPHY 



eighteen he began to write verses for the 
Haverhill '' Gazette." He spent two years 
after that at the Haverhill academy, after 
which, in 1829, he became editor of the 
"American Manufacturer," at Boston. In 
1830 he succeeded George D. Prentice as 
editor of the "New England Weekly Re- 
view," but the following year returned to 
Haverhill and engaged in farming. In 1832 
and in 1836 he edited the " Gazette." In 
1835 he was elected a member of the legis- 
lature, serving two years. In 1836 he became 
secretary of the Anti-slavery Society of Phil- 
adelphia. In 1838 and 1839 he edited the 
" Pennsylvania Freeman," but in the latter 
year the office was sacked and burned by a 
mob. In i84oWhittier settled at Ames- 
bury, Massachusetts. In 1847 he became 
corresponding editor of the " National Era," 
an anti-slavery paper published at Washing- 
ton, and contributed to its columns many of 
his anti-slavery and other favorite lyrics. 
Mr. Whittier lived for many years in retire- 
ment of Quaker simplicity, publishing several 
volumes of poetry which have raised him to 
a high place among American authors and 
brought to him the love and admiration of 
his countrymen. In the electoral colleges 
of i860 and 1864 Whittier was a member. 
Much of his time after 1876 was spent at 
Oak Knoll, Danvers, Massachusetts, but 
still retained his residence at Amesbury. 
He never married. His death occurred Sep- 
tember 7, 1892. 

The more prominent prose writings of 
John G. Whittier are as follows: "Legends 
of New England," " Justice and Expediency, 
or Slavery Considered with a View to Its Abo- 
lition," " The Stranger in Lowell," "Super- 
naturalism in New England," " Leaves from 
Margaret Smith's Journal," "Old Portraits 
and Modern Sketches" and "Literary 
Sketches." 



DAVID DIXON PORTER, illustrious as 
admiral of the United States navy, and 
famous as one of the most able naval offi- 
cers of America, was born in Pennsylvania, 
June 8, 1 8 14. His father was also a naval 
officer of distinction, who left the service of 
the United States to become commander of 
the naval forces of Me.xico during the war 
between that country and Spain, and 
through this fact David Dixon Porter was 
appointed a midshipman in the Mexican 
navy. Two years later David D. Porter 
joined the United States navy as midship- 
man, rose in rank and eighteen years later 
as a lieutenant he is found actively engaged 
in all the operations of our navy along the 
east coast of Mexico. When the Civil war 
broke out Porter, then a commander, was 
dispatched in the Powhattan to the relief of 
Fort Pickens, Florida. This duty accom- 
plished, he fitted out a mortar flotilla for 
the reduction of the forts guarding the ap- 
proaches to New Orleans, which it was con- 
sidered of vital importance for the govern- 
ment to get possession of. After the fall of 
New Orleans the mortar flotilla was actively 
engaged at Vicksburg, and in the fall of 
1862 Porter was made a rear-admiral and 
placed in command of all the naval forces 
on the western rivers above New Orleans. 
The ability of the man was now con- 
spicuously manifested, not only in the bat- 
tles in which he was engaged, but also in 
the creation of a formidable fleet out of 
river steamboats, which he covered with 
such plating as they would bear. In 1864 
he was transferred to the Atlantic coast to 
command the naval forces destined to oper- 
ate against the defences of Wilmington, 
North Carolina, and on Jan. 15, 1865, the 
fall of Fort Fisher was hailed by the country 
as a glorious termination of his arduous war 
service. In 1 866 he was made vice-admiral 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



69 



and appointed superintendent of the Naval 
Academy. On the death of Farragut, in 
1S70, he succeeded that able man as ad- 
miral of the navy. His death occurred at 
Washington, February 13, 1891. 



NATHANIEL GREENE was one of the 
best known of the distinguished gen- 
erals who led the Continental soldiery 
against the hosts of Great Britain during 
the Revolutionary war. He was the son 
of Quaker parents, and was born at War- 
wick, Rhode Island, May 27, 1742. In 
youth he acquired a good education, chiefly 
by his own efforts, as he was a tireless 
reader. In 1770 he was elected a member 
of the Assembly of his native state. The 
news of the battle of Lexington stirred 
his blood, and he offered his services to 
the government of the colonies, receiving 
the rank of brigadier-general and the com- 
mand of the troops from Rhode Island. 
He led them to the camp at Cambridge, 
and for thus violating the tenets of their 
faith, he was cast out of the Society of 
Friends, or Quakers. Pie soon won the es- 
teem of General Washington. In August, 

1776, Congress promoted Greene to the 
rank of major-general, and in the battles of 
Trenton and Princeton he led a division. 
At the battle of Brandy wine, September 1 1, 

1777, he greatly distinguished himself, pro- 
tecting the retreat of the Continentals by 
his firm stand. At the battle of German- 
town, October 4, the same year, he com- 
manded the left wing of the army with 
credit. In March, 1778, he reluctantly ac- 
cepted the office of quartermaster-general, 
but only with the understanding that his 
rank in the army would not be affected and 
that in action he should retain his command. 
On the bloody field of Monmouth, June 28, 

1778, he commanded the right wing, as lie 



did at the battle of Tiverton Heights. He 
was in command of the army in 1780, dur- 
ing the absence of Washington, and was 
president of the court-martial that tried and 
condemned Major Andre. After General 
Gates' defeat at Camden, North Carolina, in 
the summer of 1780, General Greene was ap- 
pointed to the command of the southern army. 
He sent out a force under General Morgan 
who defeated General Tarleton at Cowpens, 
January 17, 1781. On joining his lieuten- 
ant, in February, he found himself out num- 
bered by the British and retreated in good 
order to Virginia, but being reinforced re- 
turned to North Carolina where he fought 
the battle of Guilford, and a few days later 
compelled the retreat of Lord Cornwallis. 
The British were followed by Greene part 
of the way, when the American army 
marched into South Carolina. After vary- 
ing success he fought the battle of Eutaw 
Springs, Septembers, 17S1. For the latter 
battle and its glorious consequences, which 
virtually closed the war in the Carolinas, 
Greene received a medal from Congress and 
many valuable grants of land from the 
colonies of North and South Carolina and 
Georgia. On the return of peace, after a 
year spent in Rhode Island, General Greene 
took up his residence on his estate near 
Savannah, Georgia, where he died June 19, 
1786. 

EDGAR ALLEN POE.— Among the 
many great literary men whom this 
country has produced, there is perhaps no 
name more widely known than that of Ed- 
gar Allen Poe. He was born at Boston, 
Massachusetts, February 19, 1809. His 
parents were David and Elizabeth (Arnold) 
Poe, both actors, the mother said to have 
been the natural daughter of Benedict Ar- 
nold. The parents died while Edgar was 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



still a child and he was adopted by John 
Allen, a wealthy and influential resident of 
Richmond, Virginia. Edgar was sent to 
school at Stoke, Newington, England, 
where he remained until he waG thirteen 
years old; was prepared for college by pri- 
vate tutors, and in i 826 entered the Virginia 
University at Charlottesville. He made 
rapid progress in his studies, and was dis- 
tinguished for his scholarship, but was ex- 
pelled within a year for gambling, after 
which for several years he resided with his 
benefactor at Richmond. He then went to 
Baltimore, and'in 1829 published a 71 -page 
pamphlet called "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane 
and Minor Poems," which, however, at- 
tracted no attention and contained nothing 
of particular merit. In 1830 he was ad- 
mitted as a cadet at West Point, but was 
expelled about a year later for irregulari- 
ties. Returning to the home of Mr. Allen 
he remained for some time, and finally 
quarrelled with his benefactor and enlisted 
as a private soldier in the U. S. army, but 
remained only a short time. Soon after 
this, in 1833, Poe won several prizes for 
literary work, and as a result secured the 
position of editor of trhe "Southern Liter- 
ary Messenger," at Richmond, Virginia. 
Here he married his cousin, Virginia 
Clemm, who clung to hitn with fond devo- 
tion through all the many trials that came 
to them until her death in January, 1848. 
Poe remained with the "Messenger" for 
several years, writing meanwhile many 
tales, reviews, essays and poems. He aft- 
erward earned a precarious living by his 
pen in New York for a time; in 1839 be- 
came editor of "Burton's Gentleman's 
Magazine" ; in 1840 to 1842 was editor of 
" Graham's Magazine," and drifted around 
from one place to another, returning to 
New York in 1844. In 1845 his best 



known production, "The Raven," appeared 
in the "Whig Review," and gained him a 
reputation which is now almost world-wide. 
He then acted as editor and contributor on 
various magazines and periodicals until the 
death of his faithful wife in 1848. In the 
summer of 1849 he was engaged to be mar- 
ried to a lad}' of fortune in Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, and the day set for the wedding. 
He started for New York to make prepara- 
tions for the event, but, it is said, began 
drinking, was attacked with dilirium tre- 
mens in Baltimore and was removed to a 
hospital, where he died, October 7, 1849. 
The works of Edgar Allen Poe have been 
repeatedly published since his death, both 
in Europe and America, and have attained 
an immense popularity. 



HORATIO GATES, one of the prom- 
inent figures in the American war for 
Independence, was not a native of the col- 
onies but was born in England in 1728. In 
early life he entered the British army and 
attained the rank of major. At the capture 
of Martinico he was aide to General Monk- 
ton and after the peace of Aix la Chapelle, 
in 1748, he was among the first troops that 
landed at Halifax. He was with Braddock 
at his defeat in 1755, and was there severe- 
ly wounded. At the conclusion of the 
French and Indian war Gates purchased an 
estate in Virginia, and, resigning from the 
British army, settled down to life as a 
planter. On the breaking out of the Rev- 
olutionary war he entered the service of the 
colonies and was made adjutant-general of 
the Continental forces with the rank oi 
brigadier-general. He accompanied Wash- 
ington when he assumed the command ol 
the army. In June, 1776, he was appoint- 
ed to the command of the army of Canada, 
but was superseded iu May of the following 



ClUfPEXDirM OF BIOGRAPHY 



71 



7year by General Schuyler. In August, 
1777, however, the command of that army 
was restored to General Gates and Septem- 
ber 19 he fought the battle of Bemis 
Heights. October 7, the same year, he 
won the battle of Stillwater, or Saratoga, 
and October 17 received the surrender of 
General Burgoyne and his army, the pivotal 
point of the war. This gave him a brilliant 
reputation. June 13, 17S0, General Gates 
was appointed to the command of the 
southern military division, and August 16 of 
that year suffered defeat at the hands of 
Lord Cornwallis, at Camden, North Car- 
olina. In December following he was 
superseded in the command by General 
Nathaniel Greene. 

On the signing of the peace treaty Gen- 
eral Gates retired to his plantation in 
Berkeley county, Virginia, where he lived 
until 1790, when, emancipating all his 
slaves, he removed to New York City, where 
he resided until his death, April 10, 1806. 



LYMAN J. GAGE.— When President Mc- 
Kinley selected Lyman J. Gage as sec- 
retary of the treasury he chose one of the 
most eminent financiers of the century. Mr. 
Gage was born June 28, 1836, at De Ruy- 
ter, Madison county. New York, and was of 
English descent. He went to Rome, New 
York, with his parents when he was ten 
years old, and received his early education 
in the Rome Academy. Mr. Gage gradu- 
ated from the same, and his first position 
was that of a clerk in the post office. When 
he was fifteen years of age he was detailed 
as mail agent on the Rome & Watertown 
R. R. until the postmaster-general appointed 
regular agents for the route. In 1854, when 
he was in his eighteenth year, he entered 
the Oneida Central Bank at Rome as a 
junior clerk at a salary of one hundred dol- 



lars per year. Being unable at the end of 
one year and a half's service to obtain an 
increase in salary he determined to seek a 
wider field of labor. Mr. Gage set out in 
the fall of 1855 and arrived in Chicago, 
Illinois, on October 3, and soon obtained a 
situation in Nathan Cobb's lumber yard and 
planing mill. Ke remained there three years 
as a bookkeeper, teamster, etc., and left on 
account of change in the management. But 
not being able to find anything else to do he 
accepted the position of night watchman in 
the place for a period of six weeks. He 
then became a bookkeeper for the Mer- 
chants Saving, Loan and Trust Company at 
a salary of five hundred dollars per year^ 
He rapidly advanced in the service of this 
company and in 1868 he was made cashier. 
Mr. Gage was next offered the position of 
cashier of the First National Bank and ac- 
cepted the offer. He became the president 
of the First National Bank of Chicago Jan- 
uary 24, 1 89 1, and in 1897 he was appointed 
secretary of the treasury.- His ability as a 
financier and the prominent part he took in 
the discussion of financial affairs while presi- 
dent of the great Chicago bank gave him a 
national reputation. 



ANDREW JACKSON, the seventh pres- 
ident of the United States, was born 
at the Waxhaw settlement. Union county. 
North Carolina, March 15, 1767. His 
parents were Scotch-Irish, natives of Carr- 
ickfergus, who came to this country in 1665 
and settled on Twelve-Mile creek, a trib- 
utary of the Catawba. His father, who 
was a poor farm laborer, died shortly be- 
fore Andrew's birth, when the mother re- 
moved to Waxhaw, where some relatives 
lived. Andrew's education was very limited, 
he showing no aptitude for study. In 1780 
when but thirteen years of age, he and hi,s 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPH2: 



brother Robert volunteered to serve in the 
American partisan troops under General 
Sumter, and witnessed the defeat at Hang- 
ing Rock. The following year the boys 
were both taken prisoners by the enemy 
and endured brutal treatment from the 
British officers while confined at Camden. 
They both took the small pox, when the 
mother procured their exchange but Robert 
died shortly after. The mother died in 
Charleston of ship fever, the same year. 

Young Jackson, now in destitute cir- 
cumstances, worked for about six months in 
a saddler's shop, and then turned school 
master, although but little fitted for the 
position. He now began to think of a pro- 
fession and at Salisbury, North Carolina, 
entered upon the study of law, but from all 
•accounts gave but little attention to his 
books, being one of the most roistering, 
rollicking fellows in that town, indulging in 
many of the vices of his time. In 1786 he 
was admitted to the bar and in 1788 re- 
moved to Nashville, then in North Carolina, 
with the appointment of public prosecutor, 
then an office of little honor or emolument, 
but requiring much nerve, for which young 
Jackson was already noted. Two years 
later, when Tennessee became a territory 
he was appointed by Washington to the 
position of United States attorney for that 
district. In 1791 he married Mrs. Rachel 
Robards, a daughter of Colonel John Don- 
elson, who was supposed at the time to 
have been divorced from her former hus- 
band that year by act of legislature of ^'ir- 
•ginia, but two years later, on finding that 
this divorce was not legal, and a new bill of 
separation being granted by the courts of 
Kentucky, they were remarried in 1793. 
This was used as a handler by his oppo- 
nents in the political campaign afterwards. 
Jackson was untiring in his efforts as United 



States attorney and obtained much influence. 
He was chosen a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1796, when Tennessee 
became a slate and was its first represent- 
ative in congress. In 1797 he was chosen 
United States senator, but resigned the fol- 
lowing year to accept a seat on the supreme 
court of Tennessee which he held until 
1804. He was elected major-general of 
the militia of that state in 1801. In 1804, 
being unsuccessful in obtaining the govern- 
orship of Louisiana, the new territory, he 
retired from public life to the Hermitage, 
his plantation. On the outbreak of the 
war with Great Britain in 1812 he tendered 
his services to the government and went to 
New Orleans with the Tennessee troops in 
January, 181 3. In March of that year he 
was ordered to disband his troops, but later 
marched against the Cherokee Indians, de- 
feating them at Talladega, Emuckfaw 
and Tallapoosa. Having now a national 
reputation, he was appointed major-general 
in the United States army and was sent 
against the British in Florida. He con- 
ducted the defence of Mobile and seized 
Pensacola. He then went with his troops 
to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he gained 
the famous victory of January 8, 18 15. In 
18 1 7-18 he conducted a war against the 
Seminoles, and in 1821 was made governor 
of the new territory of Florida. In 1S23 
he was elected United States senator, but 
in 1 824 Was the contestant with J. O. Adams 
for the presidency. Four years later he 
was elected president, and served two terms. 
In 1832 he took vigorous action against the 
nullifiers of South Carolina, and the next 
year removed the public money from the 
United States bank. During his second 
term the national debt was extinguished. At 
the close of his administration he retired to 
the Hermitage, where be died June 8, 1845. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



78 



ANDREW CARNEGIE, the largest manu- 
facturer of pig-iron, steel rails and 
coke in the world, well deserves a place 
among America's celebrated men. He was 
born November 25, 1835, at Dunfermline, 
Scotland, and emigrated to the United States 
with his father in 1845, settling in Pittsburg. 
Two 3'ears later Mr. Carnegie began his 
business career by attending a small station- 
ary engine. This work did not suit him and 
he became a telegraph messenger with the 
Atlantic and Ohio Co., and later he became 
an operator, and was one of the first to read 
telegraphic signals by sound. Mr. Carnegie 
was afterward sent to the Pittsburg office 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., as clerk 
to the superintendent and manager of the 
telegraph lines. While in this position he 
made the acquaintance of Mr. Woodruff, the 
inventor of the sleeping-car. Mr. Carnegie 
immediately became interested and was one 
of the organizers of the company for its con- 
struction after the railroad had adopted it, 
and the success of this venture gave him the 
nucleus of his wealth. He was promoted 
to the superintendency of the Pittsburg 
division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and 
about this time was one of the syndicate 
that purchased the Storey farm on Oil Creek 
which cost forty thousand dollars and in one 
year it yielded over one million dollars in 
cash dividends. Mr. Carnegie later was as- 
sociated with others in establishing a rolling- 
mill, and from this has grown the most ex- 
tensive and complete system of iron and 
steel industries ever controlled by one indi- 
vidual, embracing the Edgar Thomson 
Steel Works; Pittsburg Bessemer Steel 
Works; Lucy Furnaces; Union Iron Mills; 
Union Mill; Keystone Bridge Works; Hartr 
man Steel Works; Prick Coke Co.; Scotia 
Ore Mines. Besides directing his immense 
iron industries he owned eighteen English 



newspapers which he ran in the interest of 
the Radicals. He has also devoted large 
sums of money to benevolent and educational 
purposes. In 1879 he erected commodious 
swimming baths for the people of Dunferm- 
line, Scotland, and in the following year 
gave forty thousand dollars for a free library. 
Mr. Carnegie gave fifty thousand dollars to 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1884 
to found what is now called " Carnegie Lab- 
oratory, " and in 1885 gave five hundred 
thousand dollars to Pittsburg for a public 
library. He also gave two hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars for a music hall and library 
in Allegheny City in 18S6, and two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars to Edinburgh, Scot- 
land, for a free library. He also established 
free libraries at Braddock, Pennsylvania, 
and other places for the benefit of his em- 
ployes. He also published the following 
works, "An American Four-in-hand in 
Britain;" "Round the World;" "Trium- 
phant Democracy; or Fifty Years' March of 
the Republic." 



GEORGE H. THOMAS, the " Rock of 
Chickamauga," one of the best known 
commanders during the late Civil war, was 
born in Southampton county, Virginia, July 
31, 1 8 16, his parents being of Welsh and 
French origin respectively. In 1836 young 
Thomas was appointed a cadet at the Mili- 
tary Academy, at West Point, from which 
he graduated in 1840, and was promoted to 
the office of second lieutenant in the Third 
Artillery. Shortly after, with his company, 
he went to Florida, where he served for two 
years against the Seminole Indians. In 
1 84 1 he was brevetted first lieutenant for 
gallant conduct. He remained in garrison 
in the south and southwest until 1845, at 
which date with the regiment he joined the 
army under General Taylor, and participate 



74 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPU} . 



ed in the defense of Fort Brown, the storm- 
ing of Monterey and the battle of Buena 
Vista. After the latter event he remained 
in garrison, now brevetted major, until the 
close of the Mexican war. After a year 
spent in Florida, Captain Thomas was or- 
dered to West Point, where he served as in- 
structor until 1854. He then was trans- 
ferred to California. In May, 1855, Thom- 
as was appointed major of the Second Cav- 
alry, with whom he spent five years in Texas. 
Although a southern man, and surrounded 
by brother officers who all were afterwards 
in the Confederate service, Major Thomas 
never swerved from his allegiance to the 
government. A. S. Johnston was the col- 
onel of the regiment, R. E. Lee the lieuten- 
ant-colonel, and W. J. Hardee, senior ma- 
jor, while among the younger officers were 
Hood, Fitz Hugh Lee, Van Dorn and Kirby 
Smith. When these officers left the regi- 
ment to take up arms for the Confederate 
cause he remained with it, and April 17th, 
1 86 1, crossed the Potomac into his native 
state, at its head. After taking an active part 
in the opening scenes of the war on the Poto- 
mac and Shenandoah, in August, 1861, he 
was promoted to be brigadier-general and 
transferred to the Army of the Cumberland. 
January 19-20, 1862, Thomas defeated 
Crittenden at Mill Springs, and this brought 
him into notice and laid the foundation of 
his fame. He continued in command of his 
division until September 20, 1862, except 
during the Corinth campaign when he com- 
manded the right wing of the Army of the 
Tennessee. He was in command of the 
latter at the battle of Perryville, also, Octo- 
ber 8, 1862. 

On the division of the Army of the Cum- 
berland into corps, January 9, 1863, Gen- 
eral Thomas was assigned to the command 
of the Fourteenth, and at the battle of Chick- 



amauga, after the retreat of Rosecrans, 
firmly held his own against the hosts of Gen- 
eral Bragg. A history of his services from 
that on would be a history of the war in the 
southwest. On September 27, 1864, Gen- 
eral Thomas was given command in Ten- 
nessee, and after organizing his army, de- 
feated General Hood in the battle of Nash- 
ville, December 15 and 16, 1864. Much 
complaint was made before this on account 
of what they termed Thomas' slowness, and 
he was about to be superseded because he 
would not strike until he got ready, but 
when the blow was struck General Grant 
was the first to place on record this vindica- 
tion of Thomas' judgment. He received a 
vote of thanks from Congress, and from the 
legislature of Tennessee a gold medal. Af- 
ter the close of the war General Thomas 
had command of several of the military di- 
visions, and died at San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia, March 28, 1870. 



GEORGE BANCROFT, one of the most 
eminent American historians, was a 
native of Massachusetts, born at Worcester, 
October 3, 1800, and a son of Aaron 
Bancroft, D. D. The father, Aaron Ban- 
croft, was born at Reading, Massachusetts, 
November 10, 1755. He graduated at 
Harvard in 1778, became a minister, and for 
half a century was rated as one of the ablest 
preachers in New England. He was also a 
prolific writer and published a number of 
works among which was " Life of George 
Washington." Aaron Bancroft died August 
19, 1839. 

The subject of our present biography, 
George Bancroft, graduated at Harvard in 
1817, and the following year entered the 
University of Gottingen, where he studied 
history and philology under the most emi- 
nent teachers, and in 1820 received the de- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



75 



fifree of doctor of philosophy at Gottingeii. 
Upon his return home he pubHshed a volume 
of poems, and later a translation of Heeren's 
" Reflections on the Politics of Ancient 
Greece." In 1834 he produced the first 
volume of his " History of the United 
States," this being followed by other vol- 
umes at different intervals later. This was 
bis greatest work and ranks as the highest 
authority, taking its place among the great- 
est of American productions. 

George Bancroft was appointed secretary 
of the navy by President Polk in 1845, but 
resigned in 1846 and became minister pleni- 
potentiary to England. In 1849 he retired 
from public life and took up his residence at 
Washington, D. C. In 1867 he was ap- 
pointed United States minister to the court of 
Berlin and negotiated the treaty by which Ger- 
mans coming to the United States were re- 
leased from their allegiance to the govern- 
ment of their native land. In 1871 he was 
minister plenipotentiary to the German em- 
pire and served until 1874. The death of 
George Bancroft occurred January 17, 1891. 



GEORGE GORDON MEADE, a fa- 
mous Union general, was born at 
Cadiz, Spain, December 30, 18 15, his father 
being United States naval agent at that 
port. After receiving a good education he 
entered the West Point Military Academy 
in 1 83 1. From here he was graduated 
June 30, 1835, ^nd received the rank of 
second lieutenant of artillery. He par- 
ticipated in the Seminole war, but resigned 
from the army in October, 1836. He en- 
tered upon the profession of civil engineer, 
which he followed for several years, part of 
the time in the service of the government in 
making surveys of the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi river. His report and results of some 
experiments made by him in this service 



gained Meade much credit. He alsu was 
employed in surveying the boundary luie of 
Texas and the northeastern boundary line 
between the United States and Canada. 
In 1842 he was reappointed in the arnjy to 
the position of second lieutenant of engineers. 
During the Mexican war he served with dis- 
tinction on the staff of General Taylor in 
the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma 
and the storming of Monterey. He received 
his brevet of first lieutenant for the latter 
action. In 1851 he was made full first 
lieutenant in his corps; a captain in 1856, 
and major soon after. At the close of the 
war with Mexico he was employed in light- 
house construction and in geodetic surveys 
until the breaking out of the Rebellion, in 
which he gained great reputation. In 
August, 1 86 1, he was made brigadier-general 
of volunteers and placed in command of the 
second brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves, 
a division of the First Corps in the Army of 
the Potomac. In the campaign of 1862, 
under McClellan, Meade took an active 
part, being present at the battles of Mechan- 
icsville, Gaines' Mill and Glendale, in the 
latter of which he was severely wounded. 
On rejoining his command he was given a 
division and distinguished himself at its head 
in the battles of South Mountain and Antie- 
tam. During the latter, on the wounding 
of General Hooker, Meade was placed in 
command of the corps and was himself 
slightly wounded. For services he was 
promoted, November, 1862, to the rank 
of major-general of volunteers. On the 
recovery of General Hooker General Meade 
returned to his division and in December, 
1862, at Fredericksburg, led an attack 
which penetrated Lee's right line and swept 
to his rear. Being outnumbered and un- 
supported, he finally was driven back. The 
same month Meade was assigned to the 



76 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



command of the Fifth Corps, and at Chan- 
cellorsville in May, 1863, his sagacity and 
ability so struck General Hooker that when 
the latter asked to be relieved of the com- 
mand, in June of the same year, he nomi- 
nated Meade as his successor. June 28, 
1863, President Lincohi commissioned Gen- 
eral Meade commander-in-chief of the Army 
of the Potomac, then scattered and moving 
hastily through Pennsylvania to the great 
and decisive battlefield at Gettysburg, at 
which he was in full command. With the 
victory on those July days the name of 
Meade will ever be associated. From that 
time until the close of the war he com- 
manded the Army of the Potomac. In 
1864 General Grant, being placed at the 
head of all the armies, took up his quarters 
with the Army of the Potomac. From that 
time until the surrender of Lee at Appo- 
matox Meade's ability shone conspicuously, 
and his tact in the delicate position in lead- 
ing his army under the eye of his superior 
officer commanded the respect and esteem 
of General Grant. For services Meade was 
promoted to the rank of major-general, and 
on the close of hostilities, in July, 1865, 
was assigned to the command of the military 
division of the Atlantic, with headquarters 
at Philadelphia. This post he held, with 
the exception of a short period on detached 
duty in Georgia, until his death, which took 
place November 6, 1872. 



DAVID CROCKETT was a noted hunter 
and scout, and also one of the earliest 
of American humorists. He was born Au- 
gust 17, 1786, in Tennessee, and was one 
of the most prominent men of his locality, 
serving as representative in congress from 
1827 until 1 83 1. He attracted consider- 
able notice while a member of congress and 
was closely associated with General Jack- 



son, of whom he was a personal friend. Ke 
went to Texas and enlisted in the Texan 
army at the time of the revolt of Texas 
against Mexico and gained a wide reputa- 
tion as a scout. He was one of the famous 
one hundred and forty men under Colonel 
W. B. Travis who were besieged in P'ort 
Alamo, near San Antonio, Texas, by Gen- 
eral Santa Anna with some five thousand 
Mexicans on February 23, 1S36. The fort 
was defended for ten days, frequent assaults 
being repelled with great slaughter, over 
one thousand Mexicans being killed or 
wounded, while not a man in the fort was 
injured. Finally, on March 6, three as- 
saults were made, and in the hand-to-hand 
fight that followed the last, the Texans were 
wofully outnumbered and overpowered. 
They fought desperately with clubbed mus- 
kets till only six were left alive, including 
W. B. Travis, David Crockett and James 
Bowie. These surrendered under promise 
of protection; but when they were brought 
before Santa Anna he ordered them all to 
be cut to pieces. 



HENRY WATTERSON, one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the history of 
American journalism, was born at Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia, February 16, 
1840. His boyhood days were mostly spent 
in the city of his birth, where his father, 
Harvey M. Watterson, was editor of the 
"Union," a well known journal. 

Owing to a weakness of the eyes, which 
interfered with a systematic course of study, 
young Watterson was educated almost en- 
tirely at home. A successful college career 
was out of the question, but he acquired a 
good knowledge of music, literature and art 
from private tutors, but the most valuable 
part of tiie training he received was by as- 
sociating with his father and the throng 01 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



public men whom he met in \\'ashington 
in the stirring days immediately preceding 
the Civil war. He began his journalistic 
career at an early age as dramatic and 
musical critic, and in 185S, became editor 
of the "Democratic Review" and at the 
same time contributed to the "States," 
a journal of liberal opinions published in 
Washington. In this he remained until 
the breaking out of the war, when the 
"States," opposing the administration, was 
suppressed, and young Watterson removed 
to Tennessee. He next appears as editor 
of the Nashville "Republican Banner," the 
moFt influential paper in the state at that 
time. After the occupation of Nashville by 
the Federal troops, Watterson served as a 
volunteer staff officer in the Confederate 
service until the close of the war, with the 
exception of a year spent in editing the 
Chattanooga "Rebel." On the close of 
the war he returned to Nashville and re- 
sumed his connection with the "Banner." 
After a trip to Europe he assumed control 
of the Louisville "Journal," which he soon 
combined with the "Courier" and the 
"Democrat" of that place, founding the 
well-known "Courier-Journal," the first 
number of which appeared November 8, 
1868. Mr. Watterson also represented his 
district in congress for several years. 



)ATRICK SARSFIELD GILMORE, 
cue of the most successful and widely 
known bandmasters and musicians of the 
last half century in America, was born in 
Ballygar, Ireland, on Christmas day, 1829. 
He attended a public school until appren- 
ticed to a wholesale merchant at Athlbne, 
of the brass band of which town he soon 
became a member. His passion for music 
conflicting with the duties of a mercantile 
life, his position as clerk was exchanged for 



that of musical instructor to the young sons 
of his employer. At the age of nineteen he 
sailed for America and two days after his 
arrival in Boston was put in charge of the 
band instrument department of a prominent 
music house. In the interests of the pub- 
lications of this house he organized a minstrel 
company known as " Ord way's Eolians," 
with which he first achieved success as a 
cornet soloist. Later on he was called the 
best E-flat cornetist in the United States. 
He became leader, successively, of the Suf- 
folk, Boston Brigade and Salem bands. 
During his connection with the latter he 
inaugurated the famous Fourth of July con- 
certs on Boston Common, since adopted as 
a regular programme for the celebration of 
Independence Day. In 1858 Mr. Gilmore 
founded the organisation famous thereafter 
as Gilmore's Band. At the outbreak of the 
Civil war this band was attached to the 
Twenty-Fourth , Massachusetts Infantry. 
Later, when the economical policy of dis- 
pensing with music had proved a mistake, 
Gilmore was entrusted with the re-organiza- 
tion of state military bands, and upon his 
arrival at New Orleans with his own band 
was made bandmaster-general by General 
Banks. On the inauguration of Governor 
Hahn, later on, in Lafaj'ette square, New 
Orleans, ten thousand children, mostly of 
Confederate parents, rose to the baton of 
Gilmore and, accompanied by six hundred 
instruments, thirty-six guns and the united 
fire of three regiments of infantry, sang the 
Star-Spangled Banner, America and other 
patriotic Union airs. In June, 1867, Mr. 
Gilmore conceived a national musical festi- 
val, which was denounced as a chimericsl 
undertaking, but he succeeded and June 15. 
1869, stepped upon the stage of the Boston 
Colosseum, a vast structure erected for the 
occasion, and in the presence of over fifty 



COMTENDJUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



thousand people lifted his baton over an 
orchestra of one thousand and a chorus of 
ten thousand. On the 17th of June, 1872, 
he opened a still greater festival in Boston, 
■when, in addition to an orchestra of two 
thousand and a chorus of twenty thousand, 
were present the Band of the Grenadier 
Guards, of London, of the Garde Repub- 
licaine, of Paris, of Kaiser Franz, of Berlin, 
and one from Dublin, Ireland, together with 
Johann Strauss, Franz Abt and many other 
soloists, vocal and instrumental. Gilmore's 
death occurred September 24, 1S92. 



M 



ARTIN VAN BUREN was the eighth 
president of the United States, 1837 
to 1841. He was of Dutch extraction, and 
his ancestors were among the earliest set- 
tlers on the banks of the Hudson. He was 
born December 5, 1782, at Kinderhook, 
New York. Mr. Van Buren took up the 
study of law at the age of fourteen and took 
an active part in political matters before he 
had attained his majority. He commenced 
the practice of law in 1803 at his native 
town, and in 1S09 he removed to Hudson, 
Columbia county, New York, where he 
spent seven years gaining strength and wis- 
dom from his contentions at the bar with 
some of the ablest men of the profession. 
Mr. Van Buren was elected to the state 
senate, and from 18 15 until 18 19 he was at- 
torney-general of the state. He was re- 
elected to the senate in i8i6, and in 18 18 
he was one of the famous clique of politi- 
cians known as the "Albany regency." 
Mr. Van Buren was a member of the con- 
vention for the revision of the state consti- 
tution, in 182 I. In the same year he was 
elected to the United States senate and 
served his term in a manner that caused his 
re-election to that body in 1827, but re- 
signed the following year as he had been 



elected governor of New York. Mr. Van 
Buren was appointed by President Jackson as 
secretary of state in March, 1829, but resigned 
in 1831, and during the recess of congress 
he was appointed minister to England. 
The senate, however, when it convened in 
December refused to ratify the appointment. 
In May, 1832, he was nominated by the 
Democrats as their candidate for vice-presi- 
dent on the ticket with Andrew Jackson, 
and he was elected in the following Novem- 
ber. He received the nomination to suc- 
ceed President Jackson in 1836, as the 
Democratic candidate, and in the electoral 
college he received one hundred and seventy 
votes out of two hundred and eighty-three, 
and was inaugurated March 4, 1837. His 
administration was begun at a time of great 
business depression, and unparalled financial 
distress, which caused the suspension of 
specie payments by the banks. Nearly 
every bank in the country was forced to 
suspend specie payment, and no less than 
two hundred and fifty-four business houses 
failed in New York in one week. The 
President urged the adoption of the inde- 
pendent treasury idea, which passed through 
the senate twice but each time it was de- 
feated in the house. However the measure 
ultimately became a law near the close of 
President Van Buren's term of office. An- 
other importaat measure that was passed 
was the pre-emption law that gave the act- 
ual settlers preference in the purchase of 
public lands. The question of slavery had 
begun to assume great preponderance dur- 
ing this administration, and a great conflict 
was tided over by the passage of a resolu- 
tion that prohibited petitions or papers that 
in any way related to slavery to be acted 
upon. In the Democratic convention of 
1840 President Van Buren secured the 
nomination for re-election on that ticket 



COMPEXDIi'M OF BIOGRAriir. 



79 



without opposition, but in the election he 
only received the votes of seven states, his 
opponent, W. H. Harrison, being elected 
president. In 1848 Mr. Van Buren was 
the candidate of the " Free-Soilers," but 
was unsuccessful. After this he retired 
from public life and spent the remainder of 
his life on his estate at Kinderhook, where 
he died July 24, 1862. 

W INFIELD SCOTT, a distinguished 
American general, was born June 13, 
1786, near Petersburg, Dinwiddle county, 
Virginia, and was educated at the Wiliiam 
and Mary College. He studied law and was 
.admitted to the bar, and in 1808 he accepted 
an appointment as captain of light artillery, 
and was ordered to New Orleans. In June, 

18 1 2, he was promoted to be lieutenant- 
■colonel, and on application was sent to the 
frontier, and reported to General Smyth, 
near Buffalo. He was made adjutant-gen- 
•eral with the rank of a colonel, in March, 

1 8 1 3, and the same month attained the colo- 
nelcy of his regiment. He participated in 
the principal battles of the war and was 
wounded many times, and at the close of 
the war he was voted a gold medal by con- 
gress for his services. He was a writer of 
considerable merit on military topics, and 
he gave to the military science, "General 
Regulations of the Army " and " System of 
Infantry and Rifle Practice." He took a 
prominent part in the Black Hawk war, 
and at the beginning of the Mexican war he 
was appointed to take the command of the 
army. Gen. Scott immediately assembled 
his troops at Lobos Island from which he 
moved by transports to Vera Cruz, which 
he took March 29, 1847, and rapidly fol- 
lowed up his first success. He fought the 
■battles of Cerro Gordo and Jalapa, both of 
which he won, and proceeded to Pueblo 



where he was preceded by Worth's division 
which had taken the town and waited for the 
coming of Scott. The army was forced to 
wait here for supplies, and August 7th, 
General Scott started on his victorious 
march to the city of Mexico with ten thou- 
sand, seven hundred and thirty-eight men. 
The battles of Contreras, Cherubusco and 
San Antonio were fought August 19-20, 
and on the 24th an armistice was agreed 
upon, but as the commissioners could not 
agree on the terms of settlement, the fight- 
ing was renewed at Molino Del Rey, and 
the Heights of Chapultepec were carried 
by the victorious army of General Scott. 
He gave the enemy no respite, however, 
and vigorously followed up his advantages. 
On September 14, he entered the City of 
Mexico and dictated the terms of surrender 
in the very heart of the Mexican Republic. 
General Scott was offered the presidency of 
the Mexican Republic, but declined. Con- 
gress extended him a vote of thanks and 
ordered a gold medal be struck in honor of 
his generalship and bravery. He was can- 
didate for the presidency on the Whig plat- 
form but was defeated. He was honored by 
having the title of lieutenant-general con- 
ferred upon him in 1855. At the beginning of 
the Civil war he was too infirm to take charge 
of the army, but did signal service in be- 
half of the government. He retired from 
the service November i, 1861, and in 1864. 
he published his "Autobiography." Gen- 
eral Scott died at West Point, May 29, 1866 



EDWARD EVERETT HALE for many 
years occupied a high place among the 
most honored of America's citizens. As 
a preacher he ranks among the foremost 
in the New England states, but to the gen ■ 
eral public he is best known through his 
writings. Born in Boston, Mass., April 3, 



80 



coMPExnn.^f OF nioGRAi'Jir. 



1822, a descendant of one of the most 
^jrominent New England families, he enjoyed 
in his youth many of the advantages denied 
the majority of boys. He received his pre- 
paratory schooling at the Boston Latin 
School, after which he finished his studies at 
Harvard where he was graduated with high 
honors in 1839. Having studied theology 
at home, Mr. Hale embraced the ministry 
and in 1846 became pastor of a Unitarian 
church in Worcester, Massachusetts, a post 
which he occupied about ten years. He 
then, in 1856, became pastor of the South 
Congregational church in Boston, over which 
he presided many years. 

Mr. Hale also found time to write a 
great many literary works of a high class. 
v\mong many other well-known productions 
-ii his are " The Rosary," " Margaret Per- 
iival in America." "Sketches of Christian 
-Jistory," "Kansas and Nebraska," "Let- 
ters on Irish Emigration," " Ninety Days' 
Worth of Europe," " If, Yes, and Perhaps," 
"Ingham Papers," "Reformation," "Level 
Best and Other Stories, " " Ups and Downs, " 
"Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," " In 
His Name," "Our New Crusade," "Work- 
ingmen's Homes," "Boys' Heroes," etc., 
etc., besides many others which might be 
mentioned. One of his works, " In His 
Name," has earned itself enduring fame by 
the good deeds it has called forth. The 
numerous associations known as ' 'The King's 
Daughters," which has accomplished much 
good, owe their existence to the story men- 
tioned. 



DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT stands 
pre-eminent as one of the greatest na- 
val officers of the world. He was born at 
Campbell's Station, East Tennessee, July 
5, 1801, and entered the navy of the United 
States as a midshipman. He had the good 



fortune to serve under Captain David Por- 
ter, who commanded the " Esse.x," and by 
whom he was taught the ideas of devotion 
to duty from which he never swerved dur- 
ing all his career. In 1823 Mr. Farragut 
took part in a severe fight, the result of 
which was the suppression of piracy in the 
West Indies. He then entered upon the 
regular duties of his profession which was 
only broken into by a year's residence with 
Charles Folsom, our consul at Tunis, who 
was afterwards a distinguished professor at 
Harvard. Mr. Farragut was one of the best 
linguists in the navy. He had risen through 
the different grades of the service until the 
war of 1861-65 found him a captain resid- 
ing at Norfolk, Virginia. He removed with 
his family to Hastings, on the Hudson, and 
hastened to offer his services to the Federal 
government, and as the capture of New 
Orleans had been resolved upon, Farragut 
was chosen to command the expedition. 
His force consisted of the West Gulf block- 
ading squadron and Porter's mortar flotilla. 
In January, 1862, he hoisted his pennant at 
the mizzen peak of the "Hartford"' at 
Hampton roads, set sail from thence on the 
3rd of February and reached Ship Island on 
the 20th of the same month. A council of 
war was held on the 20th of April, in which 
it was decided that whatever was to be done 
must be done quickly. The signal was made 
from the flagship and accordingly the fleet 
weighed anchor at 1:55 on the morning of 
April 24th, and at 3:30 the whole force was 
underway. Thehistory of this brilliant strug- 
gle is well known, and the glory of it made Far- 
ragut a hero and also made him rear admir- 
al. In the summer of 1 862 he ran the batteries 
at Vicksburg, and on March 14, 1863, he 
passed through the fearful and destructive 
fire from Port Hudson, and opened up com- 
munication with Flag-officer Porter, whO' 



COMPEXDIVM OF BIOGRArHT. 



m 



had control of the upper Mississippi. On 
May 24th he commenced active operations 
against that fort in conjunction with the army 
and it fell on July 9th. Mr. Farragut filled 
the measure of his fame on the 5th of Au- 
gust, 1864, by his great victory, thecapture 
of Mobile Bay and the destruction of the 
Confederate fleet, including the formidable 
ram Tennessee. For this victory the rank 
of admiral was given to Mr. Farragut. He 
died at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Au- 
gust 4, 1870. 

GEORGE W. CHILDS, a philanthropist 
whose remarkable "personality stood 
for the best and highest type of American 
citizenship, and whose whole life was an 
object lesson in noble living, was born in 
1829 at Baltimore, Maryland, of humble 
parents, and spent his early life in unremit- 
ting toil. He was a self-made man in the 
fullest sense of the word, and gained his 
great wealth by his own efforts. He was a 
man of very great influence, and this, in 
conjunction with his wealth, would have 
been, in the hands of other men, a means of 
getting them political preferment, but Mr. 
Childs steadily declined any suggestions that 
would bring him to figure prominently in 
public affairs. He did not choose to found 
a financial dynasty, but devoted all his 
powers to the helping of others, with the 
most enlightened beneficence and broadest 
sympathy. Mr. Childs once remarked that 
his greatest pleasure in life was in doing 
good to others. He always despised mean- 
ness, and one of his objects of life was to 
prove that a man could be liberal and suc- 
cessful at the same time. Upon these lines 
Mr. Childs made a name for himself as the 
director of one of the representative news- 
papers of America, "The Philadelphia Pub- 
lic Ledger," which was owned jointly by 



himself and the Drexel estate, and which he 
edited for thirty years. He acquired con- 
trol of the paper at a time when it was be- 
ing published at a heavy loss, set it upon a 
firm basis of prosperity, and he made it 
more than a money- making machine — he 
made it respected as an exponent of the 
best side of journalism, and it stands as a 
monument to his sound judgment and up- 
right business principles. Mr. Childs' char- 
itable repute brought him many applications 
for assistance, and he never refused to help 
any one that was deserving of aid; and not 
only did he help those who asked, but he 
would by careful inquiry find those who 
needed aid but were too proud to solicit it. 
He was a ' considerable employer of labor 
and his liberality was almost unparalleled. 
The death of this great and good man oc- 
curred February 3d, 1894. 



PATRICK HENRY won his way to un 
dying fame in the annals of the early 
history of the United States by introducing 
into the house of burgesses his famous reso- 
lution against the Stamp Act, which he car- 
ried through, after a stormy debate, by a 
majority of one. At this time he exclaimed 
" Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Crom- 
well and George IH " (here he was inter- 
rupted by cries of " treason ") " may profit 
by their example. If this be treason make 
the most of it." 

Patrick Henry was born at Studley, 
Hanover county, Virginia, May 29, 1736, 
and was a son of Colonel John Henry, a 
magistrate and school teacher of Aberdeen, 
Scotland, and a nephew of Robertson, the 
historian. He received his education from 
his father, and was married at the age of 
eighteen. He was twice bankrupted before 
he had reached his twenty-fourth year, when 
after six weeks of study he was admitted to 



84 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



the bar. He worked for three years with- 
out a case and finally was applauded for his 
plea lor the people's rights and gained im- 
mense popularity. After his famous Stamp 
Act resolution he was the leader of the pa- 
triots in Virginia. In 1769 he was admitted 
to practice in the general courts and speed- 
ily won a fortune by his distinguished ability 
as a speaker. He was the first speaker of 
the General Congress at Philadelphia in 
1774. He was for a time a colonel of 
militia in 1775, and from 1776 to 1779 and 
1 78 1 to 1786 he was governor of Virginia. 
For a number of years he retired from pub- 
lic life and was tendered and declined a 
number of important political offices, and in 
March, 1789, he was elected state senator 
but oid not take his seat on account of his 
death which occurred at Red Hill, Charlotte 
county, Virginia, June 6, 1799. 



BENEDICT ARNOLD, an American 
general and traitor of the Revolution- 
ary war, is one of the noted characters in 
American history. He was born in Nor- 
wich, Connecticut, January 3, 1740. He 
ran away and enlisted in the army when 
young, but deserted in a short time. He 
then became a merchant at New Haven, 
Connecticut, but failed. In 1775 he was 
commissioned colonel in the Massachusetts 
militia, and in the autumn of that year was 
placed in command of one thousand men 
for the invasion of Canada. He marched 
his army through the forests of Maine and 
joined General Montgomery before Quebec. 
Their combined forces attacked that city on 
December 31, 1775, and Montgomery was 
killed, and Arnold, severely wounded, was 
compelled to retreat and endure a rigorous 
winter a few miles from the city, where they 
were at the mercy of the Canadian troops 
had they cared to attack them. On his re- 



turn he was raised to the rank of brigadier- 
general. He was given command of a small 
flotilla on Lake Champlain, with which he 
encountered an immense force, and though 
defeated, performed many deeds of valor. 
He resented the action of congress in pro- 
moting a number of his fellow officers and 
neglecting himself. In 1777 he was made 
major-general, and under General Gates at 
Bemis Heights fought valiantly. For some 
reason General Gates found fault with his 
conduct and ordered him under arrest, and 
he was kept in his tent until the battle of 
Stillwater was waxing hot, when Arnold 
mounted his horse and rode to the front of 
his old troop, gave command to charge, and 
rode like a mad man into the thickest of 
the fight and was not overtaken by Gates' 
courier until he had routed the enemy and 
fell wounded. Upon his recovery he was 
made general, and was placed in command 
at Philadelphia. Here he married, and his 
acts of rapacity soon resulted in a court- 
martial. He was sentenced to be repri- 
manded by the commander-in-chief, and 
though Washington performed this duty 
with utmost delicacy and consideration, it 
was never forgiven. Arnold obtained com- 
mand at West Point, the most important 
post held by the Americans, in 1780, and 
immediately offered to surrender it to Sir 
Henry Clinton, British commander at New 
York. Major Andre was sent to arrange 
details with Arnold, but on his return trip 
to New York he was captured by Americans, 
the plot was detected, and Andre suffered 
the death penalty as a spy. Arnold es- 
caped, and was paid about $40,000 by the 
British for his treason and was made briga- 
dier-general. He afterward commanded an 
expedition that plundered a portion of Vir- 
ginia, and another that burned New Lon- 
don, Connecticut, and captured Fort Trum- 



coMPEXBii'M ar BIOGRArnr 



85. 



bull, the commandant of which Arnold mur- 
dered with the sword he had just surren- 
dercd. He passed the latter part of his life 
in England, universally despised, and died 
in London June 14, 1801. 



ROBERT G. INGERSOLL, one of the 
most brilliant orators that America has 
produced, also a lawyer of considerable 
merit, won most of his fame as a lecturer. 
Mr. Ingersoll was born Auj:;ust 24, 1833, 
at Dryden, Gates county. New York, and 
received hiseducation in the common schools. 
He went west at the age of twelve, and for 
a short time he attended an academy in 
Tennessee, and also taught school in that 
state. He began the practice of law in the 
southern part of Illinois in 1854. Colonel 
Iiigcrsoll's principal fame was made in 
the lecture room by his lectures in which he 
ridiculed religious faith and creeds and criti- 
cised the Bible and the Christian religion. 
He was the orator of the day in the Decora- 
tion Day celebration in the city of New York 
in 1S82 and his oration was widely com- 
mended. He first attracted political notice 
in the convention at Cincinnati in 1876 by 
his brilliant eulogy on James G. Blaine. He 
practiced law in Peoria, Illinois, for a num- 
ber of years, but later located in the city of 
New York. He published the follow- 
ing: "The Gods and other Lectures;" "The 
Ghosts;" "Some Mistakes of Moses;" 
"What Shall I Do To Be Saved;" "Inter- 
views on Talmage and Presbyterian Cate- 
chism ;" The "North American Review 
Controversy;" "Prose Poems;" " A Vision 
of War;" etc. 



JOSEPH ECCLESTON JOHNSTON, 
a noted general in the Confederate army, 
was born in Prince Edward county, Virginia, 
in 1S07. He graduated from West Point 



and entered the army in 1829. For a num- 
ber of years his chief service was garrison 
duty. He saw active service, however, in 
the Seminole war in Florida, part of the 
time as a staff officer of General Scott. He 
resigtied his commission in 1S37, but re- 
turned to the army a year later, and was 
brevetted captain for gallant services in 
Florida. He was made first lieutenant of 
topographical engineers, and was engaged 
in river and harbor improvements and also 
in the survey of the Texas boundary and 
the northern boundary of the United 
States until the beginning of the war 
with Mexico. He was at the siege of Vera 
Cruz, and at the battle of Cerro Gordo, was 
wounded while reconnoitering the enemy's 
position, after which he was brevetted major 
and colonel. He was in all the battles about 
the city of Mexico, and was again wounded 
in the final assault upon that city. After 
the Mexican war closed he returned to duty 
as captain of topographical engineers, but 
in 1855 he was made lieutenant-colonel of 
cavalry and did frontier duty, and was ap- 
pointed inspector-general of the expedition 
to Utah. In i860 he was appointed quar- 
termaster-general with rank of brigadier- 
general. At the outbreak of hostilities in 
1 86 1 he resigned his commission and re- 
ceived the appointment of major-general of 
the Confederate army. He held Harper's 
Ferry, and later fought General Patterson 
about Winchester. At the battle of Bull 
Run he declined command in favor of Beau- 
regard, and acted underthat general's direc- 
tions. He commanded the Confederates in 
the famous Peninsular campaign, and was 
severely wounded at Fair Oaks and was 
succeeded in command by General Lee. 
Upon his recovery he was made lieutenant- 
general and assigned to the command of the 
southwestern department. He attempted 



SB 



COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAPHr. 



to raise the siege of Vicksburg, and was 
finally defeated at Jackson, Mississippi. 
Having been made a general he succeeded 
General Bragg in command of the army of 
Tennessee and was ordered to check General 
Sherman's advance upon Atlanta. Not 
daring to risk a battle with the overwhelm- 
ing forces of Sherman, he slowly retreated 
toward Atlanta, and was relieved of com- 
mand by President Davis and succeeded by 
General Hood. Hood utterly destroyed his 
own army by three furious attacks upon 
Sherman. Johnston was restored to com- 
mand in the Carolinas, and again faced 
Sherman, but was defeated in several en- 
gagements and continued a slow retreat 
toward Richmond. Hearing of Lee's sur- 
render, he communicated with General 
Sherman, and finally surrendered his army 
at Durham, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. 
General Johnston was elected a member 
of the forty-sixth congress and was ap- 
pointed United States railroad commis- 
sioner in 1885. His death occurred March 
21, 1891. 

SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, 
known throughout the civilized world 
as "Mark Twain," is recognized as one of 
the greatest humorists America has pro- 
duced. He was born in Monroe county, 
Missouri, November 30, 1835. Hespenthis 
boyhood days in his native state and many 
of his earlier experiences are related in vari- 
ous forms in his later writings. One of his 
early acquaintances, Capt. Isaiah Sellers, 
at an early day furnished river news for the 
New Orleans " Picayune," using the 710111- 
dc- plume of "Mark Twain." Sellers died 
in 1863 and Clem.ens took up his iioin-dc- 
phnnc and made it famous throughout the 
world by his literary work. In 1862 Mr. 
Clemens became a journalist at Virginia, 



Nevada, and afterward followed the same pro- 
fession at San Francisco and Buffalo, New 
York. He accumulated a fortune from the 
sale of his many publications, but in later 
years engaged in business enterprises, partic- 
ularly the manufacture of a typesetting ma- 
chine, which dissipated his fortune and re- 
duced him almost to poverty , but with resolute 
heart he at once again took up his pen and 
engaged in literary work in the effort to 
regain his lost ground. Among the best 
known of his works may be mentioned the fol- 
lowing: "The Jumping Frog, " "Tom Saw- 
yer," " Roughingit," " Innocents Abroad," 
"Huckleberry Finn," "Gilded Age," 
"Prince and Pauper," "Million Pound 
Bank Note," "A Yankee in King Arthur's 
Court," etc. 

CHRISTOPHER CARSON, better 
known as "Kit Carson;" was an Amer- 
ican trapper and scout who gained a wide 
reputation for his frontier work. He was a 
native of Kentucky, born December 24th, 
1S09. He grew to manhood there, devel- 
oping a natural inclination for adventure in 
the pioneer experiences in his native state. 
When yet a young man he became quite 
well known on the frontier. He served as 
a guide to Gen. Fremont in his Rocky 
Mountain explorations and enlisted in the 
army. He was an officer in the United 
States service in both the Mexican war and 
the great Civil war, and in the latter received 
a brevet of brigadier-general for meritorious 
service. His death occurred May 23, 
1868. 

JOHN SHERMAN.— Statesman, politi- 
cian, cabinet officer and senator, the name 
of the gentleman who heads this sketch is al- 
most a household word throughout this 
country. Identified with some of the most 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



iinpoitant measures adopted by our Govern- 
ment since the close of the Civil war, he may 
well be called one of the leading men of his 
day. 

John Sherman was born at Lancaster, 
Fairfield county, Ohio, May lOth, 1823, 
the son of Charles R. Sherman, an emi- 
nent lawyer and judge of the supreme court 
of Ohio and who died in 1S29. The subject 
of this article received an academic educa- 
tion and was admitted to the bar in 1844. 
In the Whig conventions of 1844 and 1848 
he sat as a delegate. He was a member of 
the National house of representatives, 
from 1855 to 1 86 1. In i860 he was re- 
elected to the same position but was chosen 
United States senator before he took his 
seat in the lower house. He was re-elected 
senator in 1866 and 1872 and was long 
chairman of the committee on finance and 
on agriculture. He took a prominent part 
in debates on finance and on the conduct of 
the war, and was one of the authors of the 
reconstruction measures in 1866 and 1867, 
and was appointed secretary of the treas- 
ury March 7th, 1877. 

Mr. Sherman was re-elected United States 
senator from Ohio January i8th, 1881, and 
again in 1886 and 1892, during which time 
he was regarded as one of the most promi- 
nent leaders of the Republican party, both 
in the senate and in the country. He was 
several times the favorite of his state for the 
nomination for president. 

On the formation of his cabinet in March, 
1897, President McKinley tendered the posi- 
tion of secretary of state to Mr. Sherman, 
which was accepted. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, ninth 
president of the United States, was 
born in Charles county, Virginia, February 
9, 1773, the son of Governor Benjamin 



Harrison. He took a course in Hampden- 
Sidney College with a view to the practice 
of medicine, and then went to Philadelphia 
to study under Dr. Rush, but in 1791 he 
entered the army, and obtained the commis- 
sion of ensign, was soon promoted to the 
lieutenancy, and was with General Wayne 
in his war against the Indians. For his 
valuable service he was promoted to the 
rank of captain and given command of Fort 
Washington, now Cincinnati. He was ap- 
pointed secretary of the Northwest Territory 
in 1797, and in 1799 became its representa- 
tive in congress. In 1801 he was appointed 
governor of Indiana Territory, and held the 
position for twelve years, during which time 
he negotiated important treaties with the In- 
dians, causing them to relinquish millions of 
acres of land, and also won the battle of 
Tippecanoe in 181 1. He succeeded in 
obtaining a change in the law which did not 
permit purchase of public lands in less tracts 
than four thousand acres, reducing the limit 
to three hundred and twenty acres. He 
became major-general of Kentucky militia 
and brigadier-general in the United States 
army in 1812, and won great renown in 
the defense of Fort Meigs, and his victory 
over the British and Indians under Proctor 
and Tecumseh at the Thames river, October 
5. 1813. 

In 1 8 16 General Harrison was elected to 
congress from Ohio, and during the canvass 
was accused of corrupt methods in regard to 
the commissariat of the army. He demanded 
an investigation after the election and was 
exonerated. In 1819 he was elected to 
the Ohio state senate, and in 1824 he gave 
his vote as a presidential elector to Henry 
Clay. He became a member of the United 
States senate the same year. During the 
last year of Adams' administration he was 
sent as minister to Colombia, but was re- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



called by President Jackson the following 
year. He then retired to his estate at North 
Bend, Ohio, a few miles below Cincinnati. In 
1836 he was a candidate for the presidency, 
but as there were three other candidates 
the votes were divided, he receiving seventy- 
three electoral votes, a majority going to 
Mr. Van Buren, the Democratic candidate. 
Four years later General Harrison w^as again 
nominated by the Whigs, and elected by a 
tremendous majority. The campaign, was 
noted for its novel features, many of which 
have found a permanent place in subsequent 
campaigns. Those peculiar to that cam- 
paign, however, were the " log-cabin " and 
" hard cider" watchwords, which produced 
great enthusiasm among his followers. One 
month afler his inauguration he died from 
an attack of pleurisy, April 4, 1S41. 



CHARLES A. DANA, the well-known 
and widely-read journalist of New York 
City, a native of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, 
was born August 8, 1819. He received 
the elements of a good education in his 
youth and studied for two years at Harvard 
University. Owing to some disease of the 
eyes he was unable to complete his course 
and graduate, but was granted the degree of 
A. M. notwithstanding. For some time he 
was editor of the " Harbinger," and was a 
regular contributor to the Boston " Chrono- 
type." In 1S47 he became connected with 
the New York ' ' Tribune, " and continued on 
the staff of that journal until 1858. In the 
latter jear he edited and compiled "The 
Household Book of Poetry," and later, in 
connection with George Ripley, edited the 
"New American Cyclopaedia." 

Mr. Dana, on severing his connection 
with the "Tribune" in 1867, became editor 
of the New York "Sun," a paper with 
which he was identified for many years, and 



which he made one of the leaders of thougiit 
in the eastern part of the United States. 
He wielded a forceful pen and fearlessly 
attacked, whatever was corrupt and unworthy 
in politics, state or national. The same 
year, 1867, Mr. Dana organized the New 
York "Sun " Company. 

During the troublous days of the war, 
when the fate of the Nation depended upon 
the armies in the field, Mr. Dana accepted 
the arduous and responsible position of 
assistant secretary of war, and held the 
position during the greater part of 1863 
and 1864. He died October 17, 1897. 



ASA GRAY was recognized throughout the 
scientific world as one of the ablest 
and most eminent of botanists. He was 
born at Paris, Oneida county, New York, 
November 18, 18 10. He received his medi- 
cal degree at the Fairfield College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons, in Herkimer county. 
New York, and studied botany with the late 
Professor Torrey, of New York. He was 
appointed botanist to the Wilkes expedition 
in 1834, but declined the offer and became 
professor of natural history in Harvard Uni- 
versity in 1842. He retired from the active 
duties of this post in 1873, and in 1874 he 
was the regent of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion at Washington, District of Columbia. 
Dr. Gray wrote several books on the sub- 
ject of the many sciences of which he was 
master. In 1836 he published his " Ele- 
ments of Botany," "Manual of Botany" in 
1848; the unfinished "Flora of North 
America," by himself and Dr. Torrey, the 
publication of which commenced in 1838. 
There is another of his unfinished works 
called "Genera Boreali-Americana, " pub- 
lished in 1848, and the "Botany of the 
United States Pacific Exploring Expedition 
in 1854." He wrote many elaborate papers 



COMPEXDIUM OF BlOGRAPlir. 



89 



on the botany of the west and southwest 
that were published in the Smithsonian Con- 
tributions, Memoirs, etc., of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which in- 
stitution he was president for ten years. 
He was also the author of many of the 
government reports. " How Plants Grow," 
" Lessons in ISotany," " Structural and Sys- 
tematic Botany," are also works from his 
ready pen. 

Dr. Gray published in 1861 his "Free 
Examination of Darwin's Treatise " and his 
" Darwiniana," in 1876. Mr. Gray was 
elected July 29, 1878, to a membership in 
the Institute of France, Academy of Sciences. 
His death occurred at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, January 30, 1889. 



WILLIAM MAXWELL EVARTS was 
one of the greatest leaders of the 
American bar. He was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, February 6, 18 18, and grad- 
uated from Yale College in 1837. He took 
up the study of law, which he practiced in 
the city of New York and won great renown 
as an orator and advocate. He affiliated 
with the Republican party, which he joined 
soon after its organization. He was the 
leading counsel employed for the defense of 
President Johnson in his trial for impeach- 
ment before the senate in April and May of 
1868. 

In July, 1868, Mr. Evarts was appointed 
attorney-general of the United States, and 
served until March 4, 1869. He was one 
of the three lawyers who were selected by 
President Grant in 1871 to defend the inter- 
ests of the citizens of the United States be- 
fore the tribunal of arbitration which met 
at Geneva in Switzerland to settle the con- 
troversy over the " Alabama Claims." 

He was one of the most eloquent advo- 
cates in the United States, and many of his 



public addresses have been preserved and 
published. He was appointed secretary of 
state March 7, 1877, by President Hayes, 
and served during the Hayes administration. 
He was elected senator from the state of 
New York January 21, 1885, and at once 
took rank among the ablest statesmen in 
Congress, and the prominent part he took 
in the discussion of public questions gave 
him a national reputation. 



JOHN \VANAMAKER.--The life of this 
*J great merchant demonstrates the fact 
that the great secret of rising from the ranks 
is, to-day, as in the past ages, not so much the 
ability to make money, as to save it, or in 
other words, the ability to live well within 
one's incom.e. Mr. Wanamaker was born in 
Philadelphia in 1S38. He started out in 
life working in a brickyard for a mere pit- 
tance, and left that position to work in a 
book store as a clerk, where he earned 
the sum of $5.00 per month, and later on 
was in the employ of a clothier where he 
received twenty-five cents a week more. 
He was only fifteen years of age at that 
time, but was a " money-getter " by instinct, 
and laid by a small sum for a possible rainy 
day. By strict attention to business, com- 
bined with natural ability, he v/as promoted 
many times, and at the age of twenty he 
had saved $2,000. After several months 
vacation in the south, he returned to Phila- 
delphia and became a master brick mason, 
but this was too tiresome to the young man, . 
and he opened up the " Oak Hall " clothing 
store in April, 1861, at Philadelphia. The 
capital of the firm was rather limited, but 
finally, after many discouragements, they 
laid the foundations of one of the largest 
business houses in the world. The estab- 
lishment covers at the present writing some 
fourteen acres of floor space, and furnishes 



90 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



employment for five thousand persons. Mr. 
Wanamaker was also a great church worker, 
and built a church that cost him $60,000, 
and he was superintendent of the Sunday- 
school, which had a membership of over 
three thousand children. He steadily re- 
fused to run for mayor or congress and the 
only public office that he ever held was that 
of postmaster-general, under the Harrison 
administration, and here he exhibited his 
extraordinary aptitude for comprehending 
the details of public business. 



^.^VID BENNETT HILL, a Demo- 
cratic politician who gained a na- 
tional reputation, was born August 29, 
1843, at Havana, New York. He was 
educated at the academy of his native town, 
and removed to Elmira, New York, in 1862, 
where he studied law. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1864, in which year he was ap- 
pointed city attorney. Mr. Hill soon gained 
a considerable practice, becoming prominent 
in his profession. He developed a taste for 
politics in which he began to take an active 
part in the different campaigns and became 
the recognized leader of the local Democ- 
racy. In 1870 he was elected a member of 
the assembly and was re-elected in 1872. 
While a member of this assembly he formed 
the acquaintance of Samuel J. Tilden, after- 
ward governor of the state, who appointed 
Mr. Hill, W. M. Evarts and Judge Hand 
as a committee to provide a uniform charter 
for the different cities of the state. The 
pressure of professional engagements com- 
pelled him to decline to serve. In 1877 
I\lr. Hill was made chairman of the Demo- 
cratic state convention at Albany, his elec- 
tion being due to the Tilden wing of the 
party, and he held the same position again 
in 1 88 1. He served one term as alderman 
in Elmira, at the expiration of which term, 



in 1882, he was elected mayor of Elmira, 
and in September of the same year was 
nominated for lieutenant-governor on the 
Democratic state ticket. He was success- 
ful in the campaign and two years later, 
when Grover Cleveland was elected to the 
presidency, Mr. Hill succeeded to the gov- 
ernorship for the unexpired term. In 1885 
he was elected governor for a full term of 
three years, at the end of which he was re- 
elected, his term expiring in 1891, in which 
year he was elected United States senator. 
In the senate he became a conspicuous 
figure and gained a national reputation. 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. — " The noblest 
Roman of them all " was the title by 
which Mr. Thurman was called by his com- 
patriots of the Democracy. He was the 
greatest leader of the Democratic party in 
his day and held the esteem of all the 
people, regardless of their political creeds. 
Mr. Thurman was born November 13, 18 13, 
at Lynchburg, Virginia, where he remained 
until he had attained the age of six years, 
when he moved to Ohio. He received an 
academic education and after graduating, 
took up the study of law, was admitted to 
the bar in 1835, and achieved a brilliant 
success ia that line. In political life he was 
very successful, and his first office was that 
of representative of the state of Ohio in the 
twenty-ninth congress. He was elected 
judge of the supreme court of Ohio in 1851, 
and was chief justice of the same from 1S54 
to 1856. In 1867 he was the choice of the 
Democratic party of his state for governor, 
and was elected to the United States senate 
in 1869 to succeed Benjamin F. Wade, 
and was re-elected to the same position in 
1874. He was a prom.inent figure in the 
senate, until the expiration of his service in 
1881. Mr. Thurman w-as also one of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAP/Il'. 



91 



principal presidental possibilities in the 
Democratic convention held at St. Louis in 
1876. In 1888 he was the Democratic 
nominee for vice-president on the ticket 
with Grover Cleveland, but was defeated. 
Allen Cranberry Thurman died December 
12, 1895, at Columbus, Ohio. 



CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE, better 
known as " Artemus Ward," was born 
April 26, 1834, in the village of Waterford, 
Maine. He was thirteen years old at the 
time of his father's death, and about a year 
later he was apprenticed to John M. Rix, 
who published the "Coos County Dem- 
ocrat " at Lancaster, New Hampshire. Mr. 
Browne remained with him one year, when, 
hearing that his brother Cyrus was starting 
a paper at Norway, Maine, he left Mr. Rix 
and determined to get work on the new 
paper. He worked for his brother until the 
failure of the newspaper, and then went to 
Augusta, Maine, where he remained a few 
weeks and then removed to Skovvhegan, 
and secured a position on the "Clarion." 
But either the climate or the work was not 
satisfactory to him, for one night he silently 
left the town and astonished his good mother 
by appearing unexpectedly at home. Mr. 
Browne then received some letters of recom- 
mendation to Messrs. Snow and Wilder, of 
Boston, at whose office Mrs. Partington's 
(B. P. Shillaber) ' ' Carpet Bag " was printed, 
and he was engaged and remained there for 
three years. He then traveled westward in 
search of employment and got as far as Tif- 
fin, Ohio, where he found employment in the 
office of the "Advertiser," and remained 
there some months when he proceeded to 
Toledo, Ohio, where he became one of the 
staff of the "Commercial," which position 
he held until 1857. Mr. Browne next went 
i;o Cleveland, Ohio, and became the local 



editor of the "Plain Dealer," and it was in 
the columns of this paper that he published 
his first articles and signed them "Artemus 
Ward." In i860 he went to New York and 
became the editor of " Vanity Fair," but 
the idea of lecturing here seized him, and he 
was fully determined to make the trial. 
Mr. Browne brought out his lecture, "Babes 
in the Woods " at Clinton Hall, December 
23, 1861, and in 1862 he published his first 
book entitled, " Artemus Ward; His Book." 
He attained great fame as a lecturer and his 
lectures were not confined to America, for 
he went to England in 1866, and became 
exceedingly popular, both as a lecturer and 
a contributor to "Punch." Mr. Browne 
lectured for the last time January 23, 1867. 
He died in Southampton, England, March 
6, 1867. 

THURLOW WEED, a noted journalist 
and politician, was born in Cairo, New 
York, November 15, 1797. He learned the 
printer's trade at the age of twelve years, 
and worked at this calling for several years 
in various villages in central New York. He 
served as quartermaster-sergeant during the 
warof 1812. In 1818 he established the 
"Agriculturist," at Norwich, New York, 
and became editor of the "Anti-Masonic 
Enquirer," at Rochester, in 1826. In the 
same year he was elected to the legislature 
and re-elected in 1830, when he located in 
Albany, New York, and there' started the 
" Evening Journal," and conducted it in op- 
position to the Jackson administration and 
the nullification doctrines of Calhoun. He 
became an adroit party manager, and was 
instrumental in promoting the nominations 
of Harrison, Taylor and Scott for the pres- 
idency. In 1856 and in i860 he threw his 
support to W. H. Seward, but when defeat- 
ed in his object, he gave cordial support to 



92 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAI'Hr. 



Fremont and Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln pre- 
vailed upon him to visit the various capitals 
of Europe, where he proved a valuable aid 
to the administration in moulding the opin- 
ions of the statesmen of that continent 
favorable to the cause of the Union. 

Mr. Weed's connection with the ' ' Even- 
ing Journal " was severed in 1862, when he 
settled in New York, and for a time edited 
the " Commercial Advertiser." In 1868 he 
retired from active life. His " Letters from 
Europe and the West Indies," published in 
1866, together with some interesting " Rem- 
iniscences," published in the "Atlantic 
Monthly," in 1870, an autobiography, and 
portions of an extensive correspondence will 
be of great value to writers of the political 
history of the United States. Mr. Weed 
died in New York, November 22, 1882. 



WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY, 
one of the prominent Democratic 
politicians of the country and ex-secretary of 
the navy, was born July 5th, 1841, at Con- 
way, Massachusetts, and received his edu- 
cation at Williston Seminary, East Hamp- 
ton, Massachusetts. Later he attended 
Yale College, where he graduated in 1863, 
and entered the Harvard Law School, which 
he left in 1864. Beginning practice in New 
York city, he soon gained a reputation as 
an able lawyer. He made his first appear- 
ance in public affairs in 1871, when he was 
active in organizing a young men's Demo- 
cratic club. In 1872 he was the recognized 
leader of the county Democracy and in 1875 
was appointed corporation counsel for the 
city of New York. He resigned the office, 
1882, to attend to personal interests and on 
March 5, 1885, he was appointed secretary 
of the navy by President Cleveland. Under 
his administration the navy of the United 
States rapidly rose in rank among the navies 



of the world. When he retired from office 
in 1889, the vessels of the United States 
navy designed and contracted for by him 
were five double-turreted monitors, two 
new armor-ciads, the dynamite cruiser "Ve- 
suvius," and five unarmored steel and iron 
cruisers. 

Mr. Whitney was the leader of the 
Cleveland forces in the national Democratic 
convention of 1892. 



EDWIN FORREST, the first and great- 
est American tragedian, was born in 
Philadelphia in 1806. His father was a 
tradesman, and some accounts state that he 
had marked out a mercantile career for his 
son, Edwin, while others claim that he had 
intended him for the ministry. His wonder- 
ful memory, his powers of mimicry and his 
strong musical voice, however, attracted at- 
tention before he was eleven years old, and 
at that age he made his first appearance on 
the stage. The costume in which he appeared 
was so ridiculous that he left the stage in a 
fit of anger amid a roar of laughter from 
the audience. This did not discourage him, 
however, and at the age of fourteen, after 
some preliminary training in elocution, he 
appeared again, this time as Young Norvel, 
and gave indications of future greatness. 
Up to 1826 he played entirely with strolling 
companies through the south and west, but 
at that time he obtained an engagement at 
the Bowery Theater in New York. From 
that time his fortune was made. His man- 
ager paid him $40 per night, and it is stated 
that he loaned Forrest to other houses from 
time to time at $200 per night. His great 
successes were Virginius, Damon, Othello, 
Coriolanus, William Tell, Spartacus and 
Lear. He made his first appearance in 
London in 1836, and his success was un- 
questioned from the start. In 1S45, on h:s 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



93 



second appearance in London, he became 
involved in a bitter rivalry with the great 
English actor, Macready, who had visited 
America two years before. The result was 
that Forrest was hissed from the stage, and 
it was charged that Macready had instigated 
the plot. Forrest's resentment was so bitter 
that he himself openly hissed Macready 
from his box a few nights later. In 1848 
Macready again visited America at a time 
when American admiration and enthusiasm 
for Forrest had reached its height. Macready 
undertook to play at Astor Place Opera 
House in May, 1849, t>ut was hooted off the 
stage. A few nights later Macready made a 
second attempt to play at the same house, 
this time under police protection. The house 
was filled with Macready's friends, but the vio- 
olence of the mob outside stopped the play, 
and the actor barely escaped with his life. 
Upon reading the riot act the police and 
troops were assaulted with stones. The 
troops replied, first with blank cartridges, 
and then a volley of lead dispersed the 
mob, leaving thirty men dead or seriously 
wounded. 

After this incident Forrest's popularity 
waned, until in 1855 he retired from the 
stage. He re-appeared in i860, however, 
and probably the most remunerative period 
of his life was between that date and the 
close of the Civil war. His last appearance 
on the stage was at the Globe Theatre, 
Boston, in Richelieu, in April, 1872, his 
death occurring December 12 of that year. 



NOAH PORTER, D. D., LL. D., was 
one of the most noted educators, au- 
thors and scientific writers of the United 
States. He was born December 14, 181 1, 
at Farmington, Connecticut, grailuated at 
Yale College in 183 1, and was master of 
Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven in 



1831-33. During 1833-35 he was a tutor 
at Yale, and at the same time was pursuing 
his theological studies, and became pastor 
of the Congregational church at New Mil- 
ford, Connecticut, in April, 1836. Dr. 
Porter removed to Springfield, Massachu- 
setts, in 1843, and was chosen professor of 
metaphysics and moral philosophy at Yale 
in 1846. He spent a year in Germany in 
the study of modern metaphysics in 1853— 
54, and in 1871 he was elected president of 
Yale College. He resigned the presidency 
in 1885, but still remained professor of met- 
aphysics and moral philosophy. He was 
the author of a number of works, among 
which are the following: " Historical Es- 
say," written in commemorationof the 200th 
aniversary of the settlement of the town of 
Farmington; " Educational System of the 
Jesuits Compared;" "The Human Intel- 
lect," with an introduction upon psychology 
and the soul; " Books and Reading;" 
"American Colleges and the American Pub- 
lic;" " Elementsof Intellectual Philosophy;" 
" The Science of Nature versus the Science 
of Man;" " Science and Sentiment;" " Ele- 
ments of Moral Science." Dr. Porter was 
the principal editor of the revised edition of 
Webster's Dictionary in 1864, and con- 
tributed largely to religious reviews and 
periodicals. Dr. . Porter's death occurred 
March 4, 1892, at New Haven, Connecticut. 



JOHN TYLER, tenth president of the 
United States, was born in Charles City 
county, Virginia, March 29, 1790, and v/as 
the son of Judge John Tyler, one of the 
most distinguished men of his day. 

When but twelve years of age young 
John Tyler entered William and Mary Col- 
lege, graduating from there in 1806. He 
took up the study of law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1809, when but nineteen years 



94 



COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAPlir. 



of age. On attaining his majority in iSii 
he was elected a member of the state legis- 
lature, and for five years held that position 
by the almost unanimous vote of his county. 
He was elected to congress in 1816, and 
served in that body for four years, after 
which for two years he represented his dis- 
trict again in the legislature of the state. 
Whije in congress, he opposed the United 
States bank, the protective policy and in- 
ternal improvements by the United States 
government. 1825 saw Mr. Tyler governor 
of Virginia, but in 1827 he was chosen 
member of the United States senate, and 
held that office for nine years. He therein 
opposed the administration of Adams and 
the tariff bill of 1828, sympathized with the 
nuUif'ers of South Carolina and was the 
only senator who voted against the Force 
bill lor the suppression of that state's insip- 
ient rebellion. He resigned his position as 
senator on account of a disagreement with 
the legislature of his state in relation to his 
censuring President Jackson. He retired to 
Williamsburg, Virginia, but being regarded 
as a martyr by the Whigs, whom, hereto- 
fore, he had always opposed, was supported 
by many of that party for the vice-presi- 
dency in 1836. He sat in the Virginia leg- 
islature as a Whig in 1839-40, and was a 
delegate to the convention of that party in 
18^9. This national convention nominated 
him for the second place on the ticket with 
General William H. H.' Harrison, and he 
was elected vice-president in November, 
1840. President Harrison dying one month 
after his inauguration, he was succeeded by 
John Tyler. He retained the cabinet chosen 
by his predecessor, and for a time moved in 
harmony with the Whig party. He finally 
instructed the secretary of the treasury, 
Thomas Ewing, to submit to congress a bill 
for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the 



United States, which was passed by con- 
gress, but vetoed by the president on ac- 
count of some amendments he considered 
unconstitutional. For this and other meas- 
ures he was accused of treachery to his 
party, and deserted by his whole cabinet, 
except Daniel Webster. Things grew worse 
until he was abandoned by the Whig party 
formally, when Mr. Webster resigned. He 
was nominated at Baltimore, in May, 1844, 
at the Democratic convention, as their pres- 
idential candidate, but withdrew from the 
canvass, as he saw he had not succeed- 
ed in gaining the confidence of his old 
party. He then retired from politics until 
February, 1861, when he was made presi- 
dent of the abortive peace congress, which 
met in Washington. He shortly after re- 
nounced his allegiance to the United States 
and was elected a member of the Confeder- 
ate congress. He died at Richmond, Janu- 
ary 17, 1862. 

Mr. Tyler married, in 1813, Miss Letitia 
Christian, who died in 1842 at Washington. 
June 26, 1844, he contracted a second mar- 
riage, with Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. 



COLLIS POTTER HUNTINGTON, 
one of the great men of his time and 
who has left his impress upon the history of 
our national development, was born October 
22, 1 82 1, at Harwinton, Connecticut. 
He received a common-school education 
and at the age of fourteen his spirit of get- 
ting along in the world mastered his educa- 
tional propensities and his father's objec- 
tions and he left school. He went to Cali- 
fornia in the early days and had opportunities 
which he handled masterfull}'. Others had 
the same opportunities but they did not have 
his brains nor his energy, and it was he who 
overcame obstacles and reaped the reward 
of his genius. Transcontinental raiKvavs 



COMPEXD/C'Af O/'- BIOGRAPHT. 



95 



were ine\-itable, but the realization of this 
masterful achievement would have been de- 
layed to a much later day if there had been 
no Huntington. He associated himself with 
Messrs. Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, 
and Charles Crocker, and they furnished the 
money necessary for a survey across the 
Sierra Nevadas, secured a charter for the 
road, and raised, with the government's aid, 
money enough to construct and equip that 
railway, which at the time of its completion 
was a marvel of engineering and one of the 
wonders of the world. Mr. Huntington be- 
came president of the Southern Pacific rail- 
road, vice-president of the Central Pacific; 
trustee of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph 
Company, and a director of the Occidental 
and Oriental Steamship Company, besides 
being identified with many other business 
enterprises of vast importance. 



GEORGE A. CUSTER, a famous In- 
dian fighter, was born in Ohio in 1840. 
He graduated at West Point in 1861, an- 
served in the Civil war; was at Bull Run id 
1861, and was in the Peninsular campaign, 
being one of General McClellan's aides-de, 
camp. He fought in the battles of South 
Mountain and Antietam in 1863, and was 
with General Stoneman on his famous 
cavalry raid. He was engaged in the battle 
of Gettysburg, and was tiiere made brevet- 
major. In 1863 was appointed brigadier- 
general of volunteers. General Custer was 
in many skirmishes in central Virginia in 
1S63-64, and was present at the following 
battles of the Richmond campaign: Wil- 
derness, Todd's Tavern, Yellow Tavern, where 
he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel; Meadow 
Bridge, Haw's Shop, Cold Harbor, Trevil- 
lian Station. In the Shenandoah Valley 
1 864-65 he was brevetted colonel at Opequan 
Creek, and at Cedar Creek he was made 



brevet major-general for gallant conduct 
during the engagement. General Custer 
was in command of a cavalry division in the 
pursuit of Lee's army in 1865, and fought 
at Dinwiddle Court House, Five Forks, 
where he was made brevet brigadier-general; 
Sailors Creek and Appomattox, where he 
gained additional honors and was made 
brevet major-general, and was given the 
command of the cavalry in the military 
division of the southwest and Gulf, in 1865. 
After the establishment of peace he went 
west on frontier duty and performed gallant 
and valuable service in the troubles with the 
Indians. He was killed in the massacre on 
the Little Big Horn river. South Dakota^ 
June 25, 1876. 



ANIEL WOLSEY VOORHEES, cel- 
brated as " The Tall Sycamore of the 
Wabash," was born September 26, 1827, 
in Butler county, Ohio. When he was two 
months old his parents removed to Fount- 
ain county, Indiana. He grew to manhood 
on a farm, engaged in all the arduous work 
pertaining to rural life. In 1845 he entered 
the Indiana Asbury University, now the De 
Pauw, from which he graduated in 1849. 
He took up the study of law at Crawfords- 
.ville, and in 1851 began the practice of his 
profession at Covington, Fountain county, 
Indiana. He became a law partner of 
United States Senator Hannegan, of Indi- 
ana, in 1852, and in 1856 he was an unsuc- 
cessful candidate for congress. In the fol- 
lowing year he took up his residence in Terre 
Haute, Indiana. He was United States 
district attorney for Indiana from 1857 until 
1 86 1, and he had during this period been 
elected to congress, in i 860. Mr. Voorhees 
was re-elected to congress in i862artfl 1864, 
but he was unsuccessful in the election of 
1866. However, he was returned to con- 



96 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPTIT. 



gress in 1868, where he remained until 1874, 
having been re-elected twice. In 1877 he 
was appointed United States senator from 
Indiana to fill a vacancy caused by the death 
of O. P. Morton, and at the end of the term 
was elected for the ensuing term, being re- 
elected in 1885 and in 1891 to the same of- 
fice. He served with distinction on many 
of the committees, and took a very prom- 
inent part in' the discussion of all the im- 
portant legislation of his time. His death 
occurred in August, 189 . 



ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, fa- 
mous as one of the inventors of the tele- 
phone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 
March 3rd, 1847. He received his early 
education in the high school and later he 
attended the university, and was specially 
trained to follow his grandfather's profes- 
sion, that of removing impediments of 
speech. He emigrated to the United States 
in 1872, and introduced into this country 
his father's invention of visible speech in the 
institutions for deaf-mutes. Later he was 
appointed professor of vocal physiology in 
the Boston University. He worked for 
many years during his leisure hours on his 
telephonic discovery, and finally perfected 
it and exhibited it publicly, before it had 
reached the high state of perfection to which 
he brought it. His first exhibition of it was 
at the Centennial E.xhibition that was held 
in Philadelphia in 1876. Its success is now 
established throughout the civilized world. 
In 1882 Prof. Bell received a diploma and 
the decoration of the Legion of Honor from 
the Academy of Sciences of France. 



WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT, 
the justly celebrated historian and 
author, was a native of Salem, Massachu- 
setts, and was born May 4, 1796. He was 



the son of Judge William Prescott and the 
grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill, Colonel 
William Prescott. 

Our subject in 1808 removed with the 
family to Boston, in the schools of which 
city he received his early education. He 
entered Harvard College as a sophomore in 
181 1, having been prepared at the private 
classical college of Rev. Dr. J. S. J. Gardi- 
jner. The following year he received an in- 
iiry in his left eye which made study 
through life a matter of difficulty. He 
graduated in i8i4with high honors in the 
classics and belle lettres. He spent several 
months on the Azores Islands, and later 
visited England, France and Italy, return- 
ing home in 18 17. In June, 1818, he 
founded a social and literary club at Boston 
for which he edited "The Club Room," a 
periodical doomed to but a short life. May 
4, 1820, he married Miss Susan Amory. 
He devoted several years after that event to 
a thorough study of ancient and modern 
history and literature. As the fruits of his 
labors he published several well written 
essays upon French and Italian poetry and 
romance in the " North American Review." 
January 19, 1826, he decided to take up his 
first great historical work, the ' ' History of 
the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella." To 
this he gave the labor of ten years, publish- 
ing the same December 25, 1837. Although 
placed at the head of all American authors, 
so diffident was Prescott of his literary merit 
that although he had four copies of this 
work printed for his own convenience, he 
hesitated a long time before giving it to the 
public, and it was only by the solicitation of 
friends, especially of thai; talented Spanish 
scholar, George Ticknor, that he was in- 
duced to do so. Soon the volumes were 
translated into French, Italian, Dutch and 
German, and the work was recognized 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



97 



throughout the world as one of the most 
meritorious of historical compositions. In 
1843 I12 published the "Conquest of Mexi- 
co," and in 1847 the "Conquest of Peru." 
Two years later there came from his pen a 
volume of ' ' Biographical and Critical Mis- 
cellanies." Going abroad in the summer of 
1850, he was received with great distinction 
in the literary circles of London, Edinburgh, 
Paris, Antwerp and Brussels. Oxford Uni- 
versity conferred the degree of D. C. L. 
upon him. In 1855 he issued two volumes 
of his "History of the Reign of Philip the 
Second," and a third in 1858. In the 
meantime he edited Robertson's "Charles 
the Fifth," adding a history of the life of 
that monarch after his abdication. Death 
cut short his work on the remaining volumes 
of " Philip the Second," coming to him at 
Boston, Massachusetts, May 28, 1859. 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, a noted 
American commodore, was born in 
South Kingston, Rhode Island, August 23, 
1785. He saw his first service as a mid- 
shipman in the United States navy in April, 
1799. He cruised with his father. Captain 
Christopher Raymond Perry, in the West In- 
dies for about two years. In 1804 he was 
in the war against Tripoli, and was made 
lieutenant in 1807. At the opening of hostili- 
ties with Great Britain in 18 12 he was given 
command of a fleet of gunboats on the At- 
lantic coast. At his request he was trans- 
ferred, a year later, to Lake Ontario, where 
he served under Commodore Chauncey, and 
took an active part in the attack on Fort 
George. He was ordered to fit out a squad- 
ron on Lake Erie, which he did, building 
most of his vessels from the forests along 
the shore, and by the summer of 181 3 he had 
a fleet of nine vessels at Presque Isle, now 
Erie, Pennsylvania September loth he 



attacked and captured the British fleet near 
Put-in-Bay, thus clearing the lake of hostile 
ships. His famous dispatch is part of his 
fame, " We have met the enemy, and they 
are ours." He co-operated with Gen. Har- 
rison, and the success of the campaign in 
the northwest was largely due to his victory. 
The next year he was transferred to the Po- 
tomac, and assisted in the defense of Balti- 
more. After the war he was in constant 
service with the various squadrons in cruising 
in all parts of the world. He died of yellow 
fever on the Island of Trinidad, August 23, 
1 8 19. His remains were conveyed to New- 
port, and buried there, and an imposing 
obelisk was erected to his memory by the 
State of Rhode Island. A bronze statue 
was also erected in his honor, the unveiling 
taking place in 1885. 



JOHN PAUL JONES, though a native 
of Scotland, was one of America's most 
noted fighters during the Revolutionary war. 
He was born July 6, 1747. His father was 
a gardener, but the young man soon be- 
came interested in a seafaring life and at 
the age of twelve he was apprenticed to a 
sea captain engaged in the American trade. 
His first voyage landed him in Virginia, 
where he had a brother who had settled 
there several years prior. The failure of 
the captain released young Jones from his 
apprenticeship bonds, and he was engaged 
as third mate of a vessel engaged in the 
slave trade. He abandoned this trade after 
a few years, from his own sense of disgrace. 
He took passage from Jamaica for Scotland 
in 1768, and on the voyage both the captain 
and the mate died and he was compelled to 
take command of the vessel for the re- 
mainder of the voyage. He soon after 
became master of the vessel. He returned 
to Virginia about 1 773 to settle up the estate 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of his brother, and at this time added the 
name "Jones," having previously been 
known as John Paul. He settled down in 
Virginia, but when the war broke out in 
1775 he offered his services to congress and 
was appointed senior lieutenant of the flag- 
ship "Alfred," on which he hoisted the 
American flag with his own hands, the first 
vessel that had ever carried a flag of the 
new nation. He was afterward appointed 
to the command of the "Alfred," and later 
of the "Providence," in each of which ves- 
sels he did good service, as also in the 
"Ranger," to the command of which he 
was later appointed. The fight that made 
him famous, however, was that in which he 
captured the ~" Serapis, " off the coast of 
Scotland. He was then in command of the 
"Bon Homme Richard," which had been 
fitted out for him by the French government 
and named by Jones in honor of Benjamin 
Franklin, or "Good Man Richard," Frank- 
lin being author of the publication known 
as " Poor Richard's Almanac." The fight 
between the " Richard" and the "Serapis" 
lasted three hours, all of which time the 
vessels were at close range, and most of the 
time in actual contact. Jones' vessel was 
on fire several times, and early in the en- 
gagement two of his guns bursted, rendering 
the battery useless. Also an envious officer 
of the Alliance, one of Jones' own fleet, 
opened fire upon the " Richard " at a crit- 
ical time, completely disabling the vessel. 
Jones continued the fight, in spite of coun- 
sels to surrender, and after dark the " Ser- 
apis " struck her colors, and was hastily 
boarded by Jones and his crew, while the 
"Richard" sank, bows first, after the 
wounded had been taken on board the 
"Serapis." Most of the other vessels of 
the fleet of which the " Serapis" was con- 
voy, surrendered, and were taken with the 



"Serapis" to France, where Jones was 
received with greatest honors, and the king 
presented him with an elegant sword and 
the cross of the Order of Military Merit. 
Congress gave him a vote of thanks and 
made him commander of a new ship, the 
"America," but the vessel was afterward 
given to France and Jones never saw active 
sea service again. He came to America again, 
in 1787, after the close of the war, and was 
voted a gold medal by congress. He went to 
Russia and was appointed rear-admiral and 
rendered service of value against the Turks, 
but on account of personal-enmity of the fav- 
orites of the emperor he was retired on a pen- 
sion. Failing to collect this, he returned to 
France, where he died, July 18, 1792. 



THOMAS MORAN, the well-known 
painter of Rocky Mountain scenery, 
was born in Lancashire, England, in 1837. 
He came to America when a child, and 
showing artistic tastes, he was apprenticed 
to a wood engraver in Philadelphia. Three 
years later he began landscape painting, and 
his style soon began to exhibit signs of genius. 
His first works were water-colors, and 
though without an instructor he began the 
use of oils, he soon found it necessary to 
visit Europe, where he gave particular at- 
tention to the works of Turner. He joined 
the Yellowstone Park exploring expedition 
and visited the Rocky Mountains in 1871 
and again in 1873, making numerous 
sketches of the scenery. The most note- 
worthy results were his "Grand Canon of 
the Yellowstone," and " The Chasm of the 
Colorado," -which were purchased by con- 
gress at $10,000 each, the first of which is 
undoubtedly the finest landscape painting 
produced in this country. Mr. Moran has 
subordinated art to nature, and the subjects- 
he has chosen leave little ground for fau!t 




««!<»■ 



nX\ ,-Xy\ ) * ^ ^ G EQ. W. C H I LPS h^ ^ 



,/ > ^ JAY CCULP W I/V/T^^^ 



I tfQ. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPJir. 



101 



finding on that account. "The Mountain 
of the Holy Cross," "The Groves Were 
God's First Temples," " The Cliffs of Green 
River," " The Children of the Mountain," 
"The Ripening of the Leaf," and others 
have given him additional fame, and while 
they do not equal in grandeur the first 
mentioned, in many respects from an artis- 
tic standpoint they are superior. 



L ELAND STANFORD was one of the 
greatest men of the Pacific coast and 
also had a national reputation. He was 
born March 9, 1824, in Albany county. New 
York, and passed his early life on his 
father's farm. He attended the local 
schools of the county and at the age of 
twenty began the study of law. He 
entered the law office of Wheaton, Doolittle 
and Hadley, at Albany, in 1845, and a few 
years later he moved to Port Washington, 
Wisconsin, where he practiced law four 
years with moderate success. In 1S52 Mr. 
Stanford determined to push further west, 
and, accordingly went to California, where 
three of his brothers were established in 
business in the mining towns. They took 
Leland into partnership, giving him charge 
of a branch store at Michigan Bluff, in 
Placer county. There he developed great 
business ability and four years later started 
a mercantile house of his own in San Fran- 
cisco, which soon became one of the most 
substantial houses on the coast. On the 
formation of the Republican party he inter- 
ested himself in politics, and in i860 was 
sent as a delegate to the convention that 
nominated Abraham Lincoln. In the 
autumn of 1861 he was elected, by an im- 
mense majority, governor of California. 
Prior to his election as governor he had 
been chosen president of the newly-orga- 
nized Central Pacific Railroad Company, 



and after leaving the executive chair he de- 
voted all of his time to the construction of 
the Pacific end of the transcontinental rail- 
way. May 10, 1869, Mr. Stanford drove 
the last spike of the Central Pacific road, 
thus completing the route across the conti- 
nent. He was also president of the Occi- 
dental and Oriental Steamship Company. 
He had but one son, who died of typhoid 
fever, and as a monument to his child he 
founded the university which bears his son's 
name, Leland Stanford, Junior, University. 
Mr. Stanford gave to this university eighty- 
three thousand acres of land, the estimated 
value of which is $8,000,000, and the entire 
endowment is $20,000,000. In 1885 Mr. 
Stanford was elected United States senator 
as a Republican, to succeed J. T. Farley, a 
Democrat, and was re-elected in 1 891. His 
death occurred June 20, 1894, at Palo Alto, 
California. 

STEPHEN DECATUR, a famous com- 
modore in the United States navy, was 
born in Maryland in 1779. He entered the 
naval service in 1798. In 1804, when the 
American vessel Philadelphia had been run 
aground and captured in the harbor of Trip- 
oli, Decatur, at the head of a few men, 
boarded her and burned her in the face of 
the guns from the city defenses. For this 
daring deed he was made captain. He was 
given command of the frigate United States 
at the breaking out of the war of 18 12, and 
in October of that year he captured the 
British frigate Macedonian, and was re- 
warded with a gold medal by congress. Af- 
ter the close of the war he was sent as com- 
mander of a fleet of ten vessels to chastise 
the dey of Algiers, who was preying upon 
American commerce with impunity and de- 
manding tribute and ransom for the release 
of American citizens captured. Decatur 



102 



COMPENDIi'M OF L'/OGRAPHl'. 



captured a number of Algerian vessels, and 
compelled the dey to sue for peace. He 
was noted for his daring and intrepidity, 
and his coolness in the face of danger, and 
helped to bring the United States navy into 
favor with the people and congress as a 
means of defense and offense in time of 
war. He was killed in a duel by Commo- 
dore Barron, March 12, 1820. 



JAMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh 
president of the United States, 1845 to 
1849, was born November 2, 1795, in Meck- 
lenburg county, North Carolina, and was 
the eldest child of a family of six sons. He 
removed with his father to the Valley of the 
Duck River, in Tennessee, in 1806. He 
attended the common schools and became 
very proficient in the lower branches of 
education, and supplemented this with 
a course in the Murfreesboro Academy, 
which he entered in 18 13 andin the autumn 
of 1815 he became a student in the sopho- 
more class of the University of North Caro- 
lina, at Chapel Hill, and was graduated in 
181 8. He then spent a short time in re- 
cuperating his health and then proceeded to 
Nashville, Tennessee, where he took up the 
study of law in the office of Felix Grundy. 
After the completion of his law studies he 
was admitted to the bar and removed to 
Columbia, Maury county, Tennessee, and 
started in the active practice of his profes- 
sion. Mr. Polk was a Jeffersonian "Re- 
publican " and in 1823 he was elected to the 
legislature of Tennessee. He was a strict 
constructionist and did not believe that the 
general government had the power to carry 
on internal improvements in the states, but 
deemed it important that it should have that 
power, and wanted the constitution amended 
to that effect. But later on he became 
alarmed lest the general government might 



become strong enough to abolish slavery 
and therefore gave his whole support to the 
" State's Rights" movement, and endeavored 
to check the centralization of power in the 
general government. Mr. Polk was chosen 
a member of congress in 1825, and held that 
office until 1839. He then withdrew, as he 
was the successful gubernatorial candidate 
of his state. He had become a man of 
great influence in the house, and, as the 
leader of the Jackson party in that body, 
weilded great influence in the election of 
General Jackson to the presidency. He 
sustained the president in all his measures 
and still remained in the house after Gen- 
eral Jackson had been succeeded by Martin 
Van Buren. He was- speaker of the house 
during five sessions of congress. He was 
elected governor of Tennessee by a large 
majority and took the oath of office at Nash- 
ville, October 4, 1839. He was a candidate 
for re-election but was defeated by Governor 
Jones, the Whig candidate, fn 1844 the 
most prominent question in the election was 
the annexation of Texas, and as Mr. Polk 
was the avowed champion of this cause he 
was nominated for president by the pro- 
slavery wing of the democratic party, was 
elected by a large majority, and was inaug- 
urated March 4, 1845. President Polk 
formed a very able cabinet, consisting of 
James Buchanan, Robert J. Walker, Will- 
iam L. Marcy, George Bancroft, Cave John- 
son, and John Y. Mason. The dispute re- 
garding the Oregon boundary was settled 
during his term of office and a new depart- 
ment was added to the list of cabinet po- 
sitions, that of the Interior. The low tariff 
bill of 1846 was carried and the financial 
system of the country was reorganized. It 
was also during President Polk's term that 
the Mexican war was successfully conducted, 
which resulted in the acquisition of Califor- 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



103 



nia and New Mexico. Mr. Polk retired from 
the presidency March 4, 1849, after having 
declined a re-nomination, and v.'as succeeded 
by General Zachary Taylor, the hero of the 
Mexican war. Mr. Polk retired to private 
life, to his home in Nashville, where he died 
£t the age of fifty-four on June 9, 1849. 



NNA DICKINSON (Anna Elizabeth 
Dickinson), a noted lecturer and pub- 
lic speaker, was born at Philadelphia, Oc- 
tober 28, 1S42. Her parents were Quakers, 
and she was educated at the Friends' free 
scb.ools in her native city. She earl}' man- 
ifested an inclination toward elocution and 
public speaking, and when, at the age of 18, 
she found an opportunity to appear before 
a national assemblage for the discussion of 
woman's rights, she at once established her 
reputation as a public speaker. From i860 
to the close of the war and during the ex- 
citing period of reconstruction, she was one 
of the most noted and influential speakers 
before the American public, and her popu- 
larity was unequaled by that of any of her 
sex. A few weeks after the defeat and 
death of Colonel Baker at Ball's Bluff, Anna 
Dickinson, lecturing in New York, made 
the remarkable assertion, " Not the incom- 
petency of Colonel Baker, but the treachery 
of General McClellaii caused the disaster at 
Ball's B!ui?." She was hissed and hooted 
off the stage. A year later, at the same 
hall and with much the same class of audi- 
tors, she repeated the identical words, and 
the applause was so great and so long con- 
tinued that it was impossible to go on with 
her lecture for more than half an hour. The 
change of sentiment had been wrought by 
the reverses and dismissal of McClellan and 
his ambition to succeed Mr. Lincoln as presi- 
dent. 

Ten years after the close of the war, Anna 



Dickinson was not heard of on the lec- 
ture platform, and about that time she made 
an attempt to enter the dramatic profession, 
but after appearing a number of times in dif- 
ferent plays she was pronounced a failure. 



ROBERT J. BURDETTE.— Some per- 
sonal characteristics of Mr. Burdette 
were quaintly given by himself in the follow- 
ing words: "Politics.' Republican after 
the strictest sect. Religion .■* Baptist. Per- 
sonal appearance 1 Below medium height, 
and weigh one hundred and thirty- five 
pounds, no shillings and no pence. Rich ">. 
Not enough to own a yacht. Favorite read- 
ing.' Poetry and history — know Longfellow 
by heart, almost. Write for magizines } 
Have mo.-e ' declined with thanks ' letters 
than would fill a trunk. Never able to get 
into a magazine with a line. Care about it.' 
Mad as thunder. Think about starting a 
magazine and rejecting everbody's articles 
except my own." Mr. Burdette was born 
at Greensborough, Pennsylvania, in 1844. 
He served through the war of the rebellion 
under General Banks " on an excursion 
ticket " as he felicitously described it, ' 'good 
both ways, conquering in one direction and 
running in the other, pay going on just the 
same." He entered into journalism by the 
gateway of New York correspondence for 
the "Peoria Transcript," and in 1874 went 
on the "Burlington Hawkeye " of which he 
became the managing editor, and the work 
that he did on this paper made both him- 
self and the paper famous in the world of 
humor. Mr. Burdette married in 1870, 
and his wife, whom he called " Her Little 
Serene Highness," was to him a guiding 
light until the day of her death, and it was 
probably the unconscious pathos with which 
he described her in his work that broke the 
barriers that had kept him out of the maga- 



KM 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



zines and secured him the acceptance of his 
"Confessions" by Lippincott some years 
ago, and brought him substantial fame and 
recognition in the literary world. 



WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, one 
of the leading novelists of the present 
century and author of a number of works 
that gained for him a place in the hearts of 
the people, was born March i, 1837, at 
Martinsville, Belmont county, Ohio. At 
the age of three years he accompanied his 
father, who was a printer, to Hamilton, 
Ohio, where he learned the printer's trade. 
Later he was engaged on the editorial staff 
of the ' ' Cincinnati Gazette " and the " Ohio 
State Journal." During 1861-65 he was 
the United States consul at Venice, and 
from 1 87 1 to 1878 he was the editor-in- 
chief of the "Atlantic Monthly." As a 
writer he became one of the most fertile 
and readable of authors and a pleasing poet. 
In 1S85 he became connected with " Har- 
per's Magazine. " Mr. Howells was author 
of the list of books that we give below: 
"Venetian Life," " Italian Journeys," "No 
Love Lost," " Suburban Sketches," "Their 
Wedding Journey," "A Chance Acquaint- 
ance," "A Foregone Conclusion," "Dr. 
Breen's Practice," "A Modern Instance," 
"The Rise of Silas Lapham," "Tuscan 
Cities," "Indian Summer," besides many 
others. He also wrote the " Poem of Two 
Friends," with J. J. Piatt in i860, and 
some minor dramas: "The Drawing 
Room Car," "The Sleeping Car," etc., 
that are full of exqusite humor and elegant 
dialogue. 

j AMES RUSSELL LOWELL was a son 
kJ of the Rev. Charles Lowell, and was born 
;it Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22, 
1 319. He graduated at Harvard College in 



183S as class poet, and went to Harsard 
Law School, from which he was graduated 
in 1840, and commenced the practice of his 
profession in Boston, but soon gave his un- 
divided attention to literary labors. Mr. 
Lowell printed, in 1841, a small volume of 
poems entitled " A Year's Life," edited with 
Robert Carter; in 1843, " The Pioneer, " a 
literary and critical magazine (monthly), and 
in 1848 another book of poems, that con- 
tained several directed against slavery. He 
published in 1844 a volume of "Poems" 
and in 1845 " Conversations on Some 
of the Old Poets," "The Vision of Sir 
Launfal," " A Fable for Critics, " and "The 
Bigelow Papers," the latter satirical es- 
says in dialect poetry directed against 
slavery and the war with Mexico. In 
1851-52 he traveled in Europe and re- 
sided in Italy for a considerable time, and 
delivered in 1854-55 a course of lectures on 
the British poets, before the Lowell Insti- 
tute, Boston. Mr. Lowell succeeded Long- 
fellow in January, 1855, as professor of 
modern languages and literature at Harvard 
College, and spent another year in Euiope 
qualifying himself for that post. He edited 
the " Atlantic Monthly " from 1857 to 1862, 
and the "North American Review" from 
1863 until 1872. From 1864 to 1870 he 
published the following works: "Fireside 
Travels," "Under the Willows," "The 
Commemoration Ode," in honor of the 
alumni of Harvard who had fallen in the 
Civil war; "The Cathedral," two volumes 
of essays; "Among My Books" and "My 
Study Windows," and in 1867 he published 
a new series of the " Bigelow Papers. " He 
traveled extensively in Europe in 1872-74, 
and received in person the degree of D. C. 
L. at Oxford and that of LL. D. at the 
University of Cambridge, England. He 
was also interested in political life and held 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



105 



many important offices. He was United 
States minister to Spain in 1S77 and was 
also minister to England in 1880-85. On 
January 2, 1884, he was elected lord rector 
of St. Andrew University in Glasgow, Scot- 
land, but soon after he resigned the same. 
Mr. Lowell's works enjoy great popularity 
in the United States and England. He 
died August 12, 1891. 



JOSEPH HENRY, one of America's 
greatest scientists, was born at Albany, 
New York, December 17, 1797. He was 
educated in the common schools' of the city 
and graduated from the Albany Academy, 
where he became a professor of mathemat- 
ics in 1826. In 1827 he commenced a 
course of investigation, which he continued 
for a number of years, and the results pro- 
duced had great effect on the scientific world. 
The first success was achieved by producing 
the electric magnet, and he next proved the 
possibility of exciting magnetic energy at a 
distance, and it was the invention of Pro- 
fessor Henry's intensity magnet that first 
made the invention of electric telegraph a 
possibility. He made a statement regarding 
the practicability of applying the intensity 
magnet to telegraphic uses, in his article to 
the ' 'American Journal of Science " in 1 83 1 . 
During the same year he produced the first 
mechanical contrivance ever invented for 
maintaining continuous motion by means of 
electro-magnetism, and he also contrived a 
machine by which signals could be made at 
a distance by the use of his electro-magnet, 
the signals being produced by a lever strik- 
ing on a bell. Some of his electro-magnets 
were of great power, one carried over a ton 
and another not less than three thousand six 
hundred pounds. In 1832 he discovered 
that secondary currents could be produced 
■;'! a long conductor by the induction of the 



primary current upon itself, and also in the 
same year he produced a spark by means of 
a purely magnetic induction. Professor 
Henry was elected, in 1832, professor of nat- 
ural philosophy in the College of New Jer- 
sey, and in his earliest lectures at Princeton, 
demonstrated the feasibility of the electric 
telegraph. He visited Europe in 1837, and 
while there he had an interview with Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone, the inventor of the 
needle magnetic telegraph. In 1846 he was 
elected secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, being the firstincumbent in that office, 
which he held until his death. Professor 
Henry was elected president of the Ameri- 
can Association for the Advancement of 
Science, in 1849, and of the National 
Academy of Sciences. He was made chair- 
man of the lighthouse board of the United 
States in 1871 and held that position up to 
the time of his death. He received the 
honorary degree of doctor of laws from 
Union College in 1829, and from Harvard 
University in 185 i, and his death occurred 
May 13, 1878. Among his numerous works 
may be mentioned the following: "Contri- 
butions to Electricity and Magnetism," 
" American Philosophic Trans," and many 
articles in the "American Journal of 
Science," the journal of the Franklin Insti- 
tute; the proceedings of the American As- 
sociation for the Advancement of Science, 
and in the annual reports of the Smith- 
sonian Institution from its foundation. 



FRANKLIN BUCHANAN, the famous 
rear-admiral of the Confederate navy 
during the rebellion, was born in Baltimore, 
Maryland. He became a United States 
midshipman in 1S15 and was promoted 
through the various grades of the service 
and became a captain in 1855. Mr. Buch- 
anan resigned his captaincy in order to join 



106 



COMPEXDJC.\f OF BIOGRAPHr 



the Confederate service in iS6i and later he 
asked to be reinstated, but his request was 
refused and he then entered into the service 
of the Confederate government. He was 
placed in command of the frigate " Merri- 
niac " after she had been fitted up as an iron- 
clad, and had command of her at the time 
of the battle of Hampton Roads. It was 
he who had command when the " Merri- 
mac " sunk the two wooden frigates, " Con- 
gress " and "Cumberland," and was also 
in command during part of the historical 
battle of the " Merrimac " and the "Moni- 
tor," where he was wounded and the com- 
mand devolved upon Lieutenant Catesby 
Jones. He was created rear-admiral in the 
Confederate service and commanded the 
Confederate fleet in Mobile bay, which was 
defeated by Admiral Farragut, August 5, 
1864. Mr. Buchanan was in command of 
the "Tennessee," an ironclad, and during 
the engagement he lost one of his legs and 
was taken prisoner in the end by the Union 
fleet. After the war he settled in Talbot 
county, Maryland, where he died May 11, 
1874- 

RICHARD PARKS BLAND, a celebrated 
American statesman, frequently called 
"the father of the house," because of his 
many years of service in the lower house 
of congress, was born August 19, 1835, 
near Hartford, Kentucky, where he received 
a plain academic education. He moved, 
in 1855, to Missouri, from whence he went 
overland to California, afterward locating in 
Virginia City, now in the state of Nevada, 
but then part of the territory of Utah. 
While there he practiced law, dabbled in 
mines and mining in Nevada and California 
for several years, and served for a time as 
treasurer of Carson county, Nevada. Mr. 
Bland returned to Missouri in 1865, where 



he engaged in the practice ot law at Rolla, 
Missouri, and in 1869 removed to Lebanon, 
Missourr. He began his congressional career 
in 1873, when he was elected as a Demo- 
crat to the forty-third congress, and he was 
regularly re-elep ted to every congress after 
that time up to the fifty-fourth, when he was 
defeated for re-election, but was returned 
to the fifty-fifth congress as a Silver Demo- 
crat. During all his protracted service, 
while Mr. Bland was always steadfast in his 
support of democratic measures, yet he won 
his special renown as the great advocate of 
silver, being strongly in favor of the free 
and unlimited coinage of silver, and on ac- 
count of his pronounced views was one of 
the candidates for the presidential nomina- 
tion of the Democratic party at Chicago in 



FANNY DAVENPORT (F. L. G. Daven- 
port) was of British birth, but she be- 
longs to the American stage. She was the 
daughter of the famous actor, E. L. Daven- 
port, and was born in London in 1850. 
She first went on the stage as a child at the 
Howard Athenaaim, Boston, and her entire 
life was spent upon tlie stage. She played 
children's parts at Burton's old theater iu 
Chambers street, and then, in 1862, appeared 
as the King of Spain in " Faint Heart Never 
Won Fair Lady. " Here she attracted the 
notice of Augustin Daly, the noted mana- 
ger, then at the Fifth Avenue theater, who 
offered her a six weeks' engagement with 
her father in "London Assurance." She 
afterwards appeared at the same house in a 
variety of characters, and her versatility 
was favorably noticed by the critics. After 
the burning of the old Fifth Avenue, the 
present theater of that name was built at 
Twenty-eighth street, and here Miss Daven- 
port appeared in a play written for her by 



COMPEXnU'M Ol- IUOC,RM'/fr 



107 



Mr. Daly. She scored a great success. 
She then starred in this play throughout the 
countr}', and was married to Mr. Edwin F. 
Price, sn actor of her company, in 1880. 
In 1882 she went to Paris and purchased 
the right to produce in America Sardou's 
great emotional play, "Fedora." It was 
put on at the Fourteenth Street theater in 
New York, and in it she won popular favor 
and became one of the most famous actresses 
of her time. 



HORACE BRIGHAM CLAFLIN, one 
of the greatest merchants America has 
produced, was born in Milford, Massachu- 
setts, a son of John Claflin, also a mer- 
chant. Young Claflin started his active life 
as a clerk in his father s store, after having 
been offered the opportunity of a college 
education, but with the characteristic 
promptness that was one of his virtues he 
exclaimed, "No law or medicine for me." 
He had set his heart on being a merchant, 
and when his father retired he and his 
brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law, Sam- 
uel Daniels, conducted the business. Mr. 
Claflin was not content, however, to run a 
store in a town like Milford, and accordingly 
opened a dry goods store at Worcester, with 
his brother as a partner, but the partnership 
was dissolved a year later and H. B. Claflin 
assumed complete control. The business 
in Worcester had been conducted on ortho- 
dox principles, and when Mr. Claflin came 
there and introduced advertising as a means 
of drawing trade, he created considerable 
animosity among the older merchants. Ten 
years later he was one of the most prosper- 
ous merchants. He disposed of his busi- 
ness in Worcester for $30,000, and went to 
New York to search for a wider field than 
that of a shopkeeper. Mr. Claflin and 
William M. Bulkley started in the dry goods 



business there under the firm name of Bulk- 
ley & Claflin, in 1843, and Mr. Bulkley was 
connected with the firm until 185 i, when he 
retired. A new firm was then formed under 
the name of Claflin, Mellin & Co. This 
firm succeeded in founding the largest dry 
goods house in the world, and after weather- 
ing the dangers of the civil war, during 
which the house came very near going un- 
der, and was saved only by the superior 
business abilities of Mr. Claflin, continued to 
grow. The sales of the firui amounted to 
over $72,000,000 a year after the close of 
the war. Mr. Claflin died November 14,, 
18S5. 

CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN (Charlotte 
Saunders Cushman), one of the most 
celebrated American actresses, was born in 
Boston, July 23, 1816. She was descended 
from one of the earliest Puritan families. ^ 
Her first attempt at stage work was at the 
age of fourteen years in a charitable concert 
given by amateurs in Boston. From this 
time her advance to the first place on the- 
American lyric stage was steady, until, in 
1835, while singing in New Orleans, she 
suddenly lost control of her voice so far as 
relates to singing, and was compelled to re- 
tire. She then took up the study for the 
dramatic stage under the direction of Mr. 
Barton, the tragedian. She soon after 
made her debut as " Lady Macbeth." She 
appeared in New York in September, 1836, 
and fier success was immediate. Her 
"Romeo" was almost perfect, and she is 
the only woman that has ever appeared in 
the part of " Cardinal Wolsey." She at 
different times acted as support of Forrest 
and Macready. Her London engagement, 
secured in 1845, after many and great dis- 
couragements, proved an unqualified suc- 
cess. 



108 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAl'HV. 



Her farewell appearance was at Booth's 
theater, New York, November 7, 1874, in 
the part of " Lady Macbeth," and after that 
performance an Ode by R. H. Stoddard 
was read, and a body of citizens went upon 
the stage, and in their name the venerable 
poet Longfellow presented her with a wreath 
of laurel with an inscription to the effect 
that "she who merits the palm should bear 
it." From the time of her appearance as a 
modest girl in a charitable entertainment 
down to the time of final triumph as a tragic 
queen, she bore herself with as much honor 
to womanhood as to the profession she rep- 
resented. Her death occurred in Boston, 
February iS, 1S76. By her profession she 
acquired a fortune of $600,000. 



NEAL DOW, one of the most prominent 
temperance reformers our country has 
known, was born in Portland, Me., March 20, 
1804. Pie received his education in the 
Friends Seminary, at New Bedford, Massa- 
chusetts, his parents being members of that 
sect. After leaving school he pursued a 
mecrantile and manufacturing career for a 
number of years. He was active in the 
affairs of his native city, and in 1839 be- 
came chief of the fire department, and in 
1 85 1 was elected mayor. He was re-elected 
to the latter offtce in 1854. Being opposed 
to the liquor traffic he was a champion of 
the project of prohibition, first brought for- 
ward in 1839 by James Appleton. While 
serving his first term as mayor he drafted a 
bill for the "suppression of drinking houses 
and tippling shops," which he took to the 
legislature and which was passed without an 
alteration. In 1858 Mr. Dow was elected 
to the legislature. On the outbreak of the 
Civil war he was appointed colonel of the 
Thirteenth Maine Infantry and accompanied 
General Butler's expedition to New Orleans. 



In 1862 he was made brigadier-general. At 
the battle of Port Hudson May 27, 1863, he 
was twice wounded, and taken prisoner. He 
was confined at Libby prison and Mobile 
nearly a year, when, being exchanged, he 
resigned, his health having given way under 
the rigors of his captivity. He made sev- 
eral trips to England in the interests of 
temperance organization, where he addressed 
large audiences. He was the candidate of 
the National Prohibition party for the presi- 
dency in 1880, receiving about ten thousand 
votes. In 1884 he was largely instrumental 
in the amendment of the constitution of 
Maine, adopted by an overwhelming popular 
vote, which forever forbade the manufacture 
or sale of any intoxicating beverages, and 
commanding the legislature to enforce the 
prohibition. He died October 2, 1897. 



ZACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth president 
of the United States, was born in 
Orange county, Virginia, September 24, 
1784. His boyhood was spent on his fath- 
er's plantation and his education was lim- 
ited. In 1808 he was made lieutenant of 
the Seventh Infantry, and joined his regi- 
ment at New Orleans. He was promoted 
to captain in 18 10, and commanded at Fort 
Harrison, near the present site of Terra 
Haute, in 18 12, where, for his gallant de- 
fense, he was brevetted major, attaining full 
rank in 18 14. In 1815 he retired to an es- 
tate near Louisville. In 18 16 here-entered 
the army as major, and was promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel and then to colonel. 
Having for many years been Indian agent 
over a large portion of the western country, 
he was often required in Washington to give 
advice and cou.isel in matters connected 
with the Indian b ireau. He served through 
the Black Hawk Indian war of 1832, and in 
1837 was ordered to the command of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



109 



army in Florida, where he attacked the In- 
dians in the swamps and bral<es, defeated 
them and ended the war. He was brevetted 
brigadier-general and made commander-in- 
chief of the army in Florida. He was as- 
signed to the command of the army of the 
southwest in 1840, but was soon after re- 
lieved of it at his request. He was then 
stationed at posts in Arkansas. In 1845 he 
was ordered to prepare to protect and de- 
fend Texas boundaries from invasion by 
Mexicans and Indians. On the annexation 
of Texas he proceeded with one thousand 
five hundred men to Corpus Christi, within 
the disputed territory. After reinforcement 
he was ordered by the Mexican General Am- 
pudia to retire beyond the Nueces river, 
with which order he declined to comply. 
The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma followed, and he crossed the Rio 
Grande and occupied Matamoras May iSth. 
He was commissioned major-general for this 
campaign, and in September he advanced 
upon the city of Monterey and captured it 
after a hard fight. Here he took up winter 
quarters, and when he was about to resume 
activity in the spring he was ordered to send 
the larger part of his army to reinforce 
General Scott at Vera Cruz. After leaving 
garrisons at various points his army was re- 
duced to about five thousand, mostly fresh 
recruits. He was attacked by the army of 
Santa Anna at Buena Vista, February 22, 
1847, and after a severe fight completely 
routed the Mexicans. He received the 
thanks of congress and a gold medal for 
this victory. He remained in command of 
the "army of occupation" until winter, 
when he returned to the United States. 

In 1S48 General Taylor was nominated 
by the Whigs for president. He was elected 
over his two opponents, Cass and Van 
Buren. Great bitterness was developing in 



the struggle for and against the extension of 
slavery, and the newly acquired territory in 
the west, and the fact that the states were 
now equally divided on that question, tended 
to increase the feeling. President Taylor 
favored immediate admission of California 
with her constitution prohibiting slavery, 
and the admission of other states to be 
formed out of the new territory as they 
might elect as they adopted constitutions 
from time to time. This policy resulted in 
the " Omnibus Bill," which afterward passed 
congress, though in separate bills; not, how- 
ever, until after the death of the soldier- 
statesman, which occurred July 9, 1850. 
One of his daughters became the wife of 
Jefferson Davis. 



M' 



ELVILLE D. LANDON, better known 
Eli Perkins, " author, lecturer and 
humorist, was born in Eaton, New York, 
September 7, 1839. He was the son' of 
John Landon and grandson of Rufus Lan- 
don, a revolutionary soldier from Litchfield 
county, Connecticut. Melville was edu- 
cated at the district school and neighboring 
academy, where he was prepared for the 
sophomore class at Madison University. He 
passed two years at tlie latter, when he was 
admitted to Union College, and graduated 
in the class of 1861, receiving the degree of 
A. M., in 1862. He was, at once, ap- 
pointed to a position in the treasury depart- 
ment at Washington. This being about the 
time of the breaking out of the war, and 
before the appearance of any Union troops 
at the capital, he assisted in the organiza- 
tion of the " Clay Battalion," of Washing- 
ton. Leaving his clerkship some time later, 
he took up duties on the staff of General A. 
L. Chetlain, who was in command at Mem- 
phis. In 1864 he resigned from the army 
and engaged in cotton planting in Arkansas 



110 



COMPENDIU.^r OF JUOGRAPHl'. 



and Louisiana. In 1867 he went abroad, 
making the tour of Europe, traversing Rus- 
sia. While in the latter country his old 
commander of the " Clay Battalion," Gen- 
eral Cassius M. Clay, then United States 
minister at St. Petersburg, made him secre- 
tary of legation. In 1 87 1, on returning to 
America, he published a history of the 
Franco-Prussian war, and followed it with 
numerous humorous writings for the public 
press under the name of "Eli Perkins," 
which, with his regular contributions to the 
" Commercial Advertiser," brought him into 
notice, and spread his reputation as a hu- 
morist throughout thecountry. He also pub- 
lished "Saratoga in 1891," "Wit, Humor 
and Pathos," "Wit and Humor of the Age," 
" Kings of Platform and Pulpit, "" Thirty 
YearsofWit and Humor," " Fun and Fact," 
and " China and Japan." 



LEWIS CASS, one of the most prom- 
inent statesman and party leaders of his 
day, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, 
October 9, 17S2. He studied law, and hav- 
ing removed to Zanesville, Ohio, commenced 
the practice of that profession in 1802. He 
entered the service of the American govern- 
ment in 1812 and was made a colonel in 
the army under General William Hull, and 
on the surrender of Fort Maiden by that 
officer was held as a prisoner. Being re- 
leased in 181 3, he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general and in 18 14 ap- 
pointed governor of Michigan Territory. 
After he had held that office for some 
.sixteen years, negotiating, in the meantime, 
many treaties with the Indians, General 
Cass was made secretary of war in the cabi- 
net of President Jackson, in 1831. He was, 
in 1S36, appointed minister to France, 
which office he held for six years. In 1844 
he '-.as elected United States senator from 



Michigan. In 1846 General Cass opposed 
the Wilmot Proviso, which was an amend- 
ment to a bill for the purchase of land from 
Mexico, which provided that in any of the 
territory acquired from that power slavery 
should not exist. For this and other reasons 
he was nominated as Democratic candidate 
for the presidency of the United States in 
1848, but was defeated by General Zachary 
Taylor, the Whig candidate, having but 
one hundred and thirty-seven electoral votes 
to his opponent's one hundred and sixty- 
three. In 1849 General Cass was re-elected 
to the senate of the United States, and in 
1S54 supported Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska 
bill. He became secretary of state in 
March, 1857, under President Buchanan, 
but resigned that office in December, i860. 
He died June 17, 1866. The published 
works of Lewis Cass, while not numerous, 
are well written and display much ability. 
He was one of the foremost men of his day 
in the political councils of the Democratic 
party, and left a reputation for high probity 
and honor behind him. 



DE WITT CLINTON.— Probably there 
were but few men who were so popular 
in their time, or who have had so much in- 
fluence in moulding events as the individual 
whose name honors the head of this article. 
De Witt Clinton was the son of General 
James Clinton, and a nephew of Governor 
George Clinton, who was the fourth vice- 
president of the United States. He was a 
native of Orange county. New York, born at 
Little Britain, March 2, 1769. He gradu- 
ated from Columbia College, in his native 
state, in 1796, and took up the study of law. 
In 1790 he became private secretary to his 
uncle, then governor of New York. He en- 
tered public life as a Republican or anti- 
Federalist, and was elected to the lower 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



111 



house of the state assembly in 1797, and the 
senate of that body in 1798. At that time 
he was looked on as " the most rising man 
in the Union." In 1801 he was elected to 
the United States senate. In-1803 he was 
appointed by the governor and council 
mayor of the city of New York, then a 
very important and powerful office. Hav- 
ing been re-appointed, he held the office 
of mayor for nearly eleven years, and 
rendered great service to that city. Mr. 
Clinton served as lieutenant-governor of 
the state of New York, 1811-13, and 
was one of the commissioners appointed 
to examine and survey a route for a canal 
from the Hudson river to Lake Erie. Dif- 
fering with President Madison, in relation to 
the war, in 18 12, he was nominated for the 
presidency against that gentleman, by a 
coalition party called the Clintonians, many 
of whom were Federalists. Clinton received 
eight-nine electoral votes. His course at 
this time impaired his popularity for a time. 
He was removed from the mayoralty in 
1814, and retired to private life. In 1815 
he wrote a powerful argument for the con- 
struction of the Erie canal, then a great and 
beneficent work of which he was the prin- 
cipal promoter. This was in the shape of 
a memorial to the legislature, which, in 
18 17, passed a bill authorizing the construc- 
tion of that canal. The same year he was 
elected governor of New York, almost unani- 
mously, notwithstanding the opposition of 
a few who pronounced the scheme of the 
canal visionary. He was re-elected governor 
in 1820. He was at this time, also, presi- 
dent of the canal commissioners. He de- 
clined a re-election to the gubernatorial 
chair in 1822 and was removed from his 
place on the canal board two years later. 
But he was triumphantly elected to the of- 
fice of governor that fall, and his pet project, 



the Erie canal, was finished the next year. 
He was re-elected governor in 1826, but 
died while holding that office, February 11, 
1828. 



AARON BURR, one of the many brilliant 
figures on the political stage in the early 
days of America, was born at Newark, New 
Jersey, February 6, 1756. He was the son 
of Aaron and Esther Burr, the former the 
president of the College of New Jersey, and 
the latter a daughter of Jonathan Edwards, 
who had been president of the same educa- 
tional institution. Young Burr graduated 
at Princeton in 1772. In 1775 he joined 
the provincial army at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts. For a time, he served as a private 
soldier, but later was made an aide on the 
staff of the unfortunate General Montgom- 
er}', in the Quebec expedition. Subse- 
quently he was on the staffs of Arnold, Put- 
nam and Washington, the latter of whom 
he disliked. He was promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel and commanded a 
brigade on Monmouth's bloody field. In 
1779. on account of feeble health, Colonel 
Burr resigned from the army. He took up 
the practice of law in Albany, New York, 
but subsequently removed to New York City. 
In 1789 he became attorney-general of that 
state. In 1791 he was chosen to represent 
the state of New York in the United States 
senate and held that position for six years. 
In 1800 he and Thomas Jefferson were both 
candidates for the presidency, and there 
being a tie in the electoral college, each 
having seventy-three votes, the choice was 
left to congress, who gave the first place to 
Jefferson and made Aaron Burr vice-presi- 
dent, as the method then was. In 1804 Mr. 
Burr and his great rival, Alexander Hamil- 
ton, met in a duel, which resulted in the 
death of the latter. Burr losing thereby con- 



112 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



siderable political and social influence. He 
soon embarked in a wild attempt upon 
Mexico, and as was asserted, upon the 
southwestern territories of the United 
States. He was tried for treason at 
Richmond, Virginia, in 1807, but acquitted, 
and to avoid importunate creditors, fled to 
Europe. After a time, in 1812, he returned 
to New York, where he practiced law, and 
where he died, September 14, 1836. A man 
of great ability, brilliant and popular talents, 
his influence was destroyed by his unscrupu- 
lous political actions and immoral private 
life. 

ALBERT GALLATIN, one of the most 
distinguished statesmen of the early 
days of the republic, was born at Geneva, 
Switzerland, January 29, 1 761. He was 
the son of Jean de Gallatin and Sophia A. 
Rolaz du Rosey Gallatin, representatives of 
an old patrician family. Albert Gallatin 
was left an orphan at an early age, and was 
educated under the care of friends of his 
parents. He graduated from the University 
of Geneva in 1779, and declining employ- 
ment under one of the sovereigns of Ger- 
many, came to the struggling colonies, land- 
ing in Boston July 14, 1780. Shortly after 
his arrival he proceeded to Maine, where he 
served as a volunteer under Colonel Allen. 
He made advances to the government for 
the support of the American troops, and in 
November, 1780, was placed in command 
of a small fort at Passamaquoddy, defended 
by a force of militia, volunteers and Indians. 
In 1783 he was professor of the French 
language at Harvard University. A year 
later, having received his patrimony from 
Europe, he purchased large tracts of land 
in western Virginia, but was prevented by 
the Indians from forming the large settle- 
ment he proposed, and, in 17S6, purchased 



a farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 
In 1789 he was a member of the convention 
to amend the constitution of that state, and 
united himself with the Republican party, 
the head of which was Thomas Jefferson. 
The following year he was elected to the 
legislature of Pennsylvania, to which he was 
subsequently re-elected. In 1793 he was 
elected to the United States senate, but 
could not take his seat on account of not 
having been a citizen long enough. In 1794 
Mr. Gallatin was elected to the representa- 
tive branch of congress, in which he served 
three terms. He also took an important 
position in the suppression of the "whiskey 
insurrection." In iSoi, on the accession of 
Jefferson to the presidency, Mr. Gallatin 
was appointed secretary of the treasury. 
In 1809 Mr. Madison offered him the posi- 
tion of secretary of state, but he declined, 
and continued at the head of the treasury 
until 1812, a period of twelve years. He 
exercised a great influence on the other de- 
partments and in the general administration, 
especially in the matter of financial reform,, 
and recommended measures for taxation, 
etc. , which were passed by congress, and be- 
came laws May 24, 18 1 3. The same year he 
was sent as an envoy extraordinary to Rus- 
sia, which had offered to mediate between 
this country and Great Britain, but the lat- 
ter country refusing the interposition of 
another power, and agreeing to treat di- 
rectly with the United States, in 18 14, at 
Ghent, Mr. Gallatin, in connection with his 
distinguished colleagues, negotiated and 
signed the treaty of peace. In 181 5, in 
conjunction with Messrs. Adams and Clay, 
he signed, at London, a commercial treaty 
between the two countries. In 18 16, de- 
clining his old post at the head of the treas- 
ury, Mr. Gallntiii was sent as tnini-;ter to 
France, "'h ■■ i>e remained until 1823, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



113 



After a year spent in England as envoy ex- 
traordinary, he took up his residence in New 
York, and from that time held no public 
office. In 1830 he was chosen president of 
the council of the University of New York. 
He was, in 1831, made president of the 
National bank, which position he resigned 
in 1839. He died August 12, 1849. 



M' 



ILLARD FILLMORE, the thirteenth 
president of the United States, was 
born of New England parentage in Summer 
Hill, Cayuga county. New York, January 7, 
1800. His school education was very lim- 
ited, but he occupied his leisure hours in 
study. He worked in youth upon his fa- 
ther's farm in his native county, and at the 
age of fifteen was apprenticed to a wool 
carder and cloth dresser. Four years later 
he was induced by Judge Wood to enter his 
office at Montviile, New York, and take up 
the study of law. This warm friend, find- 
ing young Fillmore destitute of means, 
loaned him money, but the latter, not wish- 
ing to incur a heavy debt, taught school 
during part of the time and in this and other 
ways helped maintain himself. In 1822 he 
removed to Buffalo, New York, and the year 
following, being admitted to the bar, he 
commenced the practice of Ws profession 
at East Aurora, in the same state. Here 
he remained until 1830, having, in the 
meantime, been admitted to practice in the 
supreme court, when he returned to Buffalo, 
where he became the partner of S. G. 
Haven and N. K. Hall. He entered poli- 
tics and served in the state legislature from 
1829 to 1832. He was in congress in 1833- 
35 and in 1837-41, where he proved an 
active and useful member, favoring the 
views of John Quincy Adams, then battling 
almost alone the slave-holding party in na- 
tional politics, and in most 01 pnblif q;ie=;- 



tions acted with the Whig party. While 
chairman of the committee of ways and 
means he took a leading part in draughting 
the tariff bill of 1842. In 1844 Mr. Fill- 
more was the Whig candidate for governor 
of New York. In 1847 he was chosen 
comptroller of the state, and abandoning 
his practice and profession removed to Al- 
bany. In 1848 he was elected vice presi- 
dent on the ticket with General Zachary 
Taylor, and they were inaugurated the fol- 
lowing March. On the death of the presi- 
dent, July 9, 1850, Mr. Fillmore was in- 
ducted into that office. The great events 
of his administration were the passage of 
the famous compromise acts of 1850, and 
the sending out of the Japan expedition of 
1852. 

March 4, 1853, having served one term. 
President Fillmore retired from office, and 
in 1855 went to Europe, where he received 
marked attention. On returning home, in 
1856, he was nominated for the presidency 
by the Native American or "Know-Noth- 
ing" party, but was defeated, James Buch- 
anan being the successful candidate. 

Mr. Fillmore ever afterward lived in re- 
tirement. During the conflict of Civil war 
he was mostly silent. It was generally sup- 
posed, however, that his sympathy was with 
the southern confederacy. He kept aloof 
from the conflict without any words of cheer 
to the one party or the other. For this rea- 
son he was forgotten by both. He died of 
paralysis, in Buffalo, New York, March 8, 
1874- 

PETER F. ROTHERMEL, one of Amer- 
ica's greatest and best-known historical 
painters, was born in Luzerne county, Penn- 
sylvania, July 8, 1817, and was of German 
ancestry. He received his earlier education 
in his native county, and in Philadelphia 



114 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



learned the profession of land surveying. 
But a strong bias toward art drew him away 
and he soon opened a studio where he did 
portrait painting. This soon gave place to 
historical painting, he having discovered the 
bent of his genius in that direction. Be- 
sides the two pictures in the Capitol at 
Washington — ' 'De Soto Discovering the Mis- 
sissippi" and "Patrick Henry Before the 
Virginia House of Burgesses" — Rothermel 
painted many others, chief among which 
are: "Columbus Before Queen Isabella," 
"Martyrs of the Colosseum," "Cromwell 
Breaking Up Service in an English Church, " 
and the famous picture of the "Battle 
of Gettysburg." The last named was 
painted for the state of Pennsylvania, for 
which Rothermel received the sum of $25,- 
000, and which it took him four years to 
plan and to paint. It represents the portion 
of that historic field held by the First corps, 
an exclusively Pennsylvania body of men, 
and was selected by Rothermel for that 
reason. For many years most of his time 
was spent in Italy, only returning for short 
periods. He died at Philadelphia, August 
16, 1895. 

EDMUND KIRBY SMITH, one of the 
distinguished leaders upon the side of the 
south in the late Civil war, was born at St. 
Augustine, Florida, in 1824. After receiv- 
ing the usual education he was appointed to 
the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, from which he graduated in 1845 and 
entered the army as second lieutenant of 
infantry. During the Mexican war he was 
made first lieutenant and captain for gallant 
conduct at Cerro Gordo and Contreras. 
From 1849 to 1852 he was assistant pro- 
fessor of mathematics at West Point. He 
was transferred to the Second cavalry with 
the rank of captain in 1855, served on the 



frontier, and was wounded in a fight with 
Comanche Indians in Texas, May 13, 1859. 
In January, 1861, he became major of his 
regiment, but resigned April 9th to fol- 
low the fortunes of the southern cause. 
He was appointed brigadier-general in the 
Confederate army and served in Virginia. 
At the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, 
he arrived on the field late in the day, but 
was soon disabled by a wound. He was 
made major-general in 1862, and being trans- 
ferred to East Tennessee, was given com- 
mand of that department. Under General 
Braxton Bragg he led the advance in the 
invasion of Kentucky and defeated the Union 
forces at Richmond, Kentucky, August 30, 

1862, and advanced to Frankfort. Pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, he 
was engaged at the battle of Perryville, 
October 10, and in the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, December 31, 1862, and January 3, 

1863. He was soon made general, the 
highest rank in the service, and in com- 
mand of the trans-Mississippi department 
opposed General N. P. Banks in the famous 
Red River expedition, taking part in the 
battle of Jenkins Ferry, April 30, 1864, and 
other engagements of that eventful cam- 
paign. He was the last to surrender the 
forces under his command, which he did 
May 26, 1865. After the close of the war 
he located in Tennessee, where he died 
March 28, 1893. 



JOHN JAMES INGALLS, a famous 
American statesman, was born Decem- 
ber 29, 1833, at Middleton, Massachusetts, 
where he was reared and received his early 
education. He went to Kansas in 1858 
and joined the free-soil army, and a year 
after his arrival he was a member of the his- 
torical Wyandotte convention, which drafted 
a free-state constitution. In i860 he was 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



115 



made secretary of the territorial council, 
and in 1861 was secretary of the state sen- 
ate. The next year he was duly elected to 
the legitimate state senate from Atchison, 
where he had made his home. From that 
time he was the leader of the radical Re- 
publican element in the state. He became 
the editor of the " Atchison Champion " in 
1863, which was a "red-hot free-soil Re- 
publican organ." In 1862 he was the anti- 
Lane candidate for lieutenant-governor, but 
was defeated. He was elected to the Unit- 
ed States senate to succeed Senator Pom- 
eroy, and took his seat in the forty-third 
congress and served until the fiftieth. In 
the forty-ninth congress he succeeded Sen- 
ator Sherman as president pro tern., which 
position he held through the fiftieth con- 
gress. 

BENJAMIN WEST, the greatest of the 
early Aaierican painters, was of Eng- 
lish descent and Quaker parentage. He was 
born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1738. 
From what source he inherited his genius it 
is hard to imagine, since the tenets and 
tendencies of the Quaker faith were not cal- 
culated to encourage the genius of art, but 
at the age of nine years, with no suggestion 
except that of inspiration, we find him choos- 
ing his model from life, and laboring over 
his first work calculated to attract public 
notice. It was a representation of a sleep- 
ing child in its cradle. The brush with 
which he painted it was made of hairs 
which he plucked from the cat's tail, and 
the colors were obtained from the war paints 
of friendly Indians, his mother's indigo bag, 
and ground chalk and charcoal, and the juice 
of berries, but there were touches in the rude 
production that he declared in later days 
were a credit to his best works. The pic- 
ture attracted notice, for a council was 



called at once to pass upon the boy's con- 
duct in thus infringing the laws of the so- 
ciety. There were judges among them who 
saw in his genius a rare gift and their wis- 
dom prevailed, and the child was given per- 
mission to follow his inclination. He studied 
under a painter named Williams, and then 
spent some years as a portrait painter with 
advancing success. At the age of twenty- 
two he went to Italy, and not until he had 
perfected himself by twenty-three years of 
labor in that paradise of art was he satisfied 
to turn his face toward home. However, he 
stopped at London, and decided to settle 
there, sending to America for his intended 
bride to join him. Though the Revolution- 
ary war was raging. King George III showed 
the American artist the highest considera- 
tion and regard. His remuneration from 
works for royalty amounted to five thou' 
sand dollars per year for thirty years. 

West's best known work in America is, 
perhaps, "The Death of General Wolf." 
West was one of the thirty-six original mem- 
bers of the Royal academy and succeeded 
Joshua Reynolds as president, which posi- 
tion he held until his death. His early 
works were his best, as he ceased to display 
originality in his later life, conventionality 
having seriously affected his efforts. He 
died in 1820. 



SAMUEL PORTER JONES, the famous 
Georgia evangelist, was born October 
16, 1847, in Chambers county, Alabama. 
He did not attend school regularly during 
his boyhood, but worked on a farm, and 
went to school at intervals, on account of 
ill health. His father removed to Carters- 
ville, Georgia, when Mr. Jones was a small 
boy. He quit school at the age of nineteen 
and never attended college. The war inter- 
fered with his education, which was intended 



IIG 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



to prepare him for the legal profession. 
After the war he renewed his preparation 
for college, but was compelled to desist from 
such a course, as his health failed him en- 
tirely. Later on, however, he still pursued 
his legal studies and was admitted to the 
bar. Soon after this event he went to Dal- 
las, Paulding county, Georgia, where he was 
engaged in the practice of his profession, 
and in a few months removed to Cherokee 
county, Alabama, where he taught school. 
In 1869 he returned to Cartersville, Georgia, 
and arrived in time to see his father die. 
Immediately after this event he applied for 
a license to preach, and went to Atlanta, 
Georgia, to the meeting of the North Geor- 
gia Conference of the M. E. church south, 
which received him on trial. He became 
an evangelist of great note, and traveled 
extensively, delivering his sermons in an 
inimitable style that made him very popular 
with the masses, his methods of conducting 
revivals being unique and original and his 
preaching practical and incisive. 



SHELBY MOORE CULLOM, a national 
character in political affairs and for 
many years United States senator from 
Illinois, was born November 22, 1829, at 
Monticello, Kentucky. He came with his 
parents to Illinois in 1830 and spent his early 
yearson afarm, but havingformed the purpose 
of devoting himself to the lawyer's profession 
he spent two years study at the Rock River 
seminary atMount Morris, Illinois. In 1853 
Mr. Cullom entered the law office of Stuart 
and Edwards at Springfield, Illinois, and two 
years later he began the independent prac- 
tice of law in that city. He took an active 
interest in politics and was soon elected city 
attorney of Springfield. In 1856 he v/as 
elected a member of the Illinois house of 
representatives. He identified himself with 



the newly formed Republican party and in 
i860 was re-elected to the legislature of his 
state, in which he was chosen speaker of the 
house. In 1862 President Lincoln appoint- 
ed a commission to pass upon and examine 
the accounts of the United States quarter- 
masters and disbursing officers, composed 
as follows: Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois; 
Charles A. Dana, of New York, and 
Gov. Boutwell, of Massachusetts. Mr. 
Cullom was nominated for congress in 
1864, and was elected by a majority of 
1,785. In the house of representatives he 
became an active and aggressive member, 
was chairman of the committee on territories 
and served in congress until 1868. Mr. 
Cullom was returned to the state legislature, 
of which he was chosen speaker in 1872, 
and was re-elected in 1874. In 1876 he 
was elected governor of Illinois and at the 
end of his term he was chosen for a second 
term. Hewaselected United States senator 
in 1 88^ and twice reelected. 



RICHARD JORDAN CATLING, an 
American inventor of much note, was 
born in Hertford county, North Carolina, 
September 12, 1818. At an early age he 
gave promise of an inventive genius. The 
first emanation from his mind was the 
invention of a screw for the propulsion 01 
water craft, but on application for a 
patent,' found that he was forestalled but 
a short time by John Ericsson. Subse- 
quently he invented a machine for sowing' 
wheat in drills, which was used to a great 
extent throughout the west. He then stud- 
ied medicine, and in 1847-8 attended 
lectures at the Indiana Medical College 
at Laporte, and in 1848-9 at the Ohio 
Medical College at Cincinnati. He later 
discovered a method of transmitting power 
through the medium of compressed air. A 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPlfT 



119 



double-acting hemp break was also invented 
by him. The invention, however, by which 
Dr. Catling became best known was the 
famous machine gun which bears his name. 
This he brought to light in 1861-62, and on 
the first trial of it, in the spring of the latter 
year, two hundred shots per minute were 
fired from it. After making some improve- 
ments which increased its efficiency, it was 
submitted to severe trials by our govern- 
ment at the arsenals at Frankfort, Wash- 
ington and Fortress Monroe, and at other 
points. The gun was finally adopted by 
our government, as well as by that of Great 
Britain, Russia and others. 



BENJAMIN RYAN TILLMAN, who won 
a national fame in politics, was born 
August II, 1847, in Edgefield county. South 
Carolina. He received his education in the 
Oldfield school, where he acquired the 
rudiments of Latin and Creek, in addition 
to a good English education. He left school 
in 1864 to join the Confederate army, but 
was prevented from doing so by a severe 
illness, which resulted in the loss of an eye. 
In 1867 he removed to Florida, but returned 
in 1868, when he was married and devcted 
himself to farming. He was chairman of 
the Democratic organization of his county, 
but except a few occasional services he took 
no active part in politics then. Gradually, 
however, his attention was directed to the 
depressed condition of the farming interests 
of his state, and in August, 1885, before a 
joint meeting of the agricultural society and 
state grange at Bennettsville, he made a 
speech in which he set forth the cause of 
agricultural depression and urged measures 
of relief. From his active interest in the 
farming class he was styled the " Agricult- 
ural Moses." He advocated an industrial 

school for women and for a separate agri- 
7 



cultural college, and in 1S87 he secured a 
modification in the final draft of the will of 
Thomas C. Clemson, which resulted in the 
erection of the Clemson Agricultural Col- 
lege at Fort Hill. In 1890 he was chosen 
governor on the Democratic ticket, and 
carried the election by a large majority. 
Governor Tillman was inaugurated Decem- 
ber 4, 1890. Mr. Tillman was next elected 
to the United States senate from South 
Carolina, and gained a national reputation 
by his fervid oratory. 



GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE.— 
No journalist of America was so cele- 
brated in his time for the wit, spice, and 
vigor of his writing, as the gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch. From Atlantic to 
Pacific he was well known by his witticism 
as well as by strength and force of his edi- 
torials. He was a native of Preston, Con- 
necticut, born December 18, 1802. After 
laying the foundation of a liberal education 
in his youth, he entered Brown University, 
from which he was graduated in 1823. Tak- 
ing up the study of law, he was admitted to 
the bar in 1829. During part of his time 
he was editor of the " New England Weekly 
Review," a position which he relinquished 
to go south and was succeeded by John 
Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker poet. 

On arriving in Louisville, whither he 
had gone to gather items for his history of 
Henry Clay, Mr. Prentice became identified 
with the " Louisville Journal," which, under 
his hands, became one of the leading Whig 
newspapers of the country. At the head of 
this he remained until the day of his deatli. 
This latter event occurred January 22, 1870, 
and he was succeeded in the control of the 
" Journal " by Colonel Henry Watterson. 

Mr. Prentice was an author of consider- 
able celebrity, chief among his works being 



120 



CO.yPEXDIC'M OF BIOGRAPIir 



"The Life of Henry Clay," and " Prentice- 
ana," a collection of wit and humor, that 
passed through several large editions. 



SAM. HOUSTON, in the opinion of some 
critics one of the most remarkable men 
w'lo ever figured in American history, was a 
native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, born 
March 2, 1793. Early in life he was left in 
destitute circumstances by the death of his 
father, and, with his mother, removed to 
Tennessee, then almost a boundless wilder- 
ness. He received but little education, 
spending the most of his time among the 
Cherokee Indians. Part of the time of his 
residence there Houston acted as clerk for a 
trader and also taught one of the primitive 
schools of the day. In 181 3 he enlisted as 
private in the United States army and was 
engaged under General Jackson in the war 
with the Creek Indians. When peace was 
made Houston was a lieutenant, but he re- 
signed his commission and commenced the 
study of law at Nashville. After holding 
some minor offices he was elected member 
of congress from Tennessee. This was in 
1823. He retained this office until 1827, 
when he was chosen governor of the state. 
In 1829, resigning that office before the ex- 
piration of his term, Sam Houston removed 
to Arkansas, and made his home among the 
Cherokees, becoming the agent of that 
tribe and representing their interests at 
Washington. On a visit to Texas, just 
prior to the election of delegates to a con- 
vention called for the purpose of drawing 
up a constitution previous to the admission 
of the state into the Mexican union, he was 
unanimously chosen a delegate. The con- 
vention framed the constitution, but, it be- 
ing rejected by the government of Mexico, 
and the petition for admission to the Con- 
federacy denied and the Texans told by the 



president of the Mexican union to give up 
their arms, bred trouble. It was determined 
to resist this demand. A military force was 
soon organized, with General Houston at 
the head of it. War was prosecuted with 
great vigor, and with varying success, but 
at the battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, 
the Mexicans were defeated and their leader 
and president, Santa Anna, captured. Texas 
was then proclaimed an independent repub- 
lic, and in October of the same year Hous- 
ton was inaugurated president. On the ad- 
mission of Texas to the Federal Union, in 
1845, Houston was elected senator, and 
held that position for twelve years. Oppos- 
ing the idea of secession, he retired from 
political life in 1861, and died at Hunts- 
ville, Texas, July 25, 1863. 



ELI WHITNEY, the inventor of the cot- 
ton-gin, was born in Westborough, Mas- 
sachusetts, December 8, 1765. After his 
graduation from Yale College, he went to 
Georgia, where he studied law, and lived 
with the family of the widow of General 
Nathaniel Greene. At that time the only 
way known to separate the cotton seed from 
the fiber was by hand, making it extremely 
slow and expensive, and for this reason cot- 
ton was little cultivated in this country. 
Mrs. Greene urged the inventive Whitney 
to devise some means for accomplishing 
this work by machinery. This he finally 
succeeded in doing, but he was harassed by 
attempts to defraud him by those who had 
stolen his ideas. He at last formed a part- 
nership with a man named Miller, and they 
began the manufacture of the machines at 
Washington, Georgia, in 1795. The suc- 
cess of his invention was immediate, and the 
legislature of South Carolina voted the sum 
of $50,000 for his idea. This sum he had 
great difficulty in collecting, after years of 



COMPEyDIUM OF BJOGRAP/ir. 



1-21 



litigation and delay. North Carolina al- 
lowed him a royalty, and the same was 
agreed to by Tennessee, but was never paid. 

While his fame rests upon the invention 
cf tiie cotton-gin, his fortune came from his 
improvements in the manufacture and con- 
struction of firearms. In 1798 the United 
Statv-S government gave him a contract for 
this purpose, and he accumulated a fortune 
from it. The town of Whitneyville, Con- 
necticut, v/as founded by this fortune. 
Whitney died at New Haven, Connecticut, 
January 8, 1825. 

The cotton-gin made the cultivation of 
cotton profitable, and this led to rapid in- 
troduction of slavery in the south. His in- 
vention thus affected our national history in 
a manner little dreamed of by the inventor. 



LESTER WALLACIv (John Lester Wal- 
lack), for many years the leading light 
comedian upon the American stage, was 
the son of James W. Wallack, the " Brum- 
mcll of the Stage." Bot^ father and son 
were noted for their comeliness of feature 
and form. Lester Wallack was born in 
New York. January i, 1819. He received 
his education in England, and made his first 
appearance on the stage in 1848 at the New 
Broadv^iay theater, New York. He acted 
light comedy parts, and also occasion- 
ally in romantic plays like Monte Cristo, 
which play made him his fame. He went 
to England and played under management 
of such men as Hamblin and Burton, and then 
returned to New York with his falher, who 
opened the first Wallack's theater, at the 
corner of Broome and Broadway, in 1852. 
The location was afterward changed to 
Thirteenth and Broadway, in 1861, and 
later to its present location, Broadway and 
Tiiirteenlh, in 1882. The elder Wallack 
died in 1S64, after which Lester assumed 



management, jointly with Theodore Moss. 
Lester Wallack was commissioned in the 
queen's service while in England, and there 
he also married a sister to tlie famous artist, 
the late John Everett Millais. While Les- 
ter Wallack never played in the interior 
cities, his name was as familiar to the public 
as that of our greatest stars. He died Sep- 
tember 6, 1888, at Stamford, Connecticut. 



GEORGE MORTIMER PULLMAN, 
the palace car magnate, inventor, 
multi-millionaire and manufacturer, may- 
well be classed among the remarkable 
self-made men of the century. He was 
born March 3, 1831, in Chautauqua county. 
New York. His parents were poor, and 
his education was limited to what he could 
learn of the rudimentary branches in the 
district school. At the age of fourteen he 
went to work as clerk for a country mer- 
chant. He kept this place three year^, 
stud>ing at night. When seventeen he 
went to Albion, New York, and Vv-orked for 
his brother, who kept a cabinet shop there. 
Five years later he went into business for 
himself as contractor fur moving buildings 
along the line of the Erie canal, which was 
then being widened by the state, and was 
successful in this. In 185S he removed to 
Chicago and engaged in the business of 
moving and raising houses. The work was 
novel there then and he was quite success- 
ful. About this time the discomfort attend- 
ant on traveling at night attracted his at- 
tention. He reasoned that the public would 
gladly pay for comfortable sleeping accom- 
modations. A few sleeping cars were in 
use at that time, but they were v.-retcliedly 
crude, uncomfortable affairs. In 1S5Q he 
bought two old day coaches from the Ciii- 
cago& Alton road and remodeled them some- 
thing like the general plan of the sleeping- 



122 



COMPEXDICM OF BIOGRArHT. 



cars of the present day. They were put 
into service on the Chicago & Alton and 
became popular at once. In 1863 he built 
the first sleeping-car resembling the Pullman 
cars of to-day. It cost $18,000 and was 
the "Pioneer." After that the Pullman 
Palace Car Company prospered. It had 
shops at different cities. In 1880 the Town 
of Pullman was founded by Mr. Pullman 
and his company, and this model manufac- 
turing community is known all over the 
world. Mr. Pullman died October 19, 1897. 



TAMES E. B. STUART, the most famous 
kJ cavalry leader of the Southern Confed- 
eracy during the Civil war, was born in 
Patrick county, Virginia, in 1833. Oil 
graduating from the United States Military 
Academy, West Point, in 1854, he was as- 
signed, as second lieutenant, to a regiment 
of mounted rifles, receiving his commission 
in October. In March, 1855, he was trans- 
ferred to the newly organized First cavalry, 
and was promoted to first lieutenant the 
following December, and to captain April 
22, 1861. Taking the side of the south. 
May 14, 1 861, he was made colonel of a 
Virginia cavalry regiment, and served as 
such at Bull Run. In September, 1861, he 
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-gen- 
eral, and major-general early in 1862. On 
the reorganization of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, in June of the latter year, when 
R. E. Lee assumed command. General Stu- 
art made a reconnoissance with one thou- 
sand five hundred cavalry and four guns, 
and in two days made the circuit of McClel- 
lan's army, producing much confusion and 
gathering useful information, and losing but 
one man. August 25, 1862, he captured 
part of Pope's headquarters' train, including 
that general's private baggage and official 
correspondence, and the next night, in a 



descent upon Manasses, capturing immense 
quantities of commissary and quartermaster 
store, eight guns, a number of locomotives 
and a few hundred prisoners. During the 
invasion of Maryland, in September, 1862, 
General Stuart acted as rearguard, resisting 
the advance of the Federal cavalry at South 
Mountain, and at Antietam commanded the 
Confederate left. Shortly after he crossed 
the Potomac, making a raid as far as Cham- 
bersburg, Pennsylvania. In the battle of 
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Gen- 
eral Stuart's command was on the extreme 
right of the Confederate line. At Chancel- 
lorsville, after "Stonewall " Jackson's death 
and the wounding of General A. P. Hill, 
General Stuart assumed command of Jack- 
son's corps, which he led in the sevefe con- 
test of May 3, 1863. Early in June, the 
same year, a large force of cavalry was 
gathered under Stuart, at Culpepper, Vir- 
ginia, which, advancing to join General Lee 
in his invasion of Pennsylvania, was met at 
Brandy Station, by \^No divisions of cavalry 
and two brigades of infantry, under General 
John I. Gregg, and driven back. During the 
movements of the Gettysburg campaign he 
rendered important services. In May, 1864, 
General Stuart succeeded, by a detour, in 
placing himself between Richmond and 
Sheridan's advancing column, and at Yellow 
Tavern was attacked in force. During the 
fierce conflict that ensued General Stuart 
was mortally wounded, and died at Rich- 
mond, May 1 1, 1864. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth 
president of the United States — from 
1853 until 1857 — was born November 23, 
1804, at Hillsboro, New Hampshire. He 
came of old revolutionary stock and his 
father was a governor of the state. Mr. 
Pierce entered Bowdoin College in 1820, 



COMPEXDIi'M OF BIOGRAPHY. 



123 



was graduated in 1824, and took up the 
study of law in the office of Judge Wood- 
bury, and later he was admitted to the bar. 
Mr. Pierce practiced his profession with 
varying successes in his native town and 
also in Concord. He was elected to the 
state legislature in 1833 and served in that 
body until 1837, the last two years of his 
term serving as speaker of the house. He 
was elected to the United States senate in 
1837, just as President Van Buren began 
his term of office. Mr. Pierce served until 
1842, and many times during Polk's term he 
declined important public offices. During 
the war with Mexico Mr. Pierce was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general, and he embarked 
with a portion of his troops at Newport, 
Rhode .Island, May 27, 1847, and went with 
them to the field of battle. He served 
through the war and distinguished himself 
by his skill, bravery and excellent judg- 
ment. When he reached liis home in his 
native state he was received coldly by the 
opponents of the war, but the advocates of 
the war made up for his cold reception by 
the enthusiastic welcome which they ac- 
corded him. Mr. Pierce resumed the prac- 
tice of his profession, and in the political 
strife that followed he gave his support to 
the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic 
party. The Democratic convention met in 
Baltimore, June 12, 1852, to nominate a 
candidate for tlie presidency, and they con- 
tinued in session four days, and in thirty- 
five ballotings no one had secured the re- 
quisite two-thirds vote. Mr. Pierce had not 
received a vote as yet, until the Virginia 
delegation brought his name forward, and 
finally on the forty-ninth ballot Mr, Pierce 
received 282 votes and all the other candi- 
dates eleven. His opponent on the Whig 
ticket was General Winfield Scott, who 
onlv received the electoral votes of four 



states. Mr. Pierce was inaugurated presi- 
dent of the United States March 4, 1853, 
with W. R. King as vice president, and the 
following named gentlemen were afterward 
chosen to fill the positions in the cabinet: 
William S. Marcy, James Guthrie, Jeffer- 
son Davis, James C. Dobbin, Robert Mc- 
Clelland, James Campbell and Caleb Gush- 
ing. During the administration of President 
Pierce the Missouri compromise law was 
repealed, and all the territories of the Union 
were thrown open to slavery, and the dis- 
turbances in Kansas occurred. In 1857 he 
was succeeded in the presidency by James 
Buchanan, and retired to his home in Con- 
cord, New Hampshire. He always cherished 
his principles of slavery, and at the out- 
break of the rebellion he was an adherent of 
the cause of the Confederacy. He died at 
Concord, New Hampshire, October 8, 1869. 



JAMES B. WEAVER, well known as a 
leader of the Greenback and later of the 
Populist party, was born at Dayton, Ohio, 
June 12, 1833. He received his earlier 
education in the schools of his native town, 
and entered the law department of the Ohio 
University, at Cincinnati, from which he 
graduated in 1854. Removing to the grow- 
ing state of Iowa, he became connected 
with "The Iowa Tribune," at the state 
capital, Des Moines, as one of its editors. 
He afterward practiced law and was elected 
district attorney for the second judicial dis- 
trict of Iowa, on the Republican ticket in 
1866, which office he held for a short time. 
In 1 867 Mr. Weaver was appointed assessor 
of internal revenue for the first district of 
Iowa, and filled that position until some- 
time in 1873. He was elected and served 
in the forty-sixth congress. In 1880 th3 
National or Greenback party in convention 
at Chicago, nominated James B. Weaver as 



12 J: 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH7'. 



its candidate for tiie presidency. By a 
union of the Democratic and National 
parties in fiis district, he was elected to the 
forty-ninth congress, and re-elected to the 
same office in the fall of 1886. Mr. Weaver 
was conceded to be a very fluent speaker, 
and quite active in all political work. On 
July 4, 1892, at the National convention 
of the People's party, General James B. 
Weaver was chosen as the candidate for 
president of that organization, and during 
the campaign that followed, gained a na- 
tional reputation. 



ANTHONY JOSEPH DREXEL, one 
of the leading bankers and financiers of 
the United States, was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in 1S26, and was the son of 
Francis M. Drexel, who had established 
the large banking institution of Drexel & 
Co. , so well known. The latter was a native 
of Dornbirn, in the Austrian Tyrol. He 
studied languages and fine arts at Turin, 
Italy. On returning to his mountain home, 
in 1809, and finding it in the hands of the 
French, he went to Switzerland and later 
to Paris. In 1 812, after a short visit home, 
he went to Berlin, where he studied paint- 
ing until 1S17, in which year he emigrated 
io America, and settled in Philadelphia. A 
few years later he went to Chili and Peru, 
where he executed some fine portraits of 
notable people, including General Simon 
Bolivar. After spending some time in Mex- 
ico, he returned to Philadelphia, and en- 
gaged in the banking business. . In 1S37 he 
founded the house of Drexel & Co. He 
died in 1837, and was succeeded by his two 
sons, Anthony J. and Francis A. His son, 
Anthony J. Drexel, Jr. , entered the bank 
when he was thirteen years of age, before he 
was through with his schooling, and after 
that the history of the banking business of 



which he was the head, was the history of his 
life. The New York house of Dre.xel, Mor- 
gan & Co. was established in 1850; the 
Paris house, Drexel, Harjes & Co., in 1867. 
The Drexel banking houses have supplied 
iand placed hundreds of millions of dollars 
n government, corporation, railroad and 
other loans and securities. The reputation 
of the houses has always been held on the 
highest plane. Mr. Drexel founded and 
heavily endowed the Drexel Institute, in 
Philadelphia, an institution to furnish better 
and wider avenues of employment to young 
people of both sexes. It has departments 
of arts, science, mechanical arts and domes- 
tic economy. Mr. Drexel, Jr., departed this 
life June 30, 1893. 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE, 
inventor of the recording telegraph in- 
strument, was born in Charlestowii, Massa- 
chusetts, April 27, 1791. He graduated 
from Yale College in 18 10, and took up art 
as his profession. He went to London with 
the great American painter, Washington 
AUston, and studied in the Royal Academy 
under Benjamin West. His " Dying Her- 
cules," his first effort in sculpture, took the 
gold medal in 1813. He returned to Amer- 
ica in 181 5 and continued to pursue his 
profession. He was greatly interested in 
scientific studies, which he carried on in 
connection with other labors. He founded 
the National Academy of Design and was 
many years its president. He returned to 
Europe and spent three years in study 
in the art centers, Rome, Florence, Venice 
and Paris. In 1832 he returned to America 
and while on the return voyage the idea of 
a recording telegraph apparatus occurred to 
him, and he made a drawing to represent his 
conception. He was the first to occupy the 
chair of fine arts in the University of New 



COMPEXDILM OF BlOGRAPIir 



125 



York City, and in 1835 he set up his rude 
instrument in his room in the university. 
But it was not until after many years of 
discouragement and reverses of fortune that 
he finally was successful in placing his inven- 
tion before the public. In 1844, by aid of 
the United States government, h.e had con- 
structed a telegraph line forty miles in length 
from Washington to Baltimore. Over this 
line the test was made, and the first tele- 
graphic message was flashed May 24, 1844, 
from the United States supreme court rooms 
to Baltimore. It read, "What hath God 
wrought!" His fame and fortune were es- 
tablished in an instant. Wealth and honors 
poured in upon him from that day. The 
nations of Europe vied with each other 
in honoring the great inventor with medals, 
titles and decorations, and the learned 
societies of Europe hastened to enroll his 
name upon their membership lists and confer 
degrees. In 1858 he was the recipient of an 
honor never accorded to an inventor before. 
The ten leading nations of Europe, at the 
suggestion of the Emporer Napoleon, ap- 
pointed representatives to an international 
congress, which convened at Paris for the 
special purpose of expressing gratitude of- the 
nations, and they voted him a present of 
400,000 francs. 

Professor IVIorse was present at the unveil- 
ing of a bronze statue erected in his honor in 
Central Park, New York, in 1871. His last 
appearance in public was at the unveiling 
of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in New 
York in 1872, when he made the dedica- 
tory speech and unveiled the statue. He 
died April 2, 1872, in the city of New York. 



MORRISON REMICH WAITE, seventh 
chief justice of the United States, was 
born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29, 
1816. He was a graduate from Yale Col- 



lege in 1837, in the class with \\'illiam M. 
Evarts. His father was judge of the su- 
preme court of errors of the state of Con- 
necticut, and in his office young Waite 
studied law. He subsequently removed to 
Ohio, and was elected to the legislature of 
that state in 1849. He removed from 
Maumee City to Toledo and became a prom- 
inent legal light in that state. He was 
nominated as a candidate for congress re- 
peatedly but declined to run, and also de- 
clined a place on the supreme bench of the 
state. He won great distinction for his able 
handling of the Alabama claims at Geneva, 
before the arbitration tribunal in 1S71, and 
was appointed chief justice of the supreme 
court of the United States in 1874 on the 
death of Judge Chase. When, in 1876, elec- 
toral commissioners were chosen to decide 
the presidential election controversy between 
Tilden and Hayes, Judge Waite refused to 
serve on that commission. 

His death occurred March 2^, 1888.. 



ELISHA KENT KANE was one of the 
distinguished American explorers of the 
unknown regions of the frozen north, and 
gave to the world a more accurate knowl- 
edge of the Arctic zone. Dr. Kane was 
born February 3, 1820, at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of the 
universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania, 
and took his medical degree in 1843. He 
entered the service of the United States 
navy, and was physician to the Chinese 
embassy. Dr. Kane traveled extensively 
in the Levant, Asia and Western Africa, 
and also served- in the Mexican war, in 
which he was severely wounded. His 
first Arctic expedition was under De Haven 
in the first Grinnell expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin in 1S50. He com- 
manded the second Grinnell expedition 



126 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



in 1853-55. and discovered an open polar 
sea. For this expedition he received a gold 
medal and other distinctions. He published 
a narrative of his first polar expedition in 
1853, and in 1856 published two volumes 
relating to his second polar expedition. He 
was a man of active, enterprising and cour- 
ageous spirit. His health, which was al- 
ways delicate, was impaired by the hard- 
ships of his Arctic expeditions, from which 
he never fully recovered and from which he 
died February 16, 1857, at Havana. 



ELIZABETH CADY STANTON was a 
daughter of Judge Daniel Cady and 
Margaret Livingston, and was born Novem- 
ber 12, 181 5, at Johnstown, New York. She 
was educated at the Johnstown Academy, 
where she studied with a class of boys, and 
was fitted for college at the age of fifteen, 
after which she pursued her studies at Mrs. 
Willard's Seminary, at Troy. Her atten- 
tion was called to the disabilities of her sex 
by her own educational experiences, and 
through a study of Blackstone, Story, and 
Kent. Miss Cady was married to Henry B. 
Stanton in 1840, and accompanied him to 
the world's anti-slavery convention in Lon- 
don. While there she made the acquain- 
tance of Lucretia Mott. Mrs. Stanton 
resided at Boston until 1847, when the 
family moved to Seneca Falls, New York, 
and she and Lucretia Mott signed the first 
call for a woman's rights convention. The 
meeting was held at her place of residence 
July 19-20, 1848. This was the first oc- 
casion of a formal claim of suffrage for 
women that was made. Mrs. Stanton ad- 
dressed the New York legislature, in 1S54, 
on the rights of married women, and in 
i860, in advocacy of the granting of di- 
vorce for drunkenness. She also addressed 
the legislature and the constitutional con- 



vention, and maintained that during the 
revision of the constitution the state was 
resolved into its original elements, and that 
all citizens had, therefore, a right to vote 
for the members of that convention. After 
1869 Mrs. Stanton frequently addressed 
congressional committees and state consti- 
tutional conventions, and she canvassed 
Kansas, Michigan, and other states when 
the question of woman suffrage was sub- 
mitted in those states. Mrs. Stanton was 
one of the editors of the " Revolution," and 
most of the calls and resolutions for con- 
ventions have come from her pen. She 
was president of the national committee, 
also of the Woman's Loyal League, and 
of the National Association, for many years. 



DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, a great 
American jurist, was born in Connecti- 
cut in 1805. He entered Williams College 
when sixteen years old, and commenced the 
study of law in 1825. In 1828 he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and went to New York, 
where he soon came into prominence be- 
fore the bar of that state. He entered upoti 
the labor of reforming the practice and 
procedure, which was then based upon the 
common law practice of England, and had 
become extremely complicated, difficult and 
uncertain in its application. His first paper 
on this subject was published in 1839, and 
after eight years of continuous efforts in this 
direction, he was appointed one of a com- 
mission by New York to reform the practice 
of that state. The result was embodied in 
the two codes of procedure, civil and crimi- 
nal, the first of which was adopted almost 
entire by the state of New York, and has 
since been adopted by more than half the 
states in the Union, and became the basis 
of the new practice and procedure in Eng- 
land, contained iii the Judicature act. He 



COMPENDIUM OF BIO GRAPH!'. 



127 



was later appointed chairman cf a new corn- 
mission to codify the entire body of laws. 
This great work employed many years in its 
completion, but when finished it embraced 
a civil, penal, and political code, covering 
the entire field of American laws, statutory 
and common. This great body of law was 
adopted by California and Dakota territory 
in its entirety, and many other states have 
since adopted its substance. In 1867 the 
British Association for Social Science heard 
a proposition from Mr. Field to prepare an 
international code. This led to the prepara- 
tion of his " Draft Outlines of an Interna- 
tional Code," which was in fact a complete 
body of international laws, and introduced 
the principle of arbitration. Other of his 
codes of the state of New York have since 
been adopted by that state. 

In addition to his great works on law, 
Mr. Field indulged his literary tastes by fre- 
quent contributions to general literature, 
and his articles on travels, literature, and 
the political questions of the hour gave 
him rank with the best writers of his time. 
His father was the Rev. David Dudley Field, 
and his brothers were Cyrus W. Field, Rev. 
Henry Martin Field, and Justice Stephen 
J. Field of the United States supreme 
court. David Dudley Field died at New 
York, April 13, 1S94. 



HENRY M. TELLER, a celebrated 
American politician, and secretary of 
the interior under President Arthur, was born 
May 23, 1830, in Allegany county, New 
York. He was of Hollandish ancestry and 
received an excellent education, after which 
he took up the study of law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in the state of New York. 
Mr. Teller removed to Illinois in January, 
1858, and practiced for three years in that 
state. From thence he moved to Colorado 



in 1 86 1 and located at Central City, which 
was then one of the principal mining towns 
in the state. His exceptional abilities as 
a lawyer soon brought him into prominence 
and gained for him a numerous and profit- 
able clientage. In politics he affiliated with 
the Republican party, but declined to become 
a candidate for office until the admission of 
Colorado into the Union as a state, when 
he was elected to the United States senate. 
Mr. Teller drew the term ending March 
4, 1877, but was re-elected December 11, 
1876, and served until April 17, 1882, when 
he was appointed by President Arthur as 
secretary of the interior. He accepted a 
cabinet position with reluctance, and on 
March 3, 1885, he retired from the cabinet, 
having been elected to the senate a short 
time before to succeed Nathaniel P. Hill. 
Mr. Teller took his seat on March 4, 1S85, 
in the senate, to which he was afterward 
re-elected. He served as chairmait on the 
committee of pensions, patents, mines and 
mining, and was also a member of commit- 
tees on claims, railroads, privileges and 
elections and public lands. Mr. Teller came 
to be recognized as one of the ablest advo- 
cates of the silver cause. He was one of the 
delegates to the Republican National conven- 
tion at St. Louis in 1896, in which he took 
an active part and tried to have a silver 
plank inserted in the platform of the party. 
Failing in this he felt impelled to bolt the 
convention, which he did and joined forces 
with the great silver movement in the cam- 
paign which followed, being recognized in 
that campaign as one of the most able and 
eminent advocates of "silver" in America. 



JOHN ERICSSON, an eminent inven- 
tor and machinist, who won fame in 
America, was born in Sweden, July 31,1 803. 
In early childhood he evinced a decided in- 



128 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



clination to mechanical pursuits, and at the 
age of eleven he was appointed to a cadet- 
ship in the engineer corps, and at the age of 
seventeen was promoted to a lieutenancy. 
In 1826 he introduced a "flame engine," 
which he had invented, and offered it to 
English capitalists, but it was found that it 
could be operated only by the use of wood 
for fuel. Shortly after this he resigned his 
commission in the army of Sweden, and de- 
voted himself to mechanical pursuits. He 
discovered and introduced the principle of 
artificial draughts in steam boilers, and re- 
ceived a prize of two thousand five hundred 
dollars for his locomotive, the "Novelty," 
which attained a great speed, for that day. 
The artificial draught effected a great saving 
in fuel and made unnecessary the huge 
smoke-stacks formerly used, and the princi- 
ple is still applied, in modified form, in boil- 
ers. He ai.so invented a steam fire-engine, 
and later a hot-air engine, which he at- 
tempted to apply in the operation of his 
ship, "Ericsson," but as it did not give the 
speed required, he abandoned it, but after- 
wards applied it to machinery for pumping, 
hoisting, etc. 

Ericsson was first to apply the screw 
propeller to navigation. The English peo- 
ple not receiving this new departure readily, 
Ericsson came to America in 1839, and 
built the United States steamer, "Prince- 
ton," in which the screw-propeller was util- 
ized, the first steamer ever built in which 
the propeller was under water, out of range 
of the enemy's shots. The achievement 
which gave him greatest renown, however, 
was the ironclad vessel, the "Monitor," an 
ei:tirely new type of vessel, which, in March, 
1862, attacked the Confederate monster 
ironclad ram, " Virginia," and after a fierce 
struggle, compelled her to withdraw from 
Hampton Roads for repairs. After the war 



one of his most noted inventions was his 
vessel, " Destroyer," with a submarine gun, 
which carried a projectile torpedo. In 1S86 
the king of Spain conferred on him the 
grand cross of the Order of Naval Merit. 
He died in March, 1889, and his body was 
transferred, with naval honors, to the country 
of his birth. 

JAMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth presi- 
dent of the United States, was a native 
of Pennsylvania, and was born in Franklin 
county, April 23, 1791. He was of Irish 
ancestry, his father having come to this 
country in 1783, in quite humble circum- 
stances, and settled in the western part of 
the Kej'stone state. 

James Buchanan remained in his se- 
cluded home for eight years, enjoying but 
few social or intellectual adv9.ntages. His 
parents were industrious and frugal, and 
prospered, and, in 1799, the family removed 
to Mercersbur Pennsylvania, where he 
was placed in school. His progress was 
rapid, and in i8oi he entered Dickinson 
College, at Carlisle, where he took his place 
among the best scholars in the institution. 
In 1809 he graduated with the highest hon- 
ors in his class. He was then eighteen, tail, 
graceful and in vigorous health. He com- 
menced the study of law at Lancaster, and 
was admitted to the bar in 1812. He rose 
very rapidly in his profession and took a 
stand with the ablest of his fellow lawyers. 
When but twenty-six years old he success- 
fully defended, unaided by counsel, one of 
the judges of the state who was before the 
bar of t.hc state senate under articles of im- 
peachment. 

During the war of 18 12-15, ^^r. Buch- 
anan sustained the government with all his 
power, eloquently urging the vigorous prose- 
cution of the war, and enlisted as a private 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAP/IT 



129 



volunteer to assist in repelling the British 
who had sacked and burned the public 
buildings of Washington and threatened 
Baltimore. At that time Buchanan was 
a Federalist, but the opposition of that 
party to the war with Great Britain and the 
alien and sedition laws of John Adams, 
brought that party into disrepute, and drove 
many, among them Buchanan, into the Re- 
publican, or anti-Federalist ranks. He was 
elected to congress in 1S28. In 1831 he 
was sent as minister to Russia, and upon 
his return to this country, in 1833, was ele- 
vated to the United States senate, and re- 
mained in that position for twelve years. 
Upon the accession of President Polk to 
office he made Mr. Buchanan secretary of 
state. Four years later he retired to pri- 
vate life, and in 1853 he was honored with 
the mission to England. In 1856 the na- 
tional Democratic convention nominated 
him for the presidency and he was elected. 
It was during his administration that the 
rising tide of the secession movement over- 
took the country. Mr. Buchanan declared 
that the national constitution gave him no 
power to do anything against the movement 
to break up the Union. After his succession 
by Abraham Lincoln in i860, Mr. Buchanan 
retired to his home at Wheatland, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he died June i, 1868. 



JOHN HARVARD, the founder of the 
Harvard University, was born in Eng- 
land about the year 1608. He received his 
education at Emanuel College, Cambridge, 
and came to America in 1637, settling in 
Massachusetts. He was a non-conformist 
minister, and a tract of land was set aside 
for him in Charlestown, near Boston. He 
was at once appointed one of a committee to 
formulate a body of laws for the colony. 
One year before his arrival in the colony 



the general court had voted the sum of four 
hundred pounds toward the establishment of 
a school or college, half of which was to be 
paid the next year In 1637 preliminary 
plans were made for starting the school. In 
1 63 8 John Harvard, who had shown great 
interest in the new institution of learning 
proposed, died, leaving his entire property, 
about twice the sum originally voted, to the 
school, together with three hundred volumes 
as a nucleus for a library. The institution 
was then given the name of Harvard, and 
established at Newton (now Cambridge), 
Massachusetts. It grew to be one of the two 
principal seats of learning in the new Vv'orld, 
and has maintained its reputation since. It 
now consists of twenty-two separate build- 
ings, and its curriculum embraces over one 
hundred and seventy elective courses, and it 
ranks among the great universities of the 
world. 

ROGER BROOKE TANEY, a noted 
jurist and chief justice of the United 
States supreme court, was born in Calvert 
county, Maryland, March 17, 1777. He 
graduated fiom Dickinson College at the 
age of eighteen, took up the study of law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1799. He 
was chosen to the legislature from his county, 
and in 1801 removed to Frederick, Mary- 
land. He became United States senator 
from Maryland in 18 16, and took up his 
permanent residence in 'Baltimore a few 
years later. In 1824 he became an ardent 
admirer and supporter of Andrew Jackson, 
and upon Jackson's election to the presi- 
dency, was appointed attorney general of 
the United States. Two years later he was 
appointed secretary of the treasury, and 
after serving in that capacity for nearly one 
year, the senate refused to confirm the ap- 
pointment. In 1835, upon the death of 



130 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Chief-justice Marshall, he was appointed to 
that place, and a political change having 
occurred in the make up of the senate, he 
was confirmed in 1836. He presided at 
his first session in January of the following 
year. 

The case which suggests itself first to 
the average reader in connection with this 
jurist is the celebrated " Dred Scott " case, 
which came before the supreme court for 
decision in 1856. In his opinion, delivered 
on behalf of a majority of the court, one 
remarkable statement occurs as a result of 
an exhaustive survey of the historical 
grounds, to the effect that " for more than 
a century prior to the adoption of the con- 
stitution they (Africans) had been regarded 
so far inferior tfiat they had no rights which 
a white man was bound to respect." Judge 
Taney retained the office of chief justice 
until his death, in 1864. 



JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY.— This gen- 
tleman had a world-wide reputation as 
an historian, which placed him in the front 
rank of the great men of America. He was 
born April 15, 1814, at Dorchester, Massa- 
chusetts, was given a thorough preparatory 
education and then attended Harvard, from 
which he was graduated in 1831'. He also 
studied at Gottingen and Berlin, read law 
and in 1836 was admitted to the bar. la 
1 84 1 he was appointed secretary of the 
legation at St. Petersburg, and in 1866-67 
served as United States minister to Austria, 
serving in the same capacity during 1869 
and 1870 to England. In 1856, after long 
and exhaustive research and preparation, he 
published in London "The Rise of the 
Dutch Republic." It embraced three vol- 
umes and immediately attracted great at- 
tention throughout Europe and America as 
a work of unusual merit. From 1861 to 



1868 he produced "The History of the 
United Netherlands," in four volumes. 
Other works followed, with equal success, 
and his position as one of the foremost his- 
torians and writers of his day was firmly 
established. His death occured May 29, 
1877- 

ELIAS HOWE, the inventor of the sew- 
ing machine, well deserves to be classed 
among the great and noted men of Amer- 
ica. He was the son of a miller and farmer 
and was born at Spencer, Massachusetts, 
July 9, 1819. In 1835 he went to Lowell 
and worked there, and later at Boston, in the 
machine shops. His first sewing machine 
was completed in 1 845 , and he patented it in 
1846, laboring with the greatest persistency 
in spite of poverty and hardships, working 
for a time as an engine driver on a railroad 
at pauper wages and with broken health. 
He tlien spent two years of unsuccessful ex- 
ertion in England, striving in vain to bring 
his invention into public notice and use. 
He returned to the United States in almost 
hopeless poverty, to find that his patent 
had been violated. At last, however, he 
found friends who assisted him financially, 
and after years of litigation he made gor)d 
his claims in the courts in 1854. His inven- 
tion afterward brought him a large fortune. 
During the Civil war he volunteered as a 
private in the Seventeenth Connecticut Vol- 
unteers, and served for some time. During 
his life time he received the cross of the 
Legion of Honor and many other medals. 
His death occurred October 3, 1867, at 
Brooklyn, New York. 



PHILLIPS BROOKS, celebrated as an 
eloquent preacher and able pulpit ora- 
tor, was born in Boston on the 13th day of 
December, 1835. He received excellent 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



131 



educational advantages, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1855. Early in life he decided 
upon the ministry as his life work and 
studied theology in the Episcopal Theolog- 
ical Seminary, at Alexandria, Virginia. In 
1859 he was ordained and the same year 
became pastor of the Church of the Advent, 
in Philadelphia. Three years later he as- 
sumed the pastorate of the Church of the 
Holy Trinity, where he remained until 1870. 
At the expiration of that time he accepted 
the pastoral charge of Trinity Church in 
Boston, where his eloquence and ability at- 
tracted mach attention and built up a pow- 
erful church organization. Dr. Brooks also 
devoted considerable time to lecturing and 
literary work and attained prominence in 
these lines. 

WILLIAM B. ALLISON, a statesman 
of national reputation and one of the 
leaders of the Republican party, was born 
March 2, 1829, at Perry, Ohio. He grew 
up on his father's farm, which he assisted 
in cultivating, and attended the district 
school. When sixteen years old he went 
to the academy at Wooster, and subse- 
quently spent a year at the Allegheny Col- 
lege, at Meadville, Pennsylvania. He next 
taught school and spent another year at the 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio. 
Mr. Allison then took up the study of lav/ 
at Wooster, where he was admitted to the 
bar in 1851, and soon obtained a position 
as deputy county clerk. His political lean- 
ings were toward the old line Whigs, who 
afterward laid the foundation of the Repub- 
lican party. Hj was a delegate to the state 
convention in 1856, in the campaign of 
which lie supported Fremont for president. 
Mr Allison removed to Dubuque, Iowa, 
in the following year. He rapidly rose to 
prominence at the bar an 1 i.i politics. In 



i860 lie was chosen as a delegate to the 
Republican convention held in Chicago, of 
which he was elected one of the secretaries. 
At the outbreak of the civil war he was ap- 
pointed on the staff of the governor. His 
congressional career opened in 1862, when 
he was elected to the thirty-eighth congress; 
he was re-elected three times, serving from 
March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1871. He was 
a member of the ways and means committee 
a good part of his term. His career in the 
United States senate began in 1873, and he 
rapidly rose to eminence in national affairs, 
his service of a quarter of a century in that 
body being marked by close fealty to the 
Republican party. He twice declined the 
portfolio of the treasury tendered him by 
Garfield and Harrison, and his name was 
prominently mentioned for the presidency 
at several national Republican conventions. 



JV/|ARY ASHTON LIVERMORE, lec- 
i V 1 turer and v/riter, was born in Boston, 
December 19, 1821. She was the daughter 
of Timothy Rice, and married D. P. Liver- 
more, a preacher of the Universalist church. 
She contributed able articles to many of the 
most noted periodicals of this country and 
England. During the Civil war she labored 
zealously and with success on behalf of the 
sanitary commission which played so impor- 
tant a part during that great struggle. She 
became editor of the " Woman's Journal," 
published at Boston in 1870. 

She held a prominent place as a public 
speaker and writer on woman's suffrage, 
temperance, social and religious questions, 
and her influence was great in every cause 
she advocated. 



JOHN B. GOUGH. a noted temperance 
lecturer, wh ) wun his fame in America, 
wa3 born in the village of Sandgate, Kent, 



1^2 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH7'. 



England, August 22, 1817. He came to 
the United States at the age of twelve, 
lie followed the trade of bookbinder, and 
Jived in great poverty on account of the 
liquor habit. In 1843, however, he re- 
formed, and began his career as a tem.per- 
ance lecturer. He worked zealously in the 
cause of temperance, and his lectures and 
published articles revealed great earnestness. 
He formed temperance societies throughout 
the entire country, and labored with great 
success. He visited England in the same 
cause about the year 1853 and again in 
1878. He also lectured upon many other 
topics, in Vv'hich he attained a wide reputa- 
tion. His death occurred February i8, 
1886. 

THOM.\S BUCHANAN READ, author, 
sculptor and painter, was born in Ches- 
ter county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1822. 
He early evinced a taste for art, and began 
the study of sculpture in Cincinnati. Later 
he found painting more to his liking. He 
went to New York, where he followed this 
profession, and later to Boston. In 1846 
he located in Philadelphia. He visited 
Italy in 1850, and studied at Florence, 
where he resided almost continuously for 
twenty-two years. He returned to America 
in 1872, and died in New York May 1 1 of 
the same year. 

He was the author of many heroic 
poems, but the one giving him the most re- 
nown is his famous "Sheridan's Ride," of 
which he has also left a representation in 
painting. 

EUGENE V. DEBS, the former famous 
president of the American Railway 
Union, and great labor leader, was born in 
the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1855. 
He received his education in the public 



schools of that place and at the age (A 
sixteen years began work as a painter in 
the \'andalia shops. After this, for some 
three years, he was employed as a loco- 
motive fireman on the same road. His 
first appearance in public life was in his 
canvass for the election to the ofSce of city 
clerk of Terre Haute. In this capacity he 
served two terms, and when twenty six 
years of age was elected a member of the 
legislature of the state of Indiana. While 
a member of that body he secured the 
passage of several bills in the interest of 
organized labor, of which he was always 
a faithful champion. Mr. Debs' speech 
nominating Daniel Voorhees for the United 
States senate gave him a wide reputation for 
oratory. On the expiration of his term in 
the legislature, he was elected grand secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Brotherhood of 
Locomotive Fireman and filled that office 
for fourteen successive years. He was 
always an earnest advocate of confederation 
of railroad men and it was mainly through 
his efforts that the United Order of Railway 
Employes, composed of the Brotherhood 
of Railway Trainmen and Conductors, 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firem.en and 
the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association was 
formed, and he became a member of its 
supreme council. The order was dissolved 
by disagreement between two of its leading 
orders, and then Mr. Debs conceived ths 
idea of the American Railway Union. He 
worked on the details and the union came 
into e.xistence in Chicago, June 20, i S93. For 
a time it prospered and became one of the 
largest bodies of railway men in the world. 
It won in a contest with the Great Northern 
Railway. In the strike made by the union 
in sympathy with the Pullman employes 
inaugurated in Chicago June 25. 1S94, and 
the consequent rioting, the Railway Union 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



i;,8 



lost much prestige and Mr. Debs, in company 
with others of the officers, being held as in con- 
tempt of the United States courts, he suffered 
a sentence of six months in jail at Wood- 
stock, McHenry county, Ilh'nois. In 1897 
Mr. Debs, on the demise of the American 
Railway Union, organized the Social 
Democracy, an institution founded on the 
best lines of the communistic idea, which 
was to provide homes and employment for 
its members. 



JOHN G. CARLISLE, famous as a law- 
3er, congressman, senator and cabinet 
officer, was born in Campbell (now Kenton) 
county, Kentucky, September 5, 1835, on a 
farm. He received tlie usual education oi 
the time and began at an early age to teach 
school and, at the same time, the study of 
law. Soon opportunity offered and he 
entered an office in Covington, Kentucky, 
and was admitted to practice at the bar in 
1858. Politics attracted his attention and 
in 1859 he was elected to the house of rep- 
resentatives in the legislature of his native 
state. On the outbreak of the war in 1 86 1 , 
he embraced the cause of the Union and was 
largely instrumental in preserving Kentucky 
to tlie federal cause. He resumed his legal 
practice for a time and declined a nomina- 
tion as presidential elector in 1864. In 
1866 and again in 1869 Mr. Carlisle was 
elected to the senate of Kentucky. ■ He re- 
signed this position in 1871 and was chosen 
lieutenant governor of the state, which office 
he held until 1875. He was one of tiie 
presidential e!ectors-at- large for Ken- 
tucky in 1876. He first entered congress in 
1877, and soon became a prominent leader 
on the Democratic side of the house of rep- 
resentatives, and continued a member of 
that body through the forty-sixth, forty- 
seventh, forty-eighth and forty-ninth con- 



gresses, and was speaker of the house during 
the two latter. He was elected to the 
United States senate to succeed Senritor 
Blackburn, and remained a member of that 
branch of congress until March, 1893, when 
he was appointed secretary of the treasury. 
He performed the duties of that high office 
until March 4, 1897, throughout the en- 
tire second administration of President 
Cleveland. His ability and many years of 
public service gave him a national reputa- 
tion. 



FRANCES E. WILLARD, for many years 
president of the 'Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union, and a noted American 
lecturer and writer, was born in Rochester, 
New York, September 28, 1839. Graduating 
from the Northwestern Female College at the 
age of nineteen she began teaching and met 
with great success in many cities of the west. 
She was made directress of Genesee Wes- 
leyan Seminary at Lima, Ohio, in 1867, and 
four years later was elected president of the 
Evanston College for young ladies, a branch 
of the Northwestern University. 

During the two years succeeding 1869 
she traveled extensively in Europe and the 
east, visiting Egypt and Palestine, a.id 
gathering materials for a valuable course of 
lectures, which she delivered at Chicago on 
her return. She became very popular, and 
won great influence in the temperance 
cause. Her work as president of the Wo- 
man's Christian Temperance Union greatly 
strengthened that society, and she made 
frequent trips to Europe in the uiterest of 
that cause. 

RICHARD OLNEY.— Among the promi- 
nent men who were members of the 
cabinet of President Cleveland in his second 
administration, the gentleman whose nama 



COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHT. 



beads this h :^ i le^-^Tne place, oc- 

ccDving ^ general 

and seer 

Mr. Olney came trc - est 

and most honored Ncv _. .. es; 

the first of his ancestors to come from Eng- 
land settled in Ma^achnsetts in 1635. This 
was Thomas Olney. He was a friend and 
co-religionist of Rt^er Williams, and when 
the latter moved to what is now Rhode 
fclan d, went with him and became one of 
the founders of Providence Plantations. 

Richard Olney was bom in Oxford, 
Massachusetts, in 1835, and received the 
elements of his earlier edncation in the com- 
mon schools which New England is so proad 
of. He entered Brown University, from 
'vhich he graduated in 1856, and passed the 
Harvard law school two years later. He 
began the practice of his profession with 
J2dge B. F. Thomas, a prominent man of 
that locality. For years Richard Olney was 
regarded as one of the ablest and most 
ieamed lawyers in Masachnsetts. Twice 
he vras o-?er?-d a place on the bench of the 
=■-.-.- —.of the state, bnt both times 

be : Hr —1= ='^^75 z Democrat 

in his f r.y years 

was a tr-;! _ :: i^ : ; -:= of that 

party. In 1874 Mr. Olney was elected a 
member of the legislature. In 1876, daring 
tfie heated presidential campaign, to 
^rengthen the cause of Mr. Ti-den in the 
New England states, it was intimated that 
in the event of that gentleman's election to 
tne president^, Mr. Olney would be attor- 
t^ev peoeraL 

\\lien Grover Cleveland was elected pr^- 
'*»'jt of the United States, on his inangnra- 
tica in March, 1893, he tendered the posi- 
con of attorney general to Richard Olney. 
"Ihis was accepted, and that gentleman fel- 
led the duties of the oSce ondl the death 



of Walter O. Gresham, in May. 1895. made 
vacant the position of secretar}- of state. 
This post was filled by the appointment of 
Mr. Olney. Whfle occnpying the later 
office. Mr. Olney brooght hin^elf into inter- 
national prominence by some very able state 
papers- 



JOHX j.-^i KS'l'Iv. for many years corr.p- 
troller of the carrency. and an emir.ent 
financier, was bom in Knoxboro, OneiJa 
coonty. New York. May 19. 1S28. He re- 
ceived a good education and gradoated at 
Hamilton College in 1849. For abo'Jt 
thirteen years he was engaged as a private 
banker, or in a position in a baak, where 
he laid the foundation of his knowledge of 
the laws of finance. In 1862. Salmon P. 
Chase, then secretary of the treasury, ap- 
pointed him to an oSce in that department 
of the government, and later he had charge 
of the mint coinage correapondeace. In i S67 
Mr. Keox was made deputy comptixjller 
of the carrency, and in that capacity, in 
1870. he made two reports on the mint 
service, with a codification of the mint and 
coinage laws of the United States, and 
sa^esting many important amendments 
These reports were oidered printed by reso- 
lution of congress. The bill which he pre- 
pared, with some slight changes, was sub- 
sequently passed, and has been known in 
history as the " Coinage Act of 1873.*' 

In 1872 Mr. Knox --vrs appointed comp- 
troller of the currency, and held that re- 
sponsible position nntii 18S4, when he re- 
signed. He then accej-ted the position of 
preadent of the Nationsl Bank of the Re- 
public, of New York City, which institation 
he served for many years. He was the 
authored " United States Notes," published 
in 1884. In the reports spoken of above, a 
historv of the two United States bacL: :? 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



135 



given, together with that of the state and 
national banking system, and oiach valuable 
statistical matter relating to kindred sab- 
ject5. 

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.— In the 
opinion of many critics Hawthorne is 
prononnced the foremost American novelist, 
=i.n of romance is said 
;r. His repatation is 



~ class with 

C. Abbott. 

tre he gave 



he graduated in 1825 
H W L^-- 
He then r 

his attent:o- :, . irrijre 
tales and other articles ;r 
cals. His first ventore : 
mgrce. "* Fanshaw,'' ore- 
removed t 

-2 '• Aaier 

: OEt of eausteace. 
: ■ Twice ToM TaSes, 

ch; jdy made op of his foroaer c ; 

tj magazines. In 1S3S— 41 he 1.. - _ ^ - .- 
tjoo in the Boston ctEtooi hoase, bat later 
took:----'-- r "Brook:--- ------ 

a 5C' -- afta- the 

In xtj.1 ..t -L= ' i:.i :v,£ 

res-iesce at tLt ige at C- 

MiSi - ' -^/-..^^ „5 vziZ^iatX^'iZit ::: 

his * * ^o >ji-<:r s pe-«>-n an Old 



a 57 ne 



years Lenox, Massachusetts. 

and the ' ' House of the Seven Gabies 



J me. 

was 

E::t-.edale 

Life 

iom 

e was ap- 

— pool. 

;ar5, 

aly. 

up 

:tt3. 

e.x- 
N'e'A- 
- - - .n to 
-./ve Mr. Hawthorne 
e following books: 
n Historj-, " • ' The Won- 
-: _ T..; Snow Image," "Tangle- 
wood Tales," "The Marble Fann," and 
" ' Oor Old Home. " After his death appeared 
a series of "Notebooks," edited by his wife. 



prcf :i-;i there, as well 
R In 1852 : 

c: 1 :_ „ Pierce. "a 

he warmly regarded. 
pointed ^ ''■'':' ----- 
Engiar. 

c 

h- re 
Uljile 



been p 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN, - ; r. 

dent of the United States, was bora 
Febraary 12, 1809, in Lame coanty f Har- 
din coon^j, Kentucky, in a If^-cabin near 
H '- — 'e. >\lien be was er~' - - -- 
ed with bis parents t 
3 river, and a year .^-.^r 
His fatiierthea married V.r-.. 



Scarlet Letter. 

3 



ibos empsoyed 
-s^rks. "The 
two 



focdoes ior debate, a tood ot bomor'^. 



136 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



anecdote, as well as the composition of rude 
verses. He made a trip at the age of nine- 
tctn to New Orleans on a ilat-boat, and set- 
tled in Illinois in 1830. He assisted his 
father to build a log house and clear a farm 
on the Sangamon river near Decatur, Illinois, 
and split the rails with which to fence it. In 
1 85 1 he was employed in the building of a 
flat-boat on the Sangamon, and to run it to 
New Orleans. The voyage gave him anew 
insight into the horrors of slavery in the 
south. On his return he settled at New 
Salem and engaged, first as a clerk in a store, 
then as grocer, surveyor and postmaster, and 
he piloted the first steamboat that as- 
cended the Sangamon. He participated in 
the Black Hawk war as captain of volun- 
teers, and after his return he studied law, 
interested himself in politics, and became 
prominent locally as a public speaker. He 
was elected to the legislature in 1834 as a 
'• Clay Whig, " and began at once to dis- 
play a command of language and forcible 
rhetoric that made him a match for his 
more cultured opponents. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1837, and began prac- 
tice at Springfield. He married a lady of a 
prominent Kentucky family in 1842. He 
was active in the presidential campaigns of 
1840 and 1844 and was an elector on the 
Harrison and Clay tickets, and was elected 
to congress in 1846, over Peter Cartwright. 
He voted for the Wilmot proviso and the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Colum- 
bia, and opposed the war with Mexico, but 
gained little prominence during his two 
years' service. He then returned to Spring- 
field and devoted his attention to law, tak- 
ing little interest in politics, until the repeal 
of the Missouri compromise and the passage 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 1 8 54. This 
awakened his interest in politics again and 
he attacked tlie champion of that measure. 



Stephen A. Douglas, in. a speech at Spring- 
field that made him famous, and is said 
by those who heard it to be the greatest 
speech of his life. Lincoln was selected as 
candidate for the United States senate, but 
was defeated by Trumbull. Upon the pas- 
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill the Whig 
party suddenly went to pieces, and the Re- 
publican party gathered head. At the 
Bloomington Republican convention in 1856 
Lincoln made an effective address in v.^hich 
he first took a position antagonistic to the ex- 
istence of slavery. He was a Fremont elector 
and received a strong support for nomina- 
tion as vice-president in the Philadelphia 
convention. In 1858 he v/as the unanimous 
choice of the Republicans for the United 
States senate, and the great campaign of de- 
bate which followed resulted in the election 
of Douglas, but established Lincoln's repu- 
tation as the leading exponent of Republican 
doctrines. He began to be mentioned in 
Illinois as candidate for the presidency, and 
a course of addresses in the eastern states 
attracted favorable attention. When the 
national convention met at Chicago, his 
rivals. Chase, Seward, Bates and others, 
were compelled to retire before the western 
giant, and he was.nominated, with Hannibal 
Hamlin as his running mate. The Demo- 
cratic party had now been disrupted, and 
Lincoln's election assured. He carried 
practically every northern state, and the 
secession of South Carolina, followed by a 
number of the gulf states, took place before 
his inauguration. Lincoln is the only presi- 
dent who was ever compelled to reach 
Washington in a secret manner. He es- 
caped assassination by avoiding Baltimore, 
and was quietly inaugurated March 4, 1861. 
His inaugural address was firm but con- 
ciliatory, and he said to the secessionists: 
"You h.ave no oath registered in hea\en 



COMrEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



137 



to destroy the government, while 1 have the 
most solemn one to preserve, protect and 
(Itfcnd it.' He made up his cabinet chiefly 
of those pohtical rivals in his own party — 
Seward, Chase, Cameron, Bates — and se- 
cured the co-operation of the Douglas Dem- 
o.rats. His great deeds, amidst the heat 
and turmoil of war, were: His call for 
seventy-five thousand volunteers, and the 
blockading of southern ports; calling of con- 
gress in extra session, July 14, 1S61, and 
obtaining f<3ur hundred thousand men and 
four hundred million dollars for the prosecu- 
tion of the war; appointing Stanton secre- 
tary of war; issuing the emancipation proc- 
lamation; calling three hundred thou- 
sand volunteers; address at Gettysburg 
cemetery; commissioned Grant as lieuten- 
ant-general and commander-in-chief of the 
armies of the United States; his second 
inaugural address; liis visit to the army be- 
fore Richmond, and his entry into Rich- 
mond the day after its surrender. 

Abraham Lincoln was shot by Jotm 
Wi'kes Booth in a box in Ford's theater 
at Washington the night of April 14, 1865, 
and expired the following morning. His 
body was buried at Oak Ridge cemetery, 
Springfield, Illinois, and a monument com- 
memorating his great work marks his resting 
place. 

STEPHEN GIRARD, the celebrated 
philanthropist, was born in Bordeaux, 
France, May 24, 1750. He became a sailor 
engaged in the American coast trade, and 
also made frequent trips to the West Indies. 
During the Revolutionary war he was a 
grocer and liquor seller in Philadelphia. 
He married in that city, and afterward 
separated from his wife. After the war he 
again engaged in the coast and West India 
trade, and his fortu.je began to accumulate 



from receiving goods from West Indian 
planters during the insurrection in Hayti, 
little of which was ever called for again. 
He became a private banker in Phihidelphia 
in 1812, and afterward was a director in the 
United States Bank. He made much tnoiiey 
by leasing property in the city in times of 
depression, and upon the revival of industry 
sub-leasing at enormous profit. He became 
the wealthiest citizen of the United States 
of his time. 

He was eccentric, ungracious, and a 
freethinker. He had few, if any, friends in 
his lifetime. However, he was most chari- 
tably disposed, and gave to charitable in- 
stitutions and schools with a liberal hand. 
He did more than any one else to relieve 
the suffering and deprivations during the 
great yellow fever scourge in Philadelphia, 
devoting his personal attention to the si^k. 
He endowed and ■ made a free institution, 
the famous Will's Eye and Ear Intirnjary 
of Philadelph a — one of the largest institu- 
tions of its kind in the world. At his death 
practically all his iu)mense wealth was be- 
queathed to charitable institutions, mure 
than two millions of dollars going to the 
founding of Girard College, which was to 
be devoted to the education and training of 
boys between the ag. s of six and ten years. 
Large donations were also made to institu- 
tions in Philadelphia and New Orleans. 
The [Principal building of Girard College, is 
the most magnificent example of Greek 
architecture in America. Girard died De- 
cember 26, I S3 I. 



LOUIS J. R. AGASSIZ, the eminent nat- 
uralist and geolog st, was born in the 
parish of Motier, near Lake Neuchatel, Swit- 
zerland, May 28, 1807, but attained his 
greatest fame after becoming an American 
citizen. He studied the medical sciences at 



138 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Zurich, Heidelberg and Munich. His first 
work was a Latin description of the fishes 
which Martius and Spix brought from Brazil. 
This was published in 1 829-3 1 • He devoted 
much time to the study of fossil fishes, and 
in 1832 was appointed professor of natural 
history at Neuchatel. He greatly increased 
his reputation by a great work in French, 
entitled " Researches on Fossil Fishes," in 
1832-42, in which he made many important 
improvements in the classification of fishes. 
Having passed many summers among the 
Alps in researches on glaciers, he propounded 
some new and interesting ideas on geology, 
and the agency of glaciers in his "Studies 
by the Glaciers." This was published in 
1840. This latter work, with his " System 
of the Glaciers," published in 1847, '^re 
among his principal works. 

In 1846, Professor Agassiz crossed the 
ocean on a scientific excursion to the United 
States, and soon determined to remain here. 
He accepted, about the beginning of 1848, 
the chair of zoology and geology at Harvard. 
He explored the natural history of the 
United States at different times and gave an 
impulse to the study of nature in this 
country. In 1865 he conducted an expedi- 
tion to Brazil, and explored the lower Ama- 
zon and its tributaries. In 1868 he was 
made non-resident professor of natural his- 
tory at Cornell University. In December, 
1,871, he accompanied the Hassler expedi- 
tion, under Professor Pierce, to the South 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He died at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 14, 
1873- 

Among other of the important works of 
Professor Agassiz may be mentioned the fol- 
lowing: "Outlines of Comparative Physi- 
ology," "Journey to Brazil," and "Contri- 
butions to the Natural History of the United 
States." It is said of Professor Agassiz, 



that, perhaps, with the exception of Hugh 
Miller, no one had so popularized science in 
his day, or trained so many young natural- 
ists. Many of the theories held by Agassiz 
are not supported by many of the natural- 
ists of these later days, but upon many of 
the speculations into the origin of species and 
in physics he has left the marks of his own 
strongly marked individuality. 



WILLIAM WINDOM.— As a prominent 
and leading lawyer of the great north- 
west, as a member of both houses of con- 
gress, and as the secretary of the treasury, 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
won for himself a prominent position in the 
history of our country. 

Mr. Windom was a native of Ohio, 
born in Belmont county, May 10, 1827. 
He received a good elementary education in 
the schools of his native state, and took up 
the study of law. He was admitted to the 
bar, and entered upon the practice of his 
profession in Ohio, where he remained until 
1855. In the latter year he made up his 
mind to move further west, and accordingly 
went to Minnesota, and opening an office, 
became identified with the interests of that 
state, and the northwest generally. In 
1858 he took his place in the Minnesota 
delegation in the national house of repre- 
sentatives, at Washington, and continued 
to represent his constituency in that body 
for ten years. In 1871 Mr. Windom was 
elected United States senator from Min- 
nesota, and was re-elected to the same office 
after fulfilling the duties of the position for 
a full term, in 1876. On the inauguration 
of President Garfield, in March, 1881, Mr. 
Windom became secretary of the treasury 
in his cabinet. He resigned this office Oc- 
tober 27, i88t, and was elected senator 
from the North Star state to fill the va- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



139 



cancy caused by the resignation of A. J. 
Etlgerton. Mr. Wiiidoni served in that 
chamber until March, 1883. 

WilHam Windom died in New Yurk 
City January 29, 1S91. 



DON M. DICKINSON, an American 
politician and lawyer, was born in 
Port Ontario, New York, January 17, 1846. 
lie removed with his parents to Michigan 
when he was but two years old. He was 
educated in the public schools of Detroit 
and at the University of Michigan at Ann 
Arbor, and was admitted to the bar at the 
age of twenty-one. In 1872 he was made 
secretary of the Democratic state central 
committee of Michigan, and his able man- 
agement of the campaign gave him a prom- 
inent place in the councils of his party. In 
1876, during the Tilden campaign, he acted 
as chairman of the state central committee. 
He was afterward chosen to represent his 
state in the Democratic national committee, 
and in 1886 he was appointed postmaster- 
general by President Cleveland. After the 
expiration of his term of office he returned 
to Detroit and resumed the practice of law. 
In the presidential campaign of 1896, Mr. 
Dickinson adhered to the "gold wing "of 
the Democracy, and his influence was felt 
in the national canvass, and especially in 
his own state. 



JOHN JACOB ASTOR, the founder of 
vJ the Astor family and fortiines, while not 
a native of this country, was one of the 
most noted men of his time, and as all his 
wealth and fame were acquired here, he 
may well be classed among America's great 
men. He was born near Heidelberg, Ger- 
many, July 17, 1763, and when twenty 
years old emigrated to the United States. 
Even at that age he exhibited remarkable 



business ability and foresight, and soon he 
was investing capital in furs which he took 
to London and sold at a great profit. He 
next settled at New York, and engaged ex- 
tensively in the fur trade. He exported 
furs to Europe in his own vessels, which re- 
turned with cargoes of foreign commodities, 
and thus he rapidly amassed an immense 
fortune. In 181 1 he founded Astoria on 
the western coast of North America, near 
the mouth of the Columbia river, as a depot 
for the fur trade, for the promotion of 
which he sent a number of expeditions to 
the Pacific ocean. He also purchased a 
large amount of real estate in New York, 
the value of which increased enormously 
All through life his business ventures were 
a series of marvelous successes, and he 
ranked as one of the most sagacious and 
successful business men in the world. He 
died March 29, 1848, leaving a fortune es- 
timated at over twenty million dollars to 
his children, who have since increased it. 
John Jacob Astor left $400,000 to found a 
public library in New York City, and his son, 
William B. Astor, who died in 1875, left 
$300,000 to add to his father's bequest. 
This is known as the Astor Library, one of 
the largest in the United States. 



SCHUYLER COLFAX, an eminent 
American statesman, was born in New 
York City, March 23, 1823, being a grand- 
son of General William Colfax, the com- 
mander of Washington's life-guards. In 
1836 he removed with his mother, who was 
then a widow, to Indiana, settling at South 
Bend. Young Schuyler studied law, and 
in 1845 became editor of the "St. Josepli 
Valley Register," a Whig paper published 
at South Bend. He was a member of the 
convention which formed a new constitu- 
tion for Indiana in 1850, and he opposed 



140 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the clause tliat prohibited colored men 
from settling in that state. In 1851 he was 
defeated as the Whig candidate for congress 
but was elected in 1854, and, being repeat- 
edly re-elected, continued to represent that 
district in congress until 1869. He became 
one of the most prominent and influential 
members of the house of representatives, 
and served three terms as speaker. During 
the Civil war he was an active participant 
in all public measures of importance, and 
was a confidential friend and adviser of 
President Lincoln. In May, 1868, Mr. 
Colfax was nominated for vice-president on 
the ticket with General Grant, and was 
elected. After the close of his term he re- 
tired from office, and for the remainder of 
his life devoted much of his time to lectur- 
ing and literary pursuits. His death oc- 
curred January 23, 1885. He was one of 
the most prominent members of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows in America, 
and that order erected a bronze statue to 
his memory in University Park, Indianapo- 
lis, Indiana, which was unveiled in May, 
1SS7. 

WILLIAM FREEMAN VILAS, who at- 
tained a national reputation as an able 
lawyer, statesman, and cabinet officer, was 
born at Chelsea, Vermont, July g, 1840. 
His parents removed to Wisconsin when 
our subject was but eleven years of age, 
and there with the early settlers endured ail 
the hardships and trials incident to pioneer 
life. William F. Vilas was given all the 
advantages found in the common schools, 
and supplemented this by a course of study 
in the Wisconsin State University, after 
wliich he studied law, was admitted to the 
bar and began practicing at Madison. 
Shortly afterward the Civil war broke oat 
and Mr. Vilas enlisted and became colonel 



of the Twenty-third regiment of Wisconsin 
Volunteers, serving throughout the war with 
distinction. At the close of the war he re- 
turned to Wisconsin, resumed his law prac- 
tice, and rapidly rose to eminence in this 
profession. In 1885 he was selected by 
President Cleveland for postmaster-general 
and at the close of his term again returned 
to Madison, Wisconsin, to resume the prac- 
tice of law. 



THOMAS McINTYRE COOLEY, an em- 
inent American jurist and law writer, 
was born in Atticji, New York, January 6, 
1824. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, 
and four years later was appointed reporter 
of the supreme court of Michigan, which 
office he continued to hold for seven years. 
In the meantime, in 1859, he became pro- 
fessor of the law department of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, and soon afterward was 
made dean of the faculty of that depart- 
ment. In 1864 he was elected justice of 
the supreme court of Michigan, in 1867 be- 
came chief justice of that court, and in 
1869 was re-elected for a term of eight 
years. In 1881 he again joined the faculty 
of the University of Michigan, assuming the 
professorship of constitutional and adminis- 
trative law. His works on these branches 
have become standard, and he is recog- 
nized as authority on this and related sub- 
jects. Upon the passage of the inter-state 
commerce law in 1887 he became chairman 
of the commission and served in that capac- 
ity four years. 



JOHN PETER ALTGELD, a noted 
kJ American politician and writer on social 
questions, was born in Germany, December 
30, 1847. He came to America with his 
parents and settled in Ohio when two years 
old. In 1 SG4 lij entered the Union army 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIT. 



141 



and served till the close of the war, after 
wliich he settled in Chicago, Illinois. He 
was elected judge of the superior court of 
Cook county, Illinois, in 1886, in which 
capacity he served until elected governor of 
Illinois in 1892, as a Democrat. During 
the first year of his term as governor he at- 
tracted national attention by his pardon of 
the anarchists convicted of the Hajniarkct 
murder in Chicago, and again in 1894 by 
his denunciation of President Cleveland for 
calling out federal troops to suppress the 
rioting in connection with the great Pull- 
man strike in Chicago. At the national 
convention of the Democratic party in Chi- 
cago, in July, 1896, he is said to have in- 
spired the clause in the platform denuncia- 
tory of interference by federal authorities in 
local affairs, and "government by injunc- 
tion." He was gubernatorial candidate for 
re-election on the Democratic ticket in 1896, 
but was defeated by John R. Tanner, Re- 
publican. Mr. Altgeld published two vol- 
umes of essays on " Live Questions," evinc- 
ing radical views on social matters. 



ADLAI EWING STEVENSON, an Amer. 
ican statesman and politician, was born 
in Christian county, Kentucky, October 23, 
1835, and removed witli the family to 
Bloomington, Illinois, in 1852. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1858, and set- 
tled in the practice of his profession 
in Metamora, Illinois. In 1861 he was 
made master in chancery of Woodford 
county, and in 1864 was elected state's at- 
torney. In 1868 he returned to Blooming- 
ton and formed a law partnership with 
James S. Ewing. He had served as a pres- 
idential elector in 1864, and in 1868 was 
elected to congress as a Democrat, receiv- 
ing a majority vote from every county in his 
district. He became promment in his 



party, and was a delegate to the national 
convention in 1884. On the election of 
Cleveland to the presidency Mr. Stevenson 
was appointed first assistant postmaster- 
general. After the expiration of his term 
he continued to e.xert a controlling influence 
in the politics of his state, and in 1892 was 
elected vice-president of the United States 
on the ticket vvith Grover Cleveland. At 
the expiration of his term of office he re- 
sumed the practice of law at Bloomington, 
Illinois. 

SIMON CAMERON, whose name is 
prominently identified with the history 
of the United States as a political leader 
and statesman, was bom in Lancaster coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799. He grew 
to manhood in his native county, receiving 
good educational advantages, and develop- 
ing a natural inclination for political life. 
He rapidly rose in prominence and became 
the most influential Democrat in Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1845 waselected by that party 
to the United States senate. Upon the 
organization of the Republican party he was 
one of the first to declare his allegiance to 
it, and in 1856 was re-elected United States 
senator from Pennsylvania as a Republican. 
In March, 1861, he was appointed secretary 
of war by President Lincoln, and served 
until early in 1862, when he was sent as 
minister to Russia, returning in 1863. In 
1866 he was again elected United States 
senator and served until 1877, when he re- 
signed and was succeeded by his son, James 
Donald Cameron. He continued to exert a 
powerful influence in political affairs up to 
the time of his death, June 26, 1889. 

James Donald Cameron was the eld- 
est son of Simon Cameron, and also 
attained a high rank among American 
st.itesmen. He was born at Harrisburg, 



144 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, and received an 
excellent education, graduating at Princeton 
College in 1852. He rapidly developed into 
one of the most able and successful business 
men cf the country and was largely .inter- 
ested in and identified with the develop- 
ment of the coal, iron, lumber and manu- 
facturing interests of his native state. He 
served as cashier and afterward president of 
the Middletownbank, and in 1861 was made 
vice-president, and in 1863 president of 
the Northern Central railroad, holding this 
position until 1874, when he resigned and 
was succeeded by Thomas A. Scott. This 
road was of great service to the government 
during the war as a means of communica- 
tion between Pennsylvania and the national 
capital, via Baltimore. Mr. Cameron also 
took an active part in political affairs, 
always as a Republican. In May, 1876, 
he was appointed secretary of war in Pres- 
ident Grant's cabinet, and in 1877 suc- 
ceeded his father in the United States 
senate. He was re-elected in 1885, and 
again in 1 891, serving until 1896, and was 
recognized as one of the most prominent and 
influential members of that bodv. 



ADOLPHUS W. GREELEY, a famous 
American arctic explorer, was born at 
Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 27, 
1844. He graduated from Brown High 
School at the age of sixteen, and a year 
later enlisted in Company B, Nineteenth 
Massachusetts Infantry, and was made first 
sergeant. In 1863 he was promoted to 
second lieutenant. After the war he was 
assigned to the Fifth United States Cavalry, 
and became first lieutenant in 1873. He 
was assigned to duty in the United States 
■signal service shortly after the close of the 
-war. An expedition was fitted out by the 
United States government in 18S1, un- 



der auspices of the weather bureau, and 
Lieutenant Greeley placed in command. 
They set sail from St. Johns the first week 
in July, and after nine days landed in Green- 
land, where they secured the services of two 
natives, together with sledges, dogs, furs 
and equipment. They encountered an ice 
pack early in August, and on the '28th of 
that month freezing weather set in. Two 
of his party. Lieutenant Lockwood and Ser- 
geant Brainard, added to the known maps 
about forty miles of coast survey, and 
reached the highest point yet attained by 
man, eighty-three degrees and twenty-four 
minutes north, longitude, forty-four degrees 
and five minutes west. On their return to 
Fort Conger, Lieutenant Greeley set out 
for the south on August 9, 1883. He 
reached Baird Inlet twenty days later with 
liis entire party. Here they were compelled 
to abandon their boats, and drifted on an 
ice-floe for one month. They then went 
into camp at Cape Sabine, where tliey suf- 
fered untold hardships, and eighteen of the 
party succumbed to cold and hunger, and 
had relief been delayed two days longer 
none would have been found alive. They 
were picked up by the relief expedition, 
under Captain Schley, June 22, 1884. The 
dead were taken to New York for burial. 
Many sensational stories were published 
concerning the expedition, and Lieutenant 
Greeley prepared an exhaustive account 
of his explorations and experiences. 



LEVI P. MORTON, the millionaire poli- 
tician, was born in Shoreham, Ver- 
mont, May 16, 1824, and his early educa- 
tion consisted of the rudiments which he 
obtained in the common school up to the 
age of fourteen, and after that time what 
knowledge he gained was wrested from the 
hard school of experience. He removed to 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



143 



Hanover, Vermont, then Concord, Vermont, 
and afterwards to Boston. He had worked 
in a store at Shoreham, his native village, 
and on going to Hanover he established a 
store and went into business for himself. 
In Boston he clerked in a dry goods store, 
and then opened a business of his own in 
the same line in New York. After a short 
career he failed, and was compelled to set- 
tle with his creditors at only fifty cents on 
the dollar. He began the struggle anew, 
and when the war began he established a 
banking house in New York, with Junius 
Morgan as a partner. Through his firm 
and connections the great government war 
loans were floated, and it resulted in im- 
mense profits to his house. When he was 
again thoroughly established he invited his 
former creditors to a banquet, and under 
each guest's plate was found a check cover- 
ing the amount of loss sustained respec- 
tively, with interest to date. 

President Garfield appointed Mr. Mor- 
ton as minister to France, after he had de- 
clined the secretaryship of the navy, and in 
1888 he was nominated as candidate for 
vice-president, with Harrison, and elected. 
In 1894 he was elected governor of New 
York over David B. Hill, and served one 
term. 



CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, one 
of the most talented and prominent 
educators this country has known, was born 
January 24, 1835, ^t Derby, Vermont. He 
received an elementary education in the 
common schools, and studied two terms in 
the Derby Academy. Mr. Adams moved 
with his parents to Iowa in 1856. He was 
very anxious to pursue a collegiate course, 
but this was impossible until he had attained 
the age of twenty-one. In the autumn of 
1856 he began the study of Latin and Greek 



at Denmark Academy, and in September, 
1857, he was admitted to the University of 
Michigan. Mr. Adams was wholly depend- 
ent upon himself for the means of his edu- 
cation. During his third and fourth year 
he became deeply interested in historical 
studies, was assistant librarian of the uni- 
versity, and determined to pursue a post- 
graduate course. In 1864 he was appointed 
instructor of history and Latin and v/as ad- 
vanced to an assistant professorship in 1865, 
and in 1867, on the resignation of Professoi 
White to accept the presidency of Cornell, 
he was appointed to fill the chair of profes- 
sor of history. This he accepted on con- 
dition of his being allowed to spend a year 
for special study in Germany, France and 
Italy. Mr. Adams returned in 1868, and 
assumed the duties of his professorship. 
He introduced the German system for the 
instruction of advanced history classes, and 
his lectures were largely attended. In 1885, 
on the resignation of President White at 
Cornell, he was elected his successor and 
held the office for seven years, and on Jan- 
uary 17, 1893, he was inaugurated presi- 
dent of the University of Wisconsin. Pres- 
ident Adams was prominently connected 
with numerous scientific and literary organ- 
izations and a frequent contributor to the 
historical and educational data in the peri- 
odicals and journals of the country. He 
was the author of the following: " Dem- 
ocracy and Monarchy in France," " Manual 
of Historical Literature," " A Plea for Sci- 
entific Agriculture," " Higher Education in 
Germany." 

JOSEPH B. FORAKER, a prominent po- 
litical leader and e.x-governor of Ohio, 
was born near Rainsboro, Highland county, 
Ohio, July 5, 1846. His parents operated 
a small farm, with a grist and sawmill, hav- 



144 



COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAPIir. 



ing emigrated hither from Virginia and 
Delaware on account of their distaste for 
slavery. 

Joseph was reared upon a farm until 
1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth 
Ohio Infantry. Later he was made ser- 
geant, and in 1864 commissioned first lieu- 
tenant. The next year he was brevetted 
captain. At the age of nineteen he was 
mustered out of the army after a brilliant 
service, part of the time being on the staff 
of General Slocum. He participated in the 
battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mount- 
ain and Kenesaw Mountain and in Sher- 
man's march to the sea. 

For two years subsequent to the war 
young Foraker was studying at the Ohio 
Wesleyan University at Delaware, but later 
went to Cornell University, at Unity, New 
York, from which he graduated July i, 
1869. He studied law and was admitted to 
the bar. In 1879 Mr. Foraker was elected 
judge of the superior court of Cincinnati 
and held the office for three years. In 1883 
he was defeated in the contest for the gov- 
ernorship with Judge Hoadly. In 1885, 
however, being again nominated for the 
same office, he was elected and served two 
terms. In 1889, in running for governor 
again, this time against James E. Camp- 
bell, he was defeated. Two years later his 
career in the United States senate began. 
Mr. Foraker was always a prominent figure 
at all national meetings of the Republican 
party, and a strong power, politically, in his 
native state. 



LYMAN ABBOTT, an eminent American 
preacher and writer on religious sub- 
jects, came of a noted New England 
family. His father. Rev. Jacob Abbott, was 
a prolific and popular writer, and his uncle. 
Rev. John S. C. Abbott, was a noted 



preacher and author. Lyman Abbott was 
born December 18, 1835, in Roxbury, 
Massachusetts. He graduated at the New 
York University, in 1853, studied law, and 
practiced for a time at tlte bar, after which 
he studied theology with his uncle. Rev. 
John S. C. Abbott, and in i860 was settled 
in the ministry at Terre Haute, Indiana, re- 
maining there until after the close of the 
war. He then became connected with the 
Freedmen's Commission, continuing this 
until 1868, when he accepted the pastorate 
of the New England Congregational church, 
in New York City. A few years later he re- 
signed, to devote his time principally to lit- 
erary pursuits. For a number of years he 
edited for the American Tract Society, its 
"Illustrated Christian Weekly," also the 
New York "Christian Union." He pro- 
duced many works, which had a wide circu- 
lation, among which may be mentioned the 
following: "Jesus of Nazareth, His Life and 
Teachings," "Old Testament Shadows of 
New Testament Truths," "Morning and 
Evening Exercises, Selected from Writings 
of Henry Ward Beecher, " " Laicus, or the 
Experiences of a Layman in a Country 
Parish," "Popular Religious Dictionary," 
and "Commentaries on Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, John and Acts." 



GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS.— The 
well-known author, orator and journal- 
ist whose name heads this sketch, was born 
at Providence, Rhode Island, February 24, 
1824. Having laid the foundation of a 
most excellent education in his native land, 
he went to Europe and studied at the Uni- 
versity of Berlin. He made an extensive 
tour throughout the Levant, from which he 
returned home in 1850. At that early age 
literature became his field of labor, and in 
185 I he published his first important work, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



145 



" Nile Notes of a Howadji." In 1852 two 
works issued from his facile pen, "The 
Howadji in Syria," and "Lotus-Eating." 
Later on he was the author of the well- 
known " Potiphar Papers," " Prue and L" 
and "Trumps." He greatly distinguished 
himself throughout this land as a lecturer 
on many subjects, and as an orator had but 
few peers. He was also well known as one 
of the most fluent speakers on the stump, 
making many political speeches in favor of 
the Republican party. In recognition of 
his valuable services, Mr. Curtis was ap- 
pointed by President Grant, chairman of 
the advisory board of the civil service. Al- 
though a life-long Republican, Mr. Curtis 
refused to support Blaine for the presidency 
in 1884, because of his ideas on civil ser- 
vice and other reforms. For his memorable 
and magnificent eulogy on Wendell Phillips, 
delivered in Boston, in 1884, that city pre- 
sented Mr. Curtis with a gold medal. 

George W. Curtis, however, is best 
known to the reading public of the United 
States by his connection with the Harper 
Brothers, having been editor of the "Har- 
per's Weekly," and of the " Easy Chair," 
in " Harper's Monthly Magazine, "for many 
years, in fact retaining that position until 
the day of his death, which occurred August 
31. 1892. 

ANDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth 
president of the United States, served 
from 1865 to 1869. He was born Decem- 
ber 8, 1808, at Raleigh, North Carolina, 
and was left an orphan at the age of four 
years. He never attended school, and was 
apprenticed to a tailor. While serving his 
apprenticeship he suddenly acquired a pas- 
sion for knowledge, atjd learned to read. 
From that time on he spent all his spare 
time in reading, and after working for two 



years as a journeyman tailor at Lauren's 
Court House, South Carolina, he removed 
to Greenville, Tennessee, where he worked 
at his trade and was married. Under his 
wife's instruction he made rapid progress in 
his studies and manifested such an interest 
in local politics as to be elected as " work- 
ingmen's candidate " alderman in 1828, and 
in 1830 to the mayoralty, and was twice 
re-elected to each office. Mr. Johnson 
utilized this time in cultivating his talents 
as a public speaker, by taking part in a de- 
bating society. He was elected in 1835 to 
the lower house of the legislature, was re- 
elected in 1839 as a Democrat, and in 
1 84 1 was elected state senator. Mr. John- 
son was elected representative in congress 
in 1843 and was re-elected four times in 
succession until 1853, when he was the suc- 
cessful candidate for the gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. He was re-elected in 1855 
and in 1857 he entered the United States 
senate. In i860 he was supported by the 
Tennessee delegation to the Democratic 
convention for the presidential nomination, 
and lent his influence to the Breckinridge 
wing of the party. At the election of Lin- 
coln, which brought about the first attempt 
at secession in December, i860, Mr. John- 
son took a firm attitude in the senate for 
the Union. He was the leader of the loy- 
alists in East Tennessee. By the course 
that Mr. Johnson pursued in this crisis he 
was brought prominently before the north- 
ern people, and when, in March, 1S62, he 
was appointed military governor of Ten- 
nessee with the rank of brigadier-general, 
he increased his popularity by the vigorous 
manner in which he labored to restore 
order. In the campaign of 1864 he was 
elected vice-president on the ticket with 
President Lincoln, and upon the assassi- 
nation of the latter he succeeded to the 



146 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHT. 



presidency, April 15, 1865. He retained 
the cabinet of President Lincoln, and at 
first exhibited considerable severity towards 
the former Confederates, but he soon inau- 
gurated a policy of reconstruction, pro- 
claimed a general amnesty to the late Con- 
federates, and established provisional gov- 
ernments in the southern states. These 
states claimed representation in congress in 
the following December, and then arose the 
momentous question as to what should be 
the policy of the victorious Union against 
their late enemies. The Republican ma- 
jority in congress had an apprehension that 
the President would undo the results of the 
war, and consequently passed two bills over 
the executive veto, and the two highest 
branches of the government v.'ere in open 
antagonism. The cabinet was reconstructed 
in July, and Messrs. Randall, Stanbury and 
Browning superseded Messrs. Denison, 
Speed and Harlan. In August, 1867, Pres- 
ident Johnson removed the secretary of war 
and replaced him with General Grant, but 
when congress met in December it refused 
to ratify the removal of Stanton, who re- 
sumed the functions of his office. In 1868 
the president again attempted to remove 
Stanton, who refused to vacate his post 
and was sustained by the senate. Presi- 
dent Johnson was accused by congress of 
high crimes and misdemeanors, but the trial 
resulted in his acquittal. Later he was Uni- 
ted States senator from Tennessee, and 
died July 31, 1875. 



EDMUND RANDOLPH, first attorney- 
general of the United States, was born 
in Virginia, August 10, 1753. His father, 
John Randolph, was attorney-general of 
Virginia, and lived and died a royalist. Ed- 
mund was educated in the law. but joined 
the army as aide-de-camp to Washington 



in 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He 
was elected to the Virginia convention in 
1776, and attorney-general of the state the 
same year. In 1779 he was elected to the 
Continental congress, and served four years 
in that body. He was a member of the con- 
vention in 1787 that framed the constitu- 
tion. In that convention he proposed what 
was known as the " Virginia plan" of con- 
federation, but it was rejected. He advo- 
cated the ratification of the constitution in 
ttie Virginia convention, although he had re- 
fused to sign it. He became governor of 
Virginia in 1788, and the next year Wash- 
ington appointed him to the office of at- 
torney-general of the United States upon 
the organization of the government under 
the constitution. He was appointed secre- 
tary of state to succeed Jefferson during 
Washington's second term, but resigned a 
year later on account of differences in the 
cabinet concerning the policy pursued to- 
ward the new French republic. He died 
September 12, 181 3. 



W INFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK was 
born in Montgomery county, Penn- 
sylvania, February 14, 1824. He received 
his early education at the Norristown 
Academy, in his native county, and, in 1840, 
was appointed a cadet in the United States 
Military Academy, at West Point. He was 
graduated from the latter in 1844, and brev- 
etted as second lieutenant of infantry. In 
1853 he was made first lieutenant, and two 
years later transferred to the quartermaster's 
department, with the rank of captain, and 
in 1863 promoted to the rank of major. He 
served on the frontier, and in the war with 
Mexico, displaying conspicuous gallantry dur- 
ing the latter. He also took a part in the 
Seminole war, and in the troubles in Kan- 
sas, in 1857, and in California, at the out- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



147 



break of the Civil war, as chief quarter- 
master of the Southern district, he exerted 
a powerful influence. In 1861 he applied 
for active duty in the field, and was assigned 
to the department of Kentucky as chief 
quartermaster, but before entering upon that 
duty, was appointed brigadier-general of 
volunteers. His subsequent history during 
the war was substantially that of the Army 
of the Potomac. He participated in the 
campaign, under McClellan, and led the 
gallant charge, which captured Fort Magru- 
der, won the day at the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, and by services rendered at 
Savage's Station and other engagements, 
won several grades in the regular service, 
and was recommended by McClellan for 
major-general of volunteers. He was a con- 
spicuous figure at South Mountain and An- 
tietam. He was commissioned major-gen- 
eral of volunteers, November 29, 1862, and 
made commander of the First Division of 
the Second Corps, which he led at Fred- 
ricksburg and at Chancellorsville. He was 
appointed to the command of the Second 
Corps in June, 1863, and at the battle of 
Gettysburg, July i, 2 and 3, of that year, 
took an important part. On his arrival on 
the field he found part of the forces then 
in retreat, but stayed the retrograde 
movement, checked the enemy, and on the 
following day commanded the left center, 
repulsed, on the third, the grand assault of 
General Lee's army, and was severely 
wounded. For his services on that field 
General Hancock received the thanks of 
congress. On recovering from his wound, 
he was detailed to go north to stimulate re- 
cruiting and fill up the diminished corps, and 
was the recipient of many public receptions 
and ovations. In March, 1864, he returned 
to his command, and in the Wilderness and 
at Spottsylvania led large bodies of men 



successfully and conspicuously. From that 
on to the close of the campaign he was a 
prominent figure. In November, 1864, he 
was detailed to organize the First Veteran 
Reserve Corps, and at the close of hostilities 
was appointed to the command of the Mid- 
dle Military Division. In July, 1866, he 
was made major-general of the regular 
service. He was at the head of various 
military departments until 1872, when he 
was assigned to the command of the Depart- 
ment of the Atlantic, which post he held 
until his death. In 1869 he declined the 
nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. 
He was the nominee of the Democratic 
party for president, in 1880, and was de- 
feated by General Garfield, who had a popu- 
lar majority of seven thousand and eighteen 
and an electoral majority'lof fifty-nine. Gen- 
eral Hancock died February 9, 1886. 



THOMAS PAINE, the most noted polit- 
ical and deistical writer of the Revolu- 
tionary period, was born in England, Jan- 
uary 29, 1737, of Quaker parents. His edu- 
cation was. obtained in the grammar schools 
of Thetford, his native town, and supple- 
mented by hard private study while working 
at his trade of stay-maker at London and 
other cities of England. He was for a time 
a dissenting preacher, although he did not 
relinquish his employment. He married a 
revenue ofScial's daughter, and was employed 
in the revenue service for some time. He 
then became a grocer and during all this time 
he was reading and cultivating his literary 
tastes, and had developed a clear and forci- 
ble style of composition. He was chosen to 
represent the interests of the excisemen, 
and published a pamphlet that brought 
him considerable notice. He was soon after- 
ward introduced to Benjamin Franklin, and 
having been dismissed from the service on a 



148 



COMrEJVBIUM OF lUOGRAJ'HV 



charge of smuggling, his resentment led him 
to accept the advice of that statesman to 
come to America, in 1774. He became 
editor of the ' ' Pennsylvania Magazine," and 
the next year published his "Serious 
Thoughts upon Slavery" in the "Penn- 
sylvania Journal." His greatest political 
work, however, was written at the sugges- 
tion of Dr. Rush, and entitled "Common 
Sense." It was the most popular pamphlet 
written during the period and he received 
two thousand five hundred dollars from the 
state of Pennsylvania in recognition of its 
value. His periodical, the "Crisis," began 
in 1776, and its distribution among the 
soldiers did a great deal to keep up the spirit 
of revolution. He was made secretary cf 
the committee of foreign affairs, but was dis- 
missed for revealing diplomatic secrets in 
one of his controversies with Silas Deane. 
He was originator and promoter of a sub- 
scription to relieve the distress of the soldiers 
near the close of the war, and was sent to 
France with Henry Laurens to negotiate the 
treaty with France, and was granted three 
thousand dollars by congress for his services 
there, and an estate at New Rochelle, by the 
state of New York. 

In 1787, after the close of the Revolu- 
tionary war, he went to France, and a few 
years later published his " Rights of Man," 
defending the French revolution, which 
gave him great popularity in France. He 
was made a citizen and elected to the na- 
tional convention at Calais. He favored 
banishment of the king to America, and 
opposed his execution. He was imprisoned 
for about ten months during 1794 by the 
Robespierre party, during which time he 
wrote the " Age of Reason," his great deis- 
tical work. He was in danger of the guillo- 
tine for several months. He took up his 
residence with the family of James Monroe, 



then minister to France and was chosen 
again to the convention. He returned 
to the United States in 1802, and was 
cordially received throughout the coun- 
try except at Trenton, where he was insulted 
by Federalists. He retired to his estate at 
New Rochelle, and his death occurred June 
8, 1809. 

JOHN WILLIAM MACKAY was one of 
America's noted men, both in the de- 
velopment of the western coast and the 
building of the Mackay and Bennett cable. 
He was born in 1831 at Dublin, Ireland; 
came to New York in 1840 and his boyhood 
days were spent in Park Row. He went 
to California some time after the' argonauts 
of 1849 and took to the primitive methods 
of mining — ^lost and won and finally drifted 
into Nevada about i86o. The bonanza dis- 
coveries which were to have such a potent 
influence on the finance and statesmanship 
of the day came in 1872. Mr. Mackay 
founded the Nevada Bank in 1878. He is 
said to have taken one hundred and 
fifty million dollars in bullion out of 
the Big Bonanza mine. There were as- 
sociated with him in this enterprise James 
G. Fair, senator from Nevada; William 
O'Brien and James C. Flood. When 
vast wealth came to Mr. Mackay he be- 
lieved it his duty to do his country some 
service, and he agitated in his mind the 
building of an American steamship line, 
and while brooding over this his attention 
was called to the cable relations between 
America and Europe. The financial man- 
agement of the cable was selfish and ex- 
travagant, and the capital was heavy with 
accretions of financial " water " and to pay 
even an apparent dividend upon the sums 
which represented the nominal value of the 
cables, it was necessary to hold the rates 



COMPEN'DIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



149 



at an exorbitant figure. And, moreover, 
the cables were foreign; in one the influence 
of France being paramount and in the other 
that of England; and in the matter of intel- 
ligence, so necessary in case of war, we 
would be at the mercy of our enemies. This 
train of thought brought Mr. Mackay into re- 
lation with James Gordon Bennett, the pro- 
prietor of the " New York Herald." The 
result of their intercourse was that Mr. Mac- 
kay so far entered into the enthusiasm of 
Mr. Bennett over an independent cable, 
that he offered to assist the enterprise with 
five hundred thousand dollars. This was the 
inception of the Commercial Cable Com- 
pany, or of what has been known for years 
as the Mackav-Bennett cable. 



ELISHA GRAY, the great inventor and 
electrician, was born August 2, 1835. 
at Barnesville, Belmont county, Ohio. He 
was, as a child, greatly interested in the 
phenomena of nature, and read with avidity 
all the books he could obtain, relating to 
this subject. He was apprenticed to various 
trades during his boyhood, but his insatiable 
thirst for knowledge dominated his life and 
he found time to study at odd intervals. 
Supporting himself by working at his trade, 
he found time to pursue a course at Oberlin 
College, where he particularly devoted him- 
self to the study of physicial science. Ivlr. 
Gray secured his first patent for electrical 
or telegraph apparatus on October i, 1867. 
His attention was first attracted to tele- 
phonic transmission during this year and he 
saw in it a way of transmitting signals for 
telegraph purposes, and conceived the idea 
■of electro-tones, tuned to different tones in 
the scale. He did not then realize the im- 
portance of his invention, his thoughts being 
employed on the capacity of the apparatus 
for transmitting musical tones throuirh an 



electric circuit, and it was not until 1874 
that he was again called to consider the re- 
production of electrically-transmitted vibra- 
tions through the medium of animal tissue. 
He continued experimenting with various 
results, which finally culminated in his 
taking out a patent for his speaking tele- 
phone on February 14, 1876. He took out 
fifty additional patents in the course of 
eleven years, among which were, telegraph 
switch, telegraph repeater, telegraph annun- 
ciator and typewriting telegraph. From 
1869 until 1873 he was employed in the 
manufacture of telegraph apparatus in Cleve- 
land and Chicago, and filled the office of 
electrician to the Western Electric Com- 
pany. He was awarded the degree of U. 
S., and in 1874 he went abroad to perfect 
himself in acoustics. Mr. Gray's latest in- 
vention was known as the telautograph or 
long distance writing machine. Mr. Gray 
wrote and published several works on scien- 
tific subjects, among which were: "Tele- 
graphy and Telephony," and " Experi- 
mental Research in Electro-Harmonic Tele- 
graphy and Telephony." 



"\^.^HITELAW REID.— Among the many 
V V men who have adorned the field of 
journalism in the United States, few stand 
out with more prominence than the scholar, 
author and editor whose name heads this ar- 
ticle. Born at Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, 
October 27, 1837, he graduated at Miami 
University in 1856. For about a year he 
was superintendent of the graded schools of 
South Charleston, Ohio, after which he pur- 
chased the "Xenia News," which he edited 
for about two years. This paper was the 
first one outside of Illinois to advocate the 
nomination of Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Reid 
having been a Republican since the birth of 
that party in 1856. After taking an active 



150 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV 



part in the campaign, in the winter of 1860- 
61, he went to the state capital as corres- 
pondent of three daily papers. At the close 
of the session of the legislature he became 
city editor of the "Cincinnati Gazette," 
and at the breaking out of the war went to 
the front as a correspondent for that journal. 
For a time he served on the staff of General 
Morris in West Virginia, with the rank of 
captain. Shortly after he was on the staff 
of General Rosecrans, and, under the name 
of "Agate," wrote most graphic descrip- 
tions of the movements in the field, espe- 
cially that of the battle ol Pittsburg Land- 
ing. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Reid went 
to Washington and was appointed librarian 
to the house of representatives, and acted as 
correspondent of the " Cincinnati Gazette." 
His description of the battle of Gettysburg, 
written on the field, gained him added 
reputation. In 1865 he accompanied Chief 
Justice Chase on a southern tour, and pub- 
lished "After the War; a Southern Tour." 
During the next two years he was engaged 
in cotton planting in Louisiana and Ala- 
bama, and published "Ohio in the War." 
In 1868 he returned to the " Cincinnati Ga- 
zette," becoming one of its leading editors. 
The same year he accepted the invitation of 
Horace Greeley and became one of the staff 
on the " New York Tribune." Upon the 
death of Mr. Greeley in 1872, Mr. Reid be- 
came editor and chief proprietor of that 
paper. In 187S he was tendered the United 
States mission to Berlin, but declined. The 
offer was again made by the Garfield ad- 
ministration, but again he declined. In 
1878 he was elected by the New York legis- 
lature regent of the university, to succeed 
General John A. Dix. Under the Harrison 
administration he served as United States 
minister to France, and in 1892 was the 
Republican nominee for the vice-presidency 



of the United States. Among other works- 
published by him were the " Schools of 
Journalism," "The Scholar in Politics," 
''Some Newspaper Tendencies," and 
' ' Town-Hall Suggestions. " 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD was one of 
the most powerful and effective preach- 
ers the world has ever produced, swaying 
his hearers and touching the hearts of im- 
mense audiences in a manner that has rarely 
been equalled and never surpassed. While 
not a native of America, yet much of his 
labor was spent in this country. He wielded 
a great influence in the United States in 
early days, and his death occurred here; so 
that he well deserves a place in this volume 
as one of the most celebrated men America 
has known. 

George Whitefield was born in the Bull 
Inn, at Gloucester, England, December 16, 
17 14. He acquired the rudiments of learn- 
ing in St. Mary's grammar school. Later 
he attended Oxford University for a time, 
where he became intimate with the Oxford 
Methodists, and resolved to devote himself 
to the ministry. He was ordained in the 
Gloucester Cathedral June 20, 1836, and 
the following day preached his first sermon 
in the same church. On that day there 
commenced a new era in Whitefield's life. 
He went to London and began to preach at 
Bishopsgate church, his fame soon spread- 
ing over the city, and shortly he was en- 
gaged four times on a single Sunday in ad- 
dressing audiences of enormous magnitude, 
and he preached in various parts of his native 
country, the people crowding in multitudes 
to hear him and hanging upon the rails and 
rafters of the churches and approaches there- 
to. He finally sailed for America, landing 
in Georgia, where he stirred the people to 
great enthusiasm. During the balance of 




//. ftirt7iisf>-( ii\^ 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



\l 



his life he divided his time between Great 
Britain and America, and it is recorded that 
he crossed the Atlantic thirteen times. He 
came to America for the seventh time in 
1770. He preached every day at Boston 
from the 17th to the 20th of September, 
1770, then traveled to Newbury port, preach- 
ing at Exeter, New Hampshire, September 
29, on the way. That evening he went to 
Newburyport, where he died the ne.xt day, 
Sunday, September 30, 1770. 

" Whitefield's dramatic power was amaz- 
ing, " says an eminent writer in describing 
him. " His voice was marvelously varied, 
and he ever had it at command — an organ, 
a flute, a harp, all in one. His intellectual 
powers were not of a high order, but he had 
an abundance of that ready talent and that 
wonderful magnetism vv'hich makes the pop- 
ular preacher; and beyond all natural en- 
dowments, there was in his ministry the 
power of evangelical truth, and, as his con- 
verts believed, the presence of the spirit of 
God." 

CHARLES FRANCIS BRUSH, one of 
America's prominent men in the devel- 
opment of electrical science, was born March 
17, 1849, near Cleveland, Ohio, and spent 
his early life on his father's farm. From 
the district school at Wickliffe, Ohio, he 
passed to the Shaw Academy at CoUamer, 
and then entered the high school at Cleve- 
land. His interest in chemistry, physics 
and engineering was already marked, and 
during his senior year he was placed in 
charge of the chemical and physical appar- 
atus. During these years he devised a plan 
fur lighting street lamps, constructed tele- 
scopes, and his first electric arc lamp, also 
an electric motor. In September, 1867, he 
entered the engineering department of the 
University of Michigan and graduated in 



1869, which was a year in advance of his 
class, with the degree of M. E. He then 
returned to Cleveland, and for three years 
was engaged as an analytical chemist and 
for four years in the iron business. In 
1875 Mr. Brush became interested in elec- 
tric lighting, and in 1876, after four months' 
experimenting, he completed the dynamo- 
electric machine that has made his name 
famous, and in a shorter time produced the 
series arc lamps. These were both patent- 
ed in the United States in 1876, and he 
afterward obtained fifty patents on his later 
inventions, including the fundamental stor- 
age battery, the compound series, shunt- 
winding for dynamo-electric machines, and 
the automatic cut-out for arc lamps. His 
patents, two-thirds of which have already 
been profitable, are held by the Brush 
Electric Company, of Cleveland, while his 
foreign patents are controlled by the Anglo- 
American Brush Electric Ligiit Company, 
of London. In 18S0 the Western Reserve 
University conferred upon Mr. Brush the 
degree of Ph. D., and in 1881 the French 
government decorated him as a chevalier of 
the Legion of Honor. 



HENRY CLEWS, of Wall-street fame, 
was one of the noted old-time opera- 
tors on that famous street, and was also an 
author of some repute. Mr. Clews was 
born in Staffordshire, England, August 14, 
1840. His father had him educated with 
the intention of preparing him for the minis- 
try, but on a visit to the United States the 
young man became interested in a business 
life, and was allowed to engage as a clerk in 
the importing house of Wilson G. Hunt & 
Co., of New York. Here he learned the 
first principles of business, and when the war 
broke out in 1861 young Clews saw in the 
needs of the government an opportunity to- 



L"4 



COMPEXDIUM OF BlOGRAPIir. 



reap a golden harvest. He identified him- 
self with the negotiating of loans for the 
government, and used his powers of pur- 
suasion upon the great money powers to 
•convince them of the stability of the govern- 
ment and the value of its securities. By 
enthusiasm and patriotic arguments he in- 
duced capitalists to invest their money in 
government securities, often against their 
judgment, and his success was remarkable. 
His was one of the leading firms that aided 
the struggling treasury department in that 
critical hour, and his reward was great. In 
addition to the vast wealth it brought, 
President Lincoln and Secretary Chase 
both wrote important letters, acknowledging 
his valued service. In 1873, by the repu- 
diation of the bonded indebtedness of the 
state of Georgia, Mr. Clews lost six million 
dollars which he had invested in those se- 
curities. It is said that he is the only man, 
with one exception, in Wall street, who 
ever regained great wealth after utter dis- 
aster. His " Twenty-Eight Years in Wall 
Street " has been widely read. 



ALFRED VAIL was one of the men that 
gave to the world the electric telegraph 
and the names of Henry, Morse and Vail 
will forever remain linked as the prime fac- 
tors in that great achievement. Mr. Vail 
was born September 25, 1807, at Morris- 
town, New Jersey, and was a son of Stephen 
Vail, the proprietor of the Speedwell Iron 
Works, near Morristown. At the age of 
seventeen, after he had completed his stud- 
ies at the Morristown Academy, Alfred Vail 
went into the Speedwell Iron Works and 
contented himself with the duties of his 
position until he reached his majority. He 
then determined to prepare himself for the 
ministry, and at the age of twenty-five he 
■entered the University of the City of New 



York, where he was graduated in 1836. His 
health becoming impaired he labored for a 
titne under much uncertainty as to his future 
course. Professor S. F. B. Morse had come 
to the university in 1835 as professor of lit- 
erature and fine arts, and about this time, 

1837, Professor Gale, occupying the chair 
of chemistry, invited Morse to exhibit his 
apparatus for the benefit of the students. 
On Saturday, September 2, 1837, tlie exhi- 
bition took place and Vail was asked to at- 
tend, and with his inherited taste for me- 
chanics and knowledge of their construction, 
he saw a great future for the crude mechan- 
ism used by Morse in giving and recording 
signals. Mr. Vail interested his father in 
the invention, and Morse was invited to 
Speedwell and the elder Vail promised to 
help him. It was stipulated that Alfred 
Vail should construct the required apparatus 
and exhibit before a committee of congress 
the telegraph instrument, and was to receive 
a quarter interest in the invention. Morse 
had devised a series of ten numbered leaden 
types, which were to be operated in giving 
the signal. This was not satisfactory to 
Vail, so he devised an entirely new instru- 
ment, involving a lever, or "point," on a 
radically different principle, which, when 
tested, produced dots and dashes, and de- 
vised the famous dot-and-dash alphabet, 
misnamed the " Morse." At last the ma- 
chine was in working order, on January 6, 

1838. The machine was taken to Wash- 
ington, where it caused not only wonder, 
but excitement. Vail continued his experi- 
ments and ■ devised the lever and roller. 
When the line between Baltimore and 
Washington was cornpleted. Vail was sta- 
tioned at the Baltimore end and received 
the famous first message. It is a remarka- 
ble fact that not a single feature of the 
original invention of Morse, as formulated 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArilT. 



155' 



by his caveat and repeated in his original 
patent, is to be found in Vail's apparatus. 
From 1837 to 1844 it was a combination of 
tlie inventions of Morse, Henry and Vail, 
but the work of Morse fell gradually into 
desuetude, while Vail's conception of an 
alphabet has remained unchanged for half a 
century. Mr. Vail published but one work, 
"American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph," 
in 1845, and died at Morristown at the com- 
paratively early age of fifty-one, on January 
19. 1859- 

ULYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth 
president of the United States, was 
born April 27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Cler- 
mont county, Ohio. At the age of seven- 
teen he entered the United States Military 
Academy at West Point, from which he 
graduated in June, 1843, and was given his 
brevet as second lieutenant and assigned to 
the Fourth Infantry. He remained in the 
service eleven years, in which time he 
was engaged in the Mexican war with gal- 
lantry, and was thrice brevetted for conduct 
in the field. In 1848 he married Miss Julia 
Dent, and in 1854, having reached the 
grade of captain, he resigned and engaged 
in farming near St. Louis. In i860 he en- 
tered the leather business with his father at 
Galena, Illinois. 

On the breaking out of the war, in 1861, 
he commenced to drill a company at Ga- 
lena, and at the same time offered his serv- 
ices to the adjutant-general of the army, 
but he had few influential friends, so re- 
ceived no answer. He was employed by 
the governor of Illinois in the organization 
of the various volunteer regiments, and at 
the end of a few weeks was given the 
colonelcy of the Twenty- first Infantry, from 
that state. His military training and knowl- 
edge soon attracted the attention of his su- 



perior officers, and on reporting to General 
Pope in Missouri, the latter put him in 
the way of advancement. August 7, 1861, 
he was promoted to' the rank of brigadier- 
general of volunteers, and for a few weeks 
was occupied in watching the movements of 
partisan forces in Missouri. September i, 
the same year, he was placed in command 
of the Department of Southeast Missouri, 
with headquarters at Cairo, and on the 6th 
of the month, without orders, seized Padu- 
cah, which commanded the channel of the 
Oiiio and Tennessee rivers, by which he se- 
cured Kentucky for the Union. He now 
received orders to make a demonstration on 
Belmont, which he did, and with about three 
thousand raw recruits held his own against 
the Confederates some seven thousand 
strong, bringing back about two hundred 
prisoners and two guns. In February, '1862, 
he moved up the Tennessee river with 
the naval fleet under Commodore Foote. 
The latter soon silenced Fort Henry, and 
Grant advanced against Fort Donelson and 
took their fortress and its garrison. His 
prize here consisted of si.\ty-five cannon, 
seventeen thousand si.K hundred stand of 
arms, and fourteen thousand six hundred 
and twenty-three prisoners. This was the 
first important success won by the Union 
forces. Grant was immediately made a 
major-general and placed in command of 
the district of West Tennessee. In April, 
I S62, he fought the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
ing, and after the evacuation of Corinth by 
the enemy Grant became commander of the 
Department of the Tennessee. He now 
made his first demonstration toward V'icks- 
burg, but owing to the incapacity of subor- 
dinate officers, was unsuccessful. In Janu- 
ary, 1S63, he took command of all the 
troops in the Mississippi Valley and devoted 
several months to the siege of Vicksburg, 



156 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



which was finally taken possession of by him 
Julj'4, with thirty-one thousand six hundred 
prisoners and one hundred and seventy-two 
cannon, thus throwing the Mississippi river 
open to the Federals. He was now raised 
to the rank of major-general in the regular 
army, October following, at the head of 
the Department of the Mississippi, General 
Grant went to Chattanooga, where he over- 
threw the enemy, and united with the Army 
of the Cumberland. The remarkable suc- 
cesses achieved by him pointed Grant out 
for an appropriate commander of all na- 
tional troops, and in February, 1864, the 
rank of lieutenant-general was made for him 
by act of congress. Sending Sherman into 
Georgia, Sigel into the Valley of West Vir- 
ginia and Butler to attsmpt the capture of 
Richmond he fought his v\'ay through the 
Wilderness to the James and pressed the 
siege of the capital of the Confederacy. 
After the fall of the latter Grant pressed 
the Confederate army so hard that their 
commander surrendered at Appomattox 
Court House, April 9, 1865. This virtually 
ended the war. 

After the war the rank of general was 
conferred upon U. S. Grant, and in 1868 he 
was elected president of the United States, 
and re-elected his own successor in 1872. 
After the expiration of the latter term he 
made his famous tour of the world. He died 
at Mt. McGregor, near Saratoga, New York, 
July 23, 1885, and was buried at Riverside 
Park, New York, where a magnificent tomb 
has been erected to hold the ashes of the 
nation's hero. 



JOHN MARSHALL, the fourth chief jus- 
tice of the United States supreme court, 
was born in Germantown, Virginia, Septem- 
ber 24, 1755. His father, Colonel Thomas 
Marshall, served with distinction in the Rev- 



olutionary war, while he also served from 
the beginning of the war until 1779, where 
he became noted in the field and courts 
martial. While on detached service he at- 
tended a course of law lectures at William 
and Mary College, delivered by Mr. Wythe, 
and was admitted to the bar. The next year 
he resigned his commission and began his 
career as a lawyer. He was a distinguished 
member of the convention called in Virginia 
to ratify the Federal constitution. He was 
tendered the attorney-generalship of the 
United States, and also a place on the su- 
preme bench, besides other places of less 
honor, all of which he declined. He 
went to France as special envoy in 1798, 
and 'the next year was elected to congress. 
He served one year and was appointed, first, 
secretary of war, and then secretary of state, 
and in 1801 was made chief justice of the 
United States. He held this high office un- 
til his death, in 1835. 

Chief Justice Marshall's early education 
was neglected, and his opinions, the most 
valuable in existence, are noted for depth 
of wisdom, clear and comprehensive reason- 
ing, justice, and permanency, rather than for 
wide learning and scholarly construction. 
His decisions and rulings are resorted to 
constantly by our greatest lawyers, and his 
renown as a just judge and profound jurist 
was world wide. 



LAWRENCE BARRETT is perhaps 
known more widely as a producer of 
new plays than as a great actor. He was 
born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1838, and 
educated himself as best he could, and at 
the age of sixteen years became salesman 
for a Detroit dry goods house. He after- 
wards began to go upon the stage as a 
Bupernumerary, and his ambition was soon 
rewarded by the notice of the management. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



157 



During the war of the Rebellion he was a 
soldier, and after valiant service for his 
country he returned to the stage. He went 
to Europe and appeared in Liverpool, and 
returning in 1869, he began playing at 
Booth's theater, with Mr. Booth. He was 
afterward associated with John McCullough 
in the management of the California 
theater. Probably the most noted period 
of his work was during his connection with 
Edwin Booth as manager of that great 
actor, and supporting him upon the stage. 
Mr. Barrett was possessed of the crea- 
tive instinct, and, unlike Mr. Booth, he 
sought new fields for the display of his 
genius, and only resorted to traditional 
drama in response to popular demand. He 
preferred new plays, and believed in the 
encouragement of modern dramatic writers, 
and was the only actor of prominence in his 
time that ventured to put upon the stage 
new American plays, which he did at his 
own expense, and the success of his experi- 
ments proved the quality of his judgment. 
He died March 21, 1891. 



ARCHBISHOP JOHN HUGHES, a cel- 
ebrated Catholic clergyman, was born 
at Annaboghan, Tyrone county, Ireland, 
June 24, 1797, and emigrated to America 
when twenty years of age, engaging for 
some time as a gardener and nurseryman. 
In 1819 he entered St. Mary's College, 
where he secured an education, paying his 
way by caring for the college garden. In 
1825 he was ordained a deacon'of the Ro- 
man Catholic church, and in the same year, 
a priest. Until 1 838 he had pastoral charges 
in Philadelphia, where he founded St. John's 
Asylum in 1829, and a few years later es- 
tablished the "Catholic Herald." In 1838 
he was made bishop of Basileopolis in parti- 
bus and coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, of 



New York, and in 1842 became bishop of 
New York. In 1839 he founded St. John's 
College, at Fordham. In 1850 he was 
made archbishop of New York. In 186 1-2 
he was a special agent of the United States 
in Europe, after which he returned to this 
country and remained until his death, Jan- 
uary 3, 1864. Archbishop Hughes early 
attracted much attention by his controver- 
sial correspondence with Rev. John Breck- 
inridge in 1833-35. He was a man of great 
ability, a fluent and forceful writer and an 
able preacher. 

RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES 
was the nineteenth president of the 
United States and served from 1877 to 1 88 1 . 
He was born October 4, 1822, at Delaware, 
Ohio, and his ancestry can be traced back 
as far as 1280, when Haj-esand Rutherford 
v.ere two Scottish chieftans fighting side by 
side with Baliol, William Wallace and 
Robert Bruce. The Hayes family had for 
a coat of arms, a shield, barred and sur- 
mounted by a flying eagle. There was a 
circle of stars about the eagle, while on a 
scroll underneath was their motto, ''Recte." 
Misfortune overtook the family and in 1680 
George Hayes, the progenitor of the Ameri- 
can family, came to Connecticut and settled 
at Windsor. Rutherford B. Hayes was 
a very delicate child at his birth and was 
not expected to live, but he lived in spite of 
all and remained at home until he was 
seven years old, when he was placed in 
school. He was a very tractable pupil, being 
always very studious, and in 1838 entered 
Ken3'on College, graduating from the same 
in 1842. He then took up the study of law 
in the office of Thomas Sparrow at Colum- 
bus, but in a short time he decided to enter 
a law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
where for two years he was immersed in the 



108 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



study of law. Mr. Hayes was admitted to 
the bar in 1845 ''^ Marietta, Ohio, and very 
soon entered upon the active practice of his 
profession with Ralph P. Buckland, of 
Fremont, Ohio. He remained there three 
years, and in 1849 removed to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where his ambition found a new 
stimulus. Two events occurred at this 
period that had a powerful influence on his 
after life. One was his marriage to Miss 
Lucy Ware Webb, and the other was his 
introduction to a Cincinnati literary club, 
a body embracing such men as Salmon P. 
Chase, John Pope, and Edward F. Noyes. 
In 1856 he was nominated for judge of the 
court of common pleas, but declined, and 
two years later he was appointed city 
solicitor. At the outbreak of the Rebellion 
Mr. Hayes was appointed major of the 
Twenty-third Ohio Infantry, June 7. 1S61, 
and in July the regiment was ordered to 
Virginia, and October 15, i86i,saw him 
promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of his 
regiment. He was made colonel of the 
Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, but refused to 
leave his old comrades; and in the battle of 
South Mountain he was wounded very 
severely and was unable to rejoin his regi- 
ment until November 30, 1862. He had 
been promoted to the colonelcy of the 
regiment on October 15, 1862. In the 
following December he was appointed to 
command the Kanawa division and was 
given the rank of brigadier-general for 
meritorious services in several battles, and 
in 1864 he was brevetted major-general for 
distinguished services in 1864, during 
which campaign he was wounded several 
times and five horses had been shot under 
him. Mr. Hayes' first venture in politics 
was as a Whig, and later he was one of the 
first to unite with the Republican party. In 
1864 he was elected from the Second Ohio 



district to congress, re-elected in 1866, 
and in 1867 was elected governor of Ohio 
over Allen G. Thurman, and was re-elected 
in 1869. Mr. Hayes was elected to the 
presidency in 1876, for the term of four 
years, and at its close retired to private life, 
and went to his home in Fremont, Ohio, 
where he died on January 17, 1893. 



WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN became 
a celebrated character as the nominee 
of the Democratic and Populist parties for 
president of the United States in 1896. He 
was born March 19, i860, at Salem, Illi- 
nois. He received his early education in 
the public schools of his native county, and 
later on he attended the Whipple Academy 
at Jacksonville. He also took a course in 
Illinois College, and after his graduation 
from the same went to Chicago to study 
law, and entered the Union College of Law 
as a student. He was associated with the 
late Lyman Trumbull, of Chicago, during 
his law studies, and devoted considerable 
time to the questions of government. He 
graduated from the college, was admitted to 
the bar, and went to Jacksonville, Illinois, 
where he was married to Miss Mary Eliza- 
beth Baird. In 1887 Mr. Bryan removed 
to Lincoln, Nebraska, and formed a law 
partnership with Adolphus R. Talbot. He 
entered the field of politics, and in 1888 
was sent as a delegate to the state con- 
vention, which was to choose delegates to 
the national convention, during which he 
made a speech which immediately won him 
a high rank in political affairs. He declined, 
in the next state convention, a nomination 
for lieutenant-governor, and in 1890 he was 
elected congressman from the First district 
of Nebraska, and was the youngest member 
of the fifty-scconJ congress. He cham- 
pioned the Wilson tariff bill, and served 



COMPE.VDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



159 



three terms in the house of representatives. 
He next ran for senator, but was defeated 
by John M. Thurston, and in 1896 he was 
selected by the Democratic and Populist 
parties as their nominee for the presidency, 
being defeated by William McKinley. 



MARVIN HUGHITT, one of America's 
famous railroad men, was born in 
Genoa, New York, and entered the railway 
service in 1856 as superintendent of tele- 
graph and trainmaster of the St. Louis, Al- 
ton & Chicago, now Chicago & Alton Rail- 
road. Mr. Hughitt was superintendent of 
the southern division of the Illinois Central 
Railroad from 1862 until 1864, and was, later 
on, the general superintendent of the road 
until 1870. He was then connected with 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road as assistant general manager, and re- 
tained this position until- 1871, when he be- 
came the general manager of Pullman's 
Palace Car Company. In 1872 he was made 
general superintendent of the Chicago & 
Northwestern Railroad. He served during 
1876 and up to 1 880 as general manager, 
and from 1880 until 1887 as vice-presi- 
dent and general manager. He was elected 
president of the road in 1887, in recog- 
nition of his ability in conducting the 
affairs of the road. He was also chosen 
president of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minne- 
apolis & Omaha Railway; the Fremont, Elk- 
horn & Missouri Valley Railroad, and the 
Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad, 
and his services in these capacities stamped 
hirn as one of the most able railroad mana- 
gers of his day. 



JOSEPH MEDILL, one of the most 
<J eminent of American journalists, was 
born in New Brunswick, Canada, April 6, 
1823. In 1831 his father moved to Stark 



county, Ohio, and until 1841 Joseph Medill 
worked on his father's farm. Later he 
studied law, and began the practice of that 
profession in 1846 at New Philadelphia, 
Ohio. But the newspaper field was more 
attractive to Mr. Medill, and three years 
later he founded a free-soil Whig paper at 
Coshocton, Ohio, and after that time jour- 
nalism received all his abilities. "The 
Leader," another free-soil Whig paper, was 
founded by Mr. Medill at Cleveland in 1852. 
In that city he also became one of the first 
organizers of the Republican party. Shortlj' 
after that event he removed to Chicago and 
in 1855, with two partners, he purchased 
the " Chicago Tribune." In the contest for 
the nomination for the presidency in i860, 
Mr. Medill worked with unflagging zeal for 
Mr. Lincoln, his warm personal friend, and 
was one of the president's stanchest sup- 
porters during the war. Mr. Medill was a 
member of the Illinois Constitutional con- 
vention in 1870. President Grant, in 1871, 
appointed the editor a member of the first 
United States civil service commission, and 
the following year, after the fire, he was 
elected mayor of Chicago by a great ma- 
jority. During 1873 and 1874 Mr. Medill 
spent a year in Europe. Upon his return 
he purchased a controlling interest in the 
" Chicago Tribune." 



CLAUSSPRECKELS, the great ■' sugar 
baron, " and one of the most famous 
representatives of commercial life in Amer- 
ica, was born in Hanover, Germany, and 
emigrated to the United States in 1840, 
locating in New York. He very soon be- 
came the proprietor of a small retail gro- 
cery store on Church street, and embarked 
on a career that has since astonished the 
\\orld. He sold out his business and went 
to California with the argonauts of 1849, 



IGO 



COMPEA'DIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV. 



not as a prospector, but as a trader, and for 
years after his arrival on the coast he was 
still engaged as a grocer. At length, after a 
quarter of a century of fairly prosperous 
business life, he found himself in a position 
where an ordinary man would have retired, 
but Mr. Spreckles did not retire; he had 
merely been gathering capital for the real 
work of his life. His brothers had followed 
him to California, and in combination with 
them he purchased for forty thousand dollars 
an interest in the Albany Brewery in San 
Francisco. But the field was not extensive 
enough for the development of his business 
abilities, so Mr. Sprecklas branched out 
extensively in the sugar business. He suc- 
ceeded in securing the entire output of 
sugar that was produced on the Sand- 
wich Islands, and after 1885 was known as 
the "Sugar King of Sandwich Islands." 
He controlled absolutely the sugar trade of 
the Pacific coast which was known to be 
not less than ten million dollars a year. 



CHARLES HENRY PARICHURST, 
famous as a clergyman, and for many 
years president of the Society for the 
Prevention of Crime, was born April 17, 
1842, at Framingham, Massachusetts, of 
English descent. At the age of sixteen 
he was pupil in the grammar school at 
Clinton, Massachusetts, and for the ensu- 
ing two years was a clerk in a dry goods 
store, which position he gave up to prepare 
, himself for college at Lancaster academy. 
■Mr. Parkhurst went to Amherst in 1862, 
and after taking a thorough course he gradu- 
ated in 1866, and in 1867 became the prin- 
cipal of the Amherst High School. He re- 
tained this position until 1870, when he 
•visited Germany with the intention of tak- 
ing a course in philosophy and theology, 
biit was forced to abandon this intention on 



account of illness in the family causing his 
early return from Europe. He accepted the 
chair of Latin and Greek in Williston Semi- 
nary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, and re- 
mained there two years. He then accom- 
panied his wife to Europe, and devoted two 
years to study in Halle, Leipsic and Bonn. 
Upon his return home he spent considerable 
time in the study of Sanscrit, and in 1874 
he became the pastor of the First Congrega- 
tional church at Lenox, Massachusetts. He 
gained here his reputation as a pulpit ora- 
tor, and on March 9, 1880, he became the 
pastor of the Madison Square Presbyterian 
church of New York. He was, in 1890, 
made a member of the Society for the Pre- 
vention of Crime, and the same year be- 
came its president. He delivered a sermon 
in 1892 on municipal corruption, for which 
he was brought before the grand jury, which 
body declared his charges to be without suffi- 
cient foundation. But the matter did not end 
here, for he immediately went to work on a 
second sermon in which he substantiated his 
foriner sermon and wound up by saying, 
"I know, for I have seen." He was again 
summoned before that august body, and as 
a result of his testimony and of the investi- 
gation of the jurors themselves, the police 
authorities were charged with incompetency 
and corruption. Dr. Parkhurst was the 
author of the following works: ' ' The Forms 
of the Latin Verb, Illustrated by Sanscrit," 
"The Blind Man's Creed and Other Ser- 
mons," "The Pattern on the Mount," and 
" Three Gates on a Side." 



HENRY BERGH, although a writer, 
diplomatist and government official, 
was noted as a philanthropist — the founder 
of the American Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals. On his labors for 
the dumb creation alone rests his fame. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



161 



Alone, in the face of indifference, opposition 
and ridicule, he began the reform which is 
now recognized as one of the beneficent 
movements of the age. Tlirough his exer- 
tions as a speaker and lecturer, but above 
all as a bold worker, in the street, in the 
court room, before the legislature, the cause 
he adopted gained friends and rapidly in- 
creased in power until it has reached im- 
mense proportions and influence. The work 
of the society covers all cases of cruelty to 
all sorts of animals, employs every moral 
agency, social, legislative and personal, and 
touches points of vital concern to health as 
well as humanity. 

Henry Bergh was born in New York 
City in 1823, and was educated at Colum- 
bia College. In 1863 he was made secre- 
tary of the legation to Russia and also 
served as vice-consul there. He also de- 
voted some time to literary pursuits and was 
the author of "Love's Alternative," a 
drama; "Married Off," a poem; "'The 
Portentous Telegram, " "The Ocean Para- 
gon;" "The Streets of New York," tales 
and sketches. 



HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, one 
of the most eminent of American di- 
vines, was born in Adams, Jefferson county, 
New York, February 15, 1822. He was 
brought up in the mercantile business, and 
early in life took an active interest in polit- 
ical affairs. In 1847 he became a candidate 
for holy orders and pursued theological 
studies with Rev. W. D. Wilson, D. D., 
afterward professor in Cornell University. 
He was ordained deacon in 1849, in Trinity 
church, Geneva, New York, by Rt. Rev. 
W. H. De Lancey, D. D., and took charge 
of Zion church, Rome, New York, Decem- 
ber I, 1849. In 1850, our subject was or- 
dained priest by Bishop De Lancey. In 



1857 hebecame rector of the Church of the 
Holy Communion, Chicago. On the 30th 
of June, 1859, he was chosen bishop of 
Minnesota, and took charge of the interests 
of the Episcopal church in that state, being 
located at Faribault. In i860 Bishop 
Whipple, with Revs. I. L. Breck, S. W. 
Mauncey and E. S. Peake, organized the 
Bishop Seabury Mission, out of which has 
grown the Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior, 
the Seabury Divinity School, Shattuck 
School and St. Mary's Hall, which have 
made Faribault City one of the greatest 
educational centers of the northwest. Bishop 
Whipple also became noted as the friend 
and defender of the North American In- 
dians and planted a number of successful 
missions among them. 



EZRA CORNELL was one of the greatest 
philanthropists and friends of education 
the country has known. He was born at 
Westchester Landing, New York, January 
II, 1807. He grew to manhood in his na- 
tive state and became a prominent figure in 
business circles as a successful and self-made 
man. Soon after the invention of the elec- 
tric telegraph, he devoted his attention to 
that enterprise, and accumulated an im- 
mense fortune. In 1865, by a gift of five 
hundred thousand dollars, he made possible 
the founding of Cornell University, which 
was named in his honor. He afterward 
made additional bequests amounting to many 
hundred thousand dollars. His death oc- 
curred at Ithaca, New York, December 9, 
1874- 

IGNATIUS DONNELLY, widely known 
i as an author and politician, was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 3, 
1 83 1. He was educated at the public 
schools of that city, and graduated from the 



162 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV. 



Central High School in 1849. He studied 
law in the office of Judge B. H. Brewster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1852. In 
the spring of 1856, Mr. Donnelly emigrated 
to Minnesota, then a new territory, and, at 
Hastings, resumed the practice of law in 
partnership with A. M. Hayes. In 1857, 
and again in 1858, he was defeated for state 
senator, but in 1859 he was elected by the 
Republicans as lieutenant-governor, and re- 
elected in 1 86 1. In 1862 he was elected to 
represent the Second district of Minnesota 
in congress. He was re-elected to the same 
office in 1864 and in 1866. He was an 
abolitionist and warmly supported President 
Lincoln's administration, but was strongly 
in favor of leniency toward the people of 
the south, after the war. Iii many ways he 
was identified with some of the best meas- 
ures brought before the house during his 
presence there. In the spring of 1868, at 
the request of the Republican national com- 
mittee, he canvassed New Hampshire and 
Connecticut in the interests of that party. 
E. B. Washburne about this time made an 
attack on Donnelly in one of the papers of 
Minnesota, which was replied to on the floor 
of the house by a fierce phillipic that will 
long be remembered. Through the inter- 
vention of the Washburne interests Mr. Don- 
nelly failed of a re-election in 1870. In 
1873 he was elected to the state senate from 
Dakota county, and continuously re-elected 
until 1878. In 1886 he was elected mem- 
ber of the house for two years. In later 
years he identified himself with the Popu- 
list party. 

In 1882, Mr. Donnelly became known as 
an author, publishing his first literary work, 
"Atlantis, the Antediluvian World," which 
passed through over twenty-two editions in 
America, several in England, and was trans- 
lated into French. This was followed by 



" Ragnarok, the Age of Fire and Gravel," 
which attained nearly as much celebrity as 
the first, and these two, in the opinion of 
scientific critics, are sufficient to stamp the 
author as a most capable and painstaking 
student of the facts he has collated in them. 
The work by which he gained the greatest 
notoriety, however, was "The Great Cryp- 
togram, or Francis Bacon's Cipher in the 
Shakespeare Plays." "Caesar's Column," 
" Dr. Huguet," and other works were pub- 
lished subsequently. 



STEVEN V. WHITE, a speculator of 
Wall Street of national reputation, was 
born in Chatham county, North Carolina, 
August I, 1831, and soon afterward re- 
moved to Illinois. His home was a log 
cabin, and until his eighteenth year he 
worked on the farm. Then after several 
years of struggle with poverty he graduated 
from Knox College, and went to St. Louis, 
where he entered a wholesale boot and shoe 
house as bookkeeper. He then studied law 
and worked as a reporter for the "Missouri 
Democrat." After his admission to the bar 
he went to New York, in 1865, and became 
a member of the banking house of Marvin 
& White. Mr. White enjoyed the reputa- 
tion of having engineered the only corner 
in Wall Street since Commodore Vander- 
bilt's time. This was the famous Lacka- 
wanna deal in 1883, in which he made a 
profit of two million dollars. He was some- 
times called " Deacon" White, and, though 
a member for many years of the Plymouth 
church, he never held that office. Mr. 
White was one of the most noted characters 
of the street, and has been called an orator, 
poet, philanthropist, linguist, abolitionist, 
astronomer, schoolmaster, plowboy, and 
trapper. He was a lawyer, e.x-congress- 
man, expert accountant, art critic and theo- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



163 



lOgian. He laid the foundation for a 
"Home for Colored People," in Chatham 
county, North Carolina, where the greater 
part of his father's life was spent, and in 
whose memory the work was undertaken. 



JAMES A. GARFIELD, the twentieth 
president of the United States, was born 
November 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga county, 
Ohio, and was the son of Abram and Eliza 
(Ballou) Garfield. In 1833 the father, an 
industrious pioneer farmer, died, and the 
care of the family devolved upon Thomas, 
to whom James became deeply indebted for 
educational and other advantages. As James 
grew up he was industrious and worked on 
the farm, at carpentering, at chopping wood, 
or anything else he found to do, and in the 
meantime made the most of his books. 

Until he was about si.xteen, James' high- 
est ambition was to become a sea captain. 
On attaining that age he walked to 
Cleveland, and, not being able to find work, 
he engaged as a driver on the Ohio & Penn- 
sylvania canal, but quit this after a short 
time. He attended the seminary at Ches- 
ter for about three years, after which he 
entered Hiram Institute, a school started by 
the Disciples of Christ in 1850. In order 
to pay his way he assumed the duties of 
janitor and at times taught school. After 
completing his course at the last named edu- 
cational institution he entered Williams Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1856. He 
afterward returned to Hiram College as its 
president. He studied law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1859. November 11, 1858, 
Mr. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph were 
married. 

In 1859 Mr. Garfield made his first polit- 
ical speeches, at Hiram and in the neighbor- 
hood. The same year he was elected to the 
state senate. 



On the breaking out of the war, in 1861, 
he became lieutenant-colonel of the Forty- 
second Ohio Infantry, and, while but a new 
soldier, was given command of four regi- 
ments of infantry and eight companies of 
cavalry, with which he drove the Confeder- 
ates under Humphrey Marshall out of Ken- 
tucky. January 11, 1862, he was commis- 
sioned brigadier-general. He participated 
with General Buell in the battle of Shiloh 
and the operations around Corinth, and was 
then detailed as a member of the Fitz John 
Porter court-martial. Reporting to General 
Rosecrans, he was assigned to the position 
of chief of staff, and resigned his position, 
with the rank of major-general, when his 
immediate superior was superseded. In 
the fall of 1862 Mr. Garfield was elected to 
congress and remained in that body, either 
in the house or senate, until 1880. 

June 8, 1880, at the national Republican 
convention, held in Chicago, General Gar- 
field was nominated for the presidency, and 
was elected. He was inaugurated March 
4, 1881, but, July 2, following, he was shot 
and fatally wounded by Charles Guiteau for 
some fancied political slight, and died Sep- 
tember 19, 1881. 



INCREASE MATHER was one of the 
1 most prominent preachers, educators and 
authors of early times in the New England 
states. He was born at Dorchester, Massa- 
chusetts, June 21, 1639, and was given an 
excellent education, graduating at Harvard 
in 1656, and at Trinity College, Dublin, 
two years later. H&?was ordained a min- 
ister, and preached in England and America, 
and in 1664 became pastor of the North 
church, in Boston. In 1685 he became 
president of Harvard University, serving 
until 1 701. Ill 1692 he received the first 
doctorate in divinity conferred in English 



164 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHl'. 



speaking America. The same year he pro- 
cured in England a new charter for Massa- 
chusetts, which conferred upon himself the 
power of naming the governor, lieutenant- 
governor and council. He opposed the 
severe punishment of witchcraft, and took 
a prominent part in all public affairs of his 
day. He was a prolific writer, and became 
the author of nearly one hundred publica- 
tions, large and small. His death occurred 
August 23, 1723, at Boston. 



COTTON MATHER, a celebrated minis- 
ter in the "Puritan times" of New 
England, was born at Boston, Massachu- 
setts, February 12, 1663, being a son of 
Rev. Increase Mather, and a grandson of 
John Cotton. A biography of his father 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. 
Cotton Mather received his early education 
in his native city, was trained by Ezekiel 
Cheever, and graduated at Harvard College 
in 1678; became a teacher, and in 1684 
was ordained as associate pastor of North 
church, Boston, with his father, having by 
persistent effort overcome an impediment in 
his speech. He labored with great zeal as 
a pastor, endeavoring also, to establish the 
ascendancy of the church and ministry in 
civil affairs, and in the putting down of 
witchcraft by legal sentences, a work in 
which he took an active part and through 
which he is best known in history. He re- 
ceived the degree of D. D. in 17 10, con- 
ferred by the University of Glasgow, and 
F. R. S. in 17 1 3. His death occurred at 
Boston, February 13, 1728. He was the 
author of many publications, among which 
were " Memorable Providences Relating to 
Witchcraft," "Wonders of the Invisible 
World," "Essays to Do Good," " Mag- 
nalia Christi Americana," and " Illustra- 
tions of the Sacred Scriptures." Some of 



these works are quaint and curious, full of 
learning, piety and prejudice. A well- 
known wri-ter, in summing up the life and 
character of Cotton Mather, says: " Mather, 
with all the faults of his early years, was a 
man of great excellence of character. He 
labored zealously for the benefit of the 
poor, for mariners, slaves, criminals and 
Indians. His cruelty and credulity were 
the faults of his age, while his philanthro- 
phy was far more rare in that age than in 
the present." 

WILLIAM A. PEFFEK, who won a 
national reputation during the time 
he was in the United States senate, was 
born on a farm in Cumberland county, 
Pennsylvania, September 10, 1831. He 
drew his education from the public schools 
of his native state and at the age of f fteen 
taught school in winter, working on a farm 
in the summer. In June, 1853, while yet a 
young man, he removed to Indiana, and 
opened up a farm in St. Joseph county. 
In 1859 he made his way to Missouri and 
settled on a farm in Morgan county, but on 
account of the war and the unsettled state 
of the country, he moved to Illinois in Feb- 
ruary, 1862, and enlisted as a private in 
Company F, Eighty-third Illinois Infantry, 
the following August. He was promoted 
to the rank of second lieutenant in 
March, 1863, and served successively as 
quartermaster, adjutant, post adjutant, 
judge advocate of a military commission, 
and depot quartermaster in the engineer 
department at Nashville. He was mustered 
out of the service June 26, 1865. He had, 
during his leisure hours while in the army, 
studied law, and in August, 1S65, he com- 
menced the practice of that profession at 
Clarksville, Tennessee. He removed to 
ICansas in 1870 and practiced there until 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



165 



1878, in the meantime establishing and 
conducting two newspapers, the " Fredonia 
Journal " and " Coffey ville Journal." 

Mr. Peffer was elected to the state senate 
in 1874 and was a prominent and influential 
member of several important committees. 
He served as a presidential elector in 1880. 
The year following he became editor of the 
" Kansas Farmer," which he made a promi- 
nent and useful paper. In 1890 Mr. Peffer 
was elected to the United States senate as 
a member of the People's party and took 
his seat March 4, 1891. After six years of 
service Senator Peffer was succeeded in 
March, 1897, by William A. Harris. 



ROBERT MORRIS. —The name of this 
financier, statesman and patriot is 
closely connected with the early history of 
the United States. He was a native of 
England, born January 20, 1734, and came 
to America with his father when thirteen 
years old. Until 1754 he served in the 
counting house of Charles Willing, then 
formed a partnership with that gentleman's 
son, which continued with great success until 
1793. In 1776 Mr. Morris was a delegate 
to the Continental congress, and, although 
once voting against the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, signed that paper on its adop- 
tion, and was several times thereafter re- 
elected to congress. During the Revolu- 
tionary vi^ar the services of Robert Morris 
in aiding the government during its finan- 
cial difficulties were of incalculable value; he 
freely pledged his personal credit for sup- 
plies for the army, atonctimeto the amount 
of about one and a half million dollars, with- 
out which the campaign of 1781 would have 
been almost impossible. Mr. Morris was 
appointed superintendent of finance in 1781 
and served until 1784, continuing to employ 
his personal credit to facilitate the needs of 



his department. He also served as mem- 
ber of the Pennsylvania legislature, and 
from 1786 to 1795 was United States sena- 
tor, declining meanwhile the position of sec- 
retary of the treasury, and suggesting the 
name of Alexander Hamilton, who was ap- 
pointed to that post. During the latter 
part of his life Mr. Morris was engaged ex- 
tensively in the China trade, and later be- 
came involved in land speculations, which 
ruined him, so that the remaining days of 
this noble man and patriot were passed 
in confinement for debt. His death occurred 
at Philadelphia, May 8, 1806. 



WILLIAM SHARON, a senator and 
capitalist, and mine owner of na- 
tional reputation, was born at Smithiield, 
Ohio, January 9, 1821. He was reared 
upon a farm and in his boyhood given excel- 
lent educational advantages and in 1842 
entered Athens College. He remained in 
that institution about two years, after which 
he studied law with Edwin M. Stanton, and 
was admitted to the bar at St. Louis and 
commenced practice. His health failing, 
however, he abandoned his profession and 
engaged in mercantile pursuits at Carrollton, 
Greene county, Illinois. During the time 
of the gold excitement of 1849, Mr. Sharon 
went to California, whither so many went, 
and engaged in business at Sacramento. 
The next year he removed to San Francisco, 
where he operated in real estate. Being 
largely interested in its silver mines, he re- 
moved to Nevada, locating at Virginia City, 
and acquired an immense fortune. He be- 
came one of the trustees of the Bank of 
California, and during the troubles that 
arose on the death of William Ralston, the 
president of that institution, was largely in- 
strumental in bringing its affairs into a satis- 
factory shape. 



166 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArilT. 



Mr. Sharon was elected to represent the 
state of Nevada in the United States senate 
in 1875, and remained a member of that 
body until 1881. He was always distin- 
guished for close application to business. 
Senator Sharon died November 13, 1885. 



HENRY W. SHAW, an American hu- 
morist who became celebrated under 
the non-dc-plnme of " Josh Billings," gained 
his fame from the witticism of his writing, 
and peculiar eccentricity of style and spell- 
ing. He was born at Lanesborough, Mas- 
sachusetts, in 18 1 8. For twenty-five years 
he lived in different parts of the western 
states, following various lines of business, 
including farming and auctioneering, and in 
the latter capacity settled at Poughkeepsie, 
New York, in 1858. In 1863 he began 
writing humorous sketches for the news- 
papers over the signature of "Josh Bill- 
ings," and became immediately popular 
both as a writer and lecturer. He pub- 
lished a number of volumes of comic 
sketches and edited an " Annual Allminax " 
for a number of years, which had a wide cir- 
culation. His death occurred October 14, 
1885, at Monterey, California. 



JOHN M. THURSTON, well known 
kJ throughout this country as a senator 
and political leader, was born at Mont- 
pelier, Vermont, August 21, 1847, °f ''•" 
old Puritan family which dated back their 
ancestry in this country to 1636, and among 
whom were soldiers of the Revolution and 
of the war of 18 12-15. 

Young Thurston was brought west by 
the family in 1854, they settling at Madison, 
Wisconsin, and two years later at Beaver 
Dam, where John M. received his schooling 
in the public schools and at Wayland Uni- 
versity. His father enlisted as a private in 



the First Wisconsin Cavalry and died while 
in the service, in the spring of 1863. 

Young Thurston, thrown on his own 
resources while attaining an education, sup- 
ported himself by farm work, driving team 
and at other manual labor. He studied law 
and was admitted to the bar May 21, 1S69, 
and in October of the same year located in 
Omaha, Nebraska. He was elected a 
member of the city council in 1872, city 
attorney in 1874 and a member of the Ne- 
braska legislature in 1874. He was a mem- 
ber of the Republican national convention 
of 1884 and temporary chairman of that of 
1888. Taking quite an interest in the 
younger members of his party he was instru- 
mental in forming the Republican League 
of the United States, of which he was presi- 
dent for two years. He was then elected a 
member of the United States senate, in 
1895, to represent the state of Nebraska. 

As an attorney John M. Thurston occu- 
pied a very prominent place, and for a num- 
ber of years held the position of general 
solicitor of the Union Pacific railroad sys- 
tem. 



JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, a celebrated 
<J American naturalist, was born in Louis- 
iana, May 4, 1780, and was the son of an 
opulent French naval officer who owned a 
plantation in the then French colony. In 
his childhood he became deeply interested 
in the study of birds and their habits. About 
1794 he was sent to Paris, France, where 
he was partially educated, and studied de- 
signing under the famous painter, Jacques 
Louis David. He returned to the Unit- 
ed States about 1798, and settled on a 
farm his father gave him, on the Perkiomen 
creek in eastern Pennsylvania. He mar- 
ried Lucy Bakewell in 1808, and, disposing 
of his property, removed to Louisville, Ken- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



167 



tucky, where he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits. About two years later he began to 
make extensive excursions through the pri- 
meval forests of the southern and south- 
western states, in the exploration of which 
he passed many years. lie made colored 
drawings of all the species of birds that he 
found. For several years he made his home 
with his wife and children at Henderson, on 
the Ohio river. It is said that about this 
time he had failed in business and Vv'as re- 
duced to poverty, but kept the wolf from the 
door by giving dancing lessons and in portrait 
painting. In 1824, at Philadelphia, he met 
Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who encouraged 
him to publish a work on ornithology. Two 
years later he went to England and com- 
menced the publication of his great work, 
"The Birds of America." He obtained a 
large number of subscribers at one thousand 
dollars a copy. This work, embracing five 
volumes of letterpress and five volumes of 
beautifully colored plates, was pronounced 
by Cuvier " the most magnificent monument 
that art ever raised to ornithology." 

Audubon returned to America in 1829, 
and explored the forests, lakes and coast 
from Canada to Florida, collecting material 
for another work. This was his " Ornitho- 
logical Biography; or, An Account of the 
Habits of the Birds of the United States, 
Etc." He revisited England in 1831, and 
returned in 1839, after which he resiaed on 
the Hudson, near New York City, in which 
place he died January 27, 1851. During 
his life he issued a cheaper edition of his 
great work, and was, in association with 
Dr. Bachman, preparing a work on the 
quadrupeds of North America. 



COMMODORE THOMAS McDON- 
OUGH gained his principal fame from 
he celebrated victory which he gained over 



the superior British squadron, under Com- 
modore Dovvnie, September 1 1, 1814. Com- 
modore McDonough was born in Newcastle 
county, Delaware, December 23, 1783, and 
when seventeen years old entered the 
United States navy as midshipman, serving 
in the expedition to Tripoli, under Decatur, 
in 1803-4. Ill ^"^oj he was promoted to 
lieutenant, and in July, 18 13, was made a 
commander. The following year, on Lake 
Champlain, he gained the celebrated victory 
above referred to, for which he was again 
promoted; also received a gold medal from 
congress, and from the state of Vermont an 
estate on Cumberland Head, in view of the 
scene of the engagement. His death oc- 
curred at sea, November 16, 1825, while he 
was returning from the command of the 
Mediterranean squadron. 



CHARLES FRANCIS HALL, one of 
America's most celebrated arctic ex- 
plorers, was born in Rochester, New Hamp- 
shire, in 182 r. He was a blacksmith by 
trade, and located in Cincinnati, where later 
he became a journalist. For several years 
he devoted a great deal of attention to cal- 
orics. Becoming interested in the fate of the 
explorer, Sir John Franklin, he joined the 
expedition fitted out by Henry Grinnell and 
sailed in the ship "George Henry," under 
Captain Buddington, which left New Lon- 
don, Connecticut, in i860. He returned in 
1862, and two years later published his 
" Arctic Researches." He again joined the 
expedition fitted out by Mr. Grinnell, and 
sailed in the ship, " Monticello," under 
Captain Buddington, this time remaining in 
the arctic region over four years. On his 
return he brought back many evidences of 
having found trace of Franklin. 

In 1 87 1 the " Polaris " was fitted out by 
the United States government, and Captain 



jfAPifr. 



HjII ^^aia asSed forthe potsriegioes. He 

£ed ;:: Greeal.i3d ci Ocficfeer. iSji. isd the 

■■Pcuins"' wijs inaEy aKsm^in^^ b«- the 
crei»r. a. poctica ol vhkli. grnte^ Captain 
r5^5;c. ir^te-J w-I^ Efte icebergs K>r oce 
b.-::i'irei iizi rinecj— d«^ days. Stacil pocked 
op fcj Efse ■■ Tigress-"' oq t&e joch of At' 
i3~3- Tbe ccaer pcctioa ol ti^e crew- ': 
bojitS- 2J1C, iitsr J. peruocs «v>vage. «erc 
pocked sp ii Jrzje, ri";. bjs. wteEr^vessii 



OLIVER ELLSWORTH. thediErdcfcief 
fiisoce at tie Unfted Sc?r.-7S.. w^ bora 
i- WbicSscr. Cocaectio-t. April jjo. 1745- 
Afrer grxj- ^ rf ng froci Prracecoti, he tL3ok 
::3 tie scucrr o£ li«-. aad was la-ensed 
r^ pt-jcra-e ia r J71. la i J77 be «as ^'ect&i 
2s 2. vieiegi^e C3 ; ■ 
Ee was f--.i:fe ct ■ 



5 pCSt-CT- 

oe ot toe scpceaie 
--^:es by Wsst^gtca. 

cs Secweea rfi'y cccii- 

becicse vicZejirlj 

t to Piris Si esTCT es- 




ceeoejl ty 



:ed *^. 



M 






fgffckfe- ci tfee U ~"r . -^ .i s<_it 



H"s 



it tie sse ci ^teeit Le sttersd Bcwdacs 



di^ieitEQesc of HsrraEd Un ^ i _ .^le tiea 

eateEied the la.'^ oSce of his cncle s.c Bic- 
goc, iliine, aitd sooa afBsr opesed aa oace 
for the practice erf law at AngasCa. He was 
aa i" " ' ::ini hs ward, city attaroey. 

aac e "Age." a rrrai Eew^epia- 

^-. "" wtiich. w:^ coadacted by 
r Fie *>?-! decrde-d to re- 



Qoe ot 
He 






C 



HE5TZ5. . 



LN ARTHUH- r=rsiiy- 

: tT"r- Ucitea stares, wss 

, in F: ; it-ty. Va-tioct. Octo- 

c. I ; - is ecticateci at LsiCti 

iy. Xe-w Ticfc. frota 

: with k'£iG.'ar. and ea- 

c: in te.-.: '.r..g iciiooL After two yeais 

-t—z tie law o-=ce of Jtidge E. D. 

New- Ycri, as a sc^ceni. He was 




co.^fPExn/cjf or BioGJL.4r/n\ 



opoo a. prc^table 7 r ^ sbottly 

aftervrards -Cirried tc s. vfiCjtiter d liea- 
tenant Hessdon. of tb^ Usiied SraEes nsTy. 
Mrs- Arthcr d-ed sbcrtly beloie hss aarr^in^ 
non {<H^ the vice-presidency. In 1S56 s. 
cokxed wtHcan in New York was ejected 
Stom a stree: ' ' " ■ - - 

in a. sail a^i. 



appointed jcdge- 

Bncide of Vrv ,. _ , -..„. ^ ,.. 

Deo- of Gc -acs staa. At the 

close of his i^r. ... _i . ;ri-^a«ed the practice of 
taw in New Ycoi:. In 1872 he was made 
collector <rf the port of Xew Yort:, which 
position he hrfd foot v^sais. At the Chi- 
cago ocnve. .^<o Mr. Arthcr was 
nominated . c¥-nre<5»5e?8cy wt^h 
Garfield, anu ^. ; : 
was elected. F. - 

ani Mr. .\r:h::r vras c.i!,..'! :,- : .Ve :r.e reiiss 
of srovexr.r.:e-t. H;< - ation of 

aSairs was icersra.'y < - .\t its 

close he resua.ed :he practice of law in Xew 
York. His death occulted Xovunber iS« 



1S.\.\C HULL was one of tfte most c»a~ 
spicuons and prominent naval cftsoM^s in 
the early hsf'orx of Anterk-J*. He was Ivrti 
at Derby, C ' -"5- 5>e~ 

IP** t , e "^O^ '-.*»' t<;^t ^."■ 

t" -. iiie o^evaui-e 

" .AXTcarsof ape 

of a merchant ship iri the ". 

In i^oShebecante al:eute:u-.-: 

States navv. and three veais later was made 



served widi dnsaKsiiQ ia tS»e Rsiisssy e\pe- 
ditioiss. Ja^y 1-2. iSi^ fee S££>ed ira^ 
As^apcfiS^, ia csacostasd of tbe '^CcinsrjDc- 
- - -----.- ::^jee days w^s 7 "- : " ; a 

- - ■ 3 of Svie ^fp:f 

:--er? a^d fee tis. tbe ■^r^t: Txral 



Febrsrary 15, tSiS- at F^iie 



M 

manager 

fcoc. C-o". 



ARCCS ALOXZO H.\SXA, feaoES 






Wc> - , ■ 

reoi - 

p-oye c^ tr^e wboo.'esaJe grccerr hc^sse cs 
HaEca. GarTestsoCv C!c Cok.. his father beisst 
the senkir member of the Sna. Tine latter 
died ia i5>6i, and m^ - ^ _. -_.^.-;^ vi^ 
interest nntil i^S^. :ss w.£s 

dosed up. 

0«r sabject then becasse a me m twr ol 
"\ - x Ccv. ec^.; . " : -e 

.>5iv bet v.. 



»v..F v^ \r ^ 



wfes c~^;-.j..:o. t^ 



Company, of CJeveJand. possjdeet of tke 



170 



COMPEND/L'M OF BIOGRAPIir. 



Union National Bank, of Cleveland, president 
of the Cleveland City Railway Company, 
and president of the Chapin Mining Com- 
pany, of Lake Superior, he became promi- 
nently identified with the business world. 
He was one of the government directors of 
the Union Pacific Railroad, being appointed 
to that position in 1S85 by President Cleve- 
land. 

Mr. Hanna was a delegate to the na- 
tional Republican convention of 1884, which 
was his first appearance in the political 
world. He was a delegate to the con- 
ventions of 1888 and 1896, and was elect- 
ed chairman of the Republican national 
committee the latter year, and practically 
managed the campaign of William Mclvin- 
ley for the presidency. In 1897 Mr. Hanna 
was appointed senator by Governor Bush- 
nell, of Ohio, to fill the vacancy caused by 
the resignation of John Sherman. 



GEORGE PEABODY was one of the 
best known and esteemed of ail philan- 
thropists, whose munificent gifts to Ameri- 
can institutions have proven of so much 
benefit to the cause of humanity. He was 
born February iS, 1795, at South Danvers, 
Massachusetts, which is now called Pea- 
body in honor of him. He received but a 
meager education, and during his earl}' life 
he was a mercantile clerk at Thetford, Ver- 
mont, and Newburyport, Massachusetts. In 
1 8 14 he became a partner with Elisha 
Riggs, at Georgetown, District of Columbia, 
and in 18 1 5 rhey moved to Baltimore, Mary- 
land. The business grew to great propor- 
tions, and they opened branch houses at 
New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Peabody 
made several voyages to Europe of com- 
mercial importance, and in 1829 became the 
head of the firm, which was then called 
-Peabody, Riggs & Co., and in 1838 he re- 



moved to London, England. He retired 
from the firm, and established the cele- 
brated banking house, in which he accumu- 
lated a large fortune. He aided Mr. Grin- 
nell in fitting out Dr. Kane's Arctic e.xpedi- 
tion, in 1852, and founded in the same year 
the Peabody Institute, in his native town, 
which he afterwards endowed with two hun- 
dred thousand dollars. Mr. Peabody visited 
the United States in 1857, and gave three 
hundred thousand dollars for the establish- 
ment at Baltimore of an institute of science, 
literature and fine arts. In 1 862 he gave 
two million five hundred thousand dollars 
for the erecting of lodging houses for the 
poor in London, and on another visit to the 
United States he gave one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars to establish at Harvard a 
museum and professorship of American 
archaeology and ethnology, an equal sum for 
the endowment of a department of physical 
science at Yale, and gave the "Southern 
Educational Fund " two million one hundred 
thousand dollars, besides devoting two hun- 
dred thousand dollars to various objects of 
public utility. Mr. Peabody made a final 
visit to the United States in 1869, and on 
this occasion he raised the endowment of 
the Baltimore Institute one million dollars, 
created the Peabody Museum, at Salem, 
Massachusetts, with a fund of one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars, gave sixty thou- 
sand dollars to Washington College, Vir- 
ginia; fifty thousand dollars for a "Peabody 
Museum, " at North Danvers, thirty thousand 
dollars to Phillips .Academy, Andover; tVYfen- 
ty-five thousand dollars to Kenyon College, 
Ohio, and twenty thousand dollars to the 
Maryland Historical Society. Mr. Peabody 
also endowed an art school at Rome, in 

1868. He died in London, November 4, 

1869, less then a month after he had re- 
turned from the United States, and his 



COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAPIir 



171 



remains were brought to the United States 
and interred in his native town. He made 
several other bequests in his will, and left 
his fatnilv about five million dollars. 



!\/!.\TTHEW S. QUAY, a celebrated 
i V 1 public man and senator, was born at 
Dillsburgh, York county, Pennsylvania, 
September 30, 1833, of an old Scotch-Irish 
family, some of whom had settled in the 
Keystone state in 1715. Matthew received 
a good education, graduating from the Jef- 
ferson College at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 
at the age of seventeen. He then traveled, 
taught school, lectured, and studied law 
under Judge Sterrett. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1854, was appointed a prothon- 
otary in 1855 and elected to the same 
office in 1856 and 1859. Later he was 
made lieutenant of the Pennsylvania Re 
serves, lieutenant-colonel and assistant com- 
missary-general of the state, private secre- 
tary of the famous war governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, Andrew G. Curtin, colonel of the 
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylva- 
nia Infantry (nine months men), military 
state agent and held other offices at different 
times. 

Mr. Quay was a member of the house of 
representatives of the state of Pennsylvania 
from 1865 to 1 868. He filled the olTice of 
secretary of the commonwealth from 1872 
to 1878, and the position of delegate-at- 
large to the Republican national conventions 
of 1872, 1876, 1880 and 1888. Hewasthe 
editor of the "Beaver Radical" and the 
" Philadelphia Record " for a time, and held 
many offices in the state conventions and on 
their committees. He was elected secre- 
tary of the commonwealth-of Pennsylvania, 
1869, and served three years, and in 1885 
was chosen state treasurer. In 1886 his 
great abilities pointed him out as the 



natural candidate for United States senator, 
and he was accordingly elected to that posi- 
tion and re-elected thereto in 1892. He 
was always noted for a genius for organiza- 
tion, and as a political leader had but few 
peers. Cool, serene, far-seeing, resourceful, 
holding his impulses and forces in hand, he 
never quailed from any policy he adopted, 
and carried to success most, if not all, of 
the political campaigns in which he took 
part. 

JAMES K. JONES, a noted senator and 
political leader, attained national fame 
while chairman of the national executive 
committee of the Democratic party in the 
presidential campaign of 1896. He was a 
native of Marshall county, Mississippi, and 
was born September 29, 1839. His father, 
a well-to-do planter.setiled in Dallas count}', 
Arkansas, in 1848, and there the subject of 
this sketch received a careful education. 
During the Civil war he served as a private 
soldier in the Confederate army. From 
1866 to 1873 he passed a quiet life as a 
planter, but in the latter year was admitted 
to the bar and began the practice of law. 
About the same time he was elected to the 
.Arkansas senate and re-elected in 1874. In 
1877 he was made president of the senate 
and the following year was unsuccessful in 
obtaining a nomination as member of con- 
gress. In 1880 he was elected representa- 
tive and his ability at once placed him in a 
foremost position. He was re-elected to 
congress in 1882 and in 1884, and served as 
an influential member on the committee of 
ways and means. March 4, 1885, Mr. Jones 
took his seat in the United States senate to 
succeed James D. Walker, and was after- 
ward re-elected to the same office. In this 
branch of the national legislature his capa- 
bilities had a wider scope, and he was rec- 



172 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



ognized as one of the ablest leaders of his 
party. 

On the nomination of William J. Bryan 
as its candidate for the presidency by the 
national convention of the Democratic 
party, held in Chicago in 1896, Mr. Jones 
was made chairman of the national com- 
mittee. 

THEODORE THOMAS, one of the most 
celebrated musical directors America 
lias known, was born in the kingdom of Han- 
over in 1835, and received his musical educa- 
tion from his father. He was a very apt scholar 
and played the violin at public concerts at 
the age of six years. He came with his 
parents to America in 1845, and joined the 
orchestra of the Italian Opera in New York 
City. He played the first violin in the 
orchestra which accompanied Jenny Lind 
in her first American concert. In 1861 Mr. 
Thomas established the orchestra that be- 
came famous under his management, and 
gave his first symphony concerts in New 
York in 1864. He began his first "summer 
night concerts" in the same city in 1868, 
and in 1869 he started on his first tour of 
the principal cities in the United States, 
which he made every year for many years. 
He was director of the College of Music in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, but resigned in 1880, after 
having held the position for three years. 

Later he organized one of the greatest 
and most successful orchestras ever brought 
together in the city of Chicago, and was 
very prominent in musical affairs during the 
World's Columbian Exposition, thereby add- 
ing greatly to his fame. 



CYRUS HALL McCORMICK, the fa- 
mous inventor and manufacturer, was 
born at Walnut Grove, Virginia, February 
15,1 809. When he was seven years old his 



father invented a reaping machine. It was 
a rude contrivance and not successful. In 
1 83 1 Cyrus made his invention of a reaping 
machine, and had it patented three years 
later. By successive improvements he was 
able to keep his machines at the head of 
its class during his life. In 1 845 he removed 
to Cincinnati, Ohio, and two years later 
located in Chicago, where he amassed a 
great fortune in manufacturing reapers and 
harvesting machinery. In 1859 he estab- 
lished the Theological Seminary of the 
Northwest at Chicago, an institution for pre- 
paring young men for the ministry in the 
Presbyterian church, and he afterward en- 
dowed a chair in the Washington and Lee 
College at Lexington, Virginia. He mani- 
fested great interest in educational and re- 
ligious matters, and by his great wealth he 
was able to extend aid and encouragement 
to many charitable causes. His death oc- 
curred May 13, 1884. 



DAVID ROSS LOCKE.— Under the 
pen name of Petroleum V. Nasby, this 
well-known humorist and writer made for 
himself a household reputation, and estab- 
lished a school that has many imitators. 

The subject of this article was born at 
Vestal, Broome county. New York, Sep- 
tember 30, 1833. After receiving his edu- 
cation in the county of his birth he en- 
tered the office of the ' ' Democrat, " at Cort- 
land, New York, where he learned the 
printer's trade. He was successively editor 
and publisher of the ' 'Plymouth Advertiser, " 
the "Mansfield Herald," the " Bucyrus 
Journal," and the "Findlay Jeffersonian." 
Later he became editor of the "Toledo 
Blade." In i860 he commenced his 
" Nasby" articles, several series of which 
have been given the world in book form. 
Under a mask of misspelling, and ins auaiu*; 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



173 



?,nd humorous style, a keen political satire 
i.^ couched — a most effective weapon. 
Ilr. Locke was the author of a num- 
ber of serious political pamphlets, and 
later on a more pretentious work, " The 
Morals of Abou Ben Adhem." As a news- 
paper writer he gained many laurels and his 
works are widely read. Abraham Lincoln 
is said to have been a warm admirer of P. 
V. Nasby, of " Confedrit X Roads" fame. 
Mr. Locke died at Toledo, Ohio. February 
15, 1S88. 

RUSSELL A. ALGER, noted as a sol- 
dier, governor and secretary of war, 
was born in Medina county, Ohio, February 
27, 1836, and was the son of Russell and 
Caroline (Moulton) Alger. At the age of 
twelve years he was left an orphan and pen- 
niless. For about a year he worked for 
his board and clothing, and attended school 
part of the time. In 1850 he found a place 
which paid small wages, and out of his 
scanty earnings helped his brother and sister. 
While there working on a farm he found 
time to attend the Richfield Academy, and 
by hard work between times managed to get 
a fair education for that time. The last 
two years of his attendance at this institu- 
tion of learning he taught school during the 
winter months. In 1857 he commenced the 
study of law, and was admitted to the bar 
in 1859. For a while he found employ- 
ment in Cleveland, Ohio, but impaired 
health induced him to remove to Grand 
Rapids, where he engaged in the lumber 
business. He was thus engaged when the 
Civil war broke out, and, his business suf- 
fering and his savings swept away, he en- 
listed as a private in the Second Michigan 
Cavalry. He was promoted to be captain 
the following month, and major for gallant 
conduct at Boonesville, Mississippi, July i. 



1862. October 16, 1862, he was made 
lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Michigan 
Cavalry, and in February, 1863, colonel of 
the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. He rendered 
excellent service in the Gettysburg cam- 
paign. He was wounded at Boonesboro, 
Maryland, and on returning to his command 
took part with Sherman in the campaign in 
the Shenandoah Valley. For services ren- 
dered, that famous soldier recommended 
him for promotion, and he was brevetted 
major-general of volunteers. In 1866 Gen- 
eral Alger took up his residence at Detroit, 
and prospered exceedingly in his business, 
which was that of lumbering, and grew 
quite wealthy. In 1884 he was a delegate 
to the Republican national convention, and 
the same year was elected governor of 
Michigan. He declined a nomination for 
re-election to the latter office, in 1887, and 
was the following year a candidate for the 
nomination for president. In 1889 he was 
elected commander-in-chief of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and at different 
times occupied many offices in other or- 
ganizations. 

In March, 1897, President Mcl\inley 
appointed General Alger secretary of war. 



CYRUS WEST FIELD, the father of 
submarine telegraphy, was the son of 
the Rev. David D. Field, D.D., a Congre- 
gational minister, and was born at Stock- 
bridge, Massachusetts, November 30, 1819. 
He was educated in his native town, and at 
the age of fifteen years became a clerk in a 
store in New York City. Being gifted with 
excellent business ability Mr. Field pros- 
pered and became the head of a large mer- 
cantile house. In 1853 he spent about six 
months in travel in South America. On his 
return he became interested in ocean teleg- 
raphy. Being solicited to aid in the con- 



174 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



struction of a land telegraph across New 
Foundland to receive the news from a line 
of fast steamers it was proposed to run from 
from Ireland to St. Johns, the idea struck 
him to carr}' the line across the broad At- 
lantic. In 1850 Mr. Field obtained aeon- 
cession from the legislature of Newfound- 
land, giving him the sole right for fifty years 
to land submarine cables on the shores of 
that island. In company with Peter Cooper, 
Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts and 
Chandler White, he organized a company 
under the name of the New York, New- 
foundland & London Telegraph Compan}". 
In two years the line from New York across 
Newfoundland was built. The first cable 
connecting Cape Breton Island with New- 
foundland having been lost in a storm while 
being laid in 1855, another was put down in 
1856. In the latter year Mr. Field went to 
London and organized the Atlantic Tele- 
graph Company, furnishing one-fourth of the 
capital himself. Both governments loaned 
ships to carry out the enterprise. Mr. Field 
accompanied the expeditions of 1857 and 
two in 1858. The first and second cables 
were failures, and the third worked but a 
short time and then ceased. The people of 
both continents became incredulous of the 
feasibility of laying a successful cable under 
so wide an expanse of sea, and the war 
breaking out shortly after, nothing was done 
until 1865-66. Mr. Field, in the former 
year, again made the attempt, and the Great 
Eastern laid some one thousand two hun- 
dred miles when the cable parted and was 
lost. The following year the same vessel 
succeeded in laying the entire cable, and 
picked up the one lost the year before, and 
both were carried to America's shore. After 
thirteen years of care and toil Mr. Field had 
his reward. He was the recipient of many 
medals and honors from both home and 



abroad. He gave his attention after this 
to establishing telegraphic communication 
throughout the world and many other large 
enterprises, notably the construction of ele- 
vated railroads in New York. Mr. Field 
died July 1 1, 1S92. 



G ROVER CLEVELAND, the twenty- 
second president of the United States, 
was born in Caldwell, Essex county, New 
Jersey, March 18, 1837, and was the son 
of Rev. Richard and Annie (Neale) Cleve- 
land. The father, of distinguished New 
England ancestry, was a Presbj'terian min- 
ister in charge of the church at Caldwell at 
the time. 

When Grover was about three years of 
age the family removed to Fa\'etteville, 
Onondaga county, New York, where he 
attended the district school, and was in the 
academy for a short time. His father be- 
lieving that boys should early learn to labor, 
Grover entered a village store and worked 
for the sum of fifty dollars for the first year. 
While he was thus engaged the family re- 
moved to Clinton, New York, and there 
young Cleveland took up h's studies at the 
academ}'. The death of his father dashed 
all his hopes of a collegiate education, the 
family being left in straightened circum- 
stances, and Grover started out to battle 
for himself. After acting for a year (1S53- 
54) as assistant teacher and bookkeeper in 
the Institution for the Blind at New York 
City, he went to Buffalo. A short time 
after he entered the law office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of that city, and after a 
hard struggle with adverse circumstances, 
was admitted to the bar in 1859. He be- 
came confidential and managing clerk (or 
the firm under whom he had studied, and 
remained with them until 1863. In the lat- 
ter year he was appointed district attorney 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



175 



of Erie county. It was during his incum- 
bency of this office that, on being nominated 
by the Democrats for supervisor, he came 
within thirteen votes of election, although 
the district was usuallj' Republican by two 
hundred and fifty majority. In i866Grover 
Cleveland formed a partnership with Isaac 
V. Vanderpoel. The most of the work here 
fell upon the shoulders of our subject, and 
he soon won a good standing at the bar of 
the state. In 1869 Mr. Cleveland associated 
himself in business with A. P. Laning and 
Oscar Folsom, and under the firm name of 
Laning, Cleveland & Folsom soon built up a 
fair practice. In the fall of 1870 Mr. Cleve- 
land was elected sheriff of Erie county, an 
office which he tilled for four years, after 
which he resumed his profession, with L. K. 
Bass and Wilson S. Bissell as partners. 
This firm was strong and popular and 
shortly vvas in possession of a lucrative 
practice. Mr. Bass retired from the firm 
in 1879, and George J. Secard was admit- 
ted a member in 188 1. In the latter year 
Mr. Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo, 
and in 1882 he was chosen governor by 
the enormous majority of one hundred and 
ninety-two' thousand votes. July 11, 1884, 
he was nominated for the presidency by the 
Democratic national convention, and in 
November following was elected. 

Mr. Cleveland, after serving one term as 
president of the United States, in 1888 was 
nominated by his party to succeed himself, 
but he failed of the election, being beaten 
by Benjamin Harrison. In 1892, however, 
being nominated again in opposition to the 
then incumbent of the presidency, Mr. Har- 
rison, Grover Cleveland was elected pres- 
ident for the second time and served for the 
usual term of four years. In 1897 Mr. 
Cleveland retired from the chair of the first 
magistrate of the nation, and in New York 



City resumed the practice of law, in which 
city he had established himself in 1889. 

June 2. 1886, Grover Cleveland was 
united in marriage with Miss Frances Fol- 
som, the daughter of his former partner. 



ALEXANDER WINCHELL, for many 
years one of the greatest of American 
scientists, and one of the most noted and 
prolific writers on scientific subjects, was 
born in Duchess county, New York, Decem- 
ber 31, 1 824. He received a thorough col- 
legiate education, and graduated at the 
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connect- 
icut, in 1847. His mind took a scientific 
turn, which manifested itself while he was 
yet a boy, and in 1848 he became teacher 
of natural sciences at the Armenian Semi- 
nary, in his native state, a position which 
he filled for three years. In 1851-3 he oc- 
cupied the same position in the Mesopo- 
tamia Female Seminary, in Alabama, after 
which he was president of the Masonic Fe- 
male Seminary, in Alabama. In 1853 he 
became connected with the University of 
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, at which institu- 
tion he performed the most important work 
of his life, and gained a wide reputation as. 
a scientist. He held many important posi- 
tions, among which were the following: 
Professor of physics and civil engineering at 
the University of Michigan, also of geology, 
zoology and botany, and later professor of 
geology and palseontology at the same insti- 
tution. He also, for a time, was president 
of the Michigan Teachers' Association, and 
state geologist of Michigan. Professor 
Winchell was a very prolific writer on scien- 
tific subjects, and published many standard 
works, his most important and widely known 
being those devoted to geology. He also 
contributed a large number of articles to 
scientific and popular journals. 



176 



COMPENDIUM OF JJIOGRAPHT. 



ANDREW HULL FOOTE, of the 
United States navy, was a native of 
New England, born at New Haven, Con- 
necticut, May. 4, 1808. He entered the 
navy, as a midshipman, December 4, 1822. 
He slowly rose in his chosen profession, at- 
taining the rank of lieutenant in 1830, com- 
mander in 1852 and captain in 1861. 
Among the distinguished men in the break- 
ing out of the Civil war, but few stood higher 
in the estimation of his brother officers than 
Foote, and when, in the fall of i86"r. he 
was appointed to the command of the flotilla 
then building on the Mississippi, the act 
gave great satisfaction to the service. 
Although embarrassed by want of navy 
yards and supplies, Foote threw himself into 
his new work with unusual energy. He 
overcame all obstacles and in the new, and, 
until that time, untried experiment, of creat- 
ing and maintaining a navy on a river, 
achieved a success beyond the expectations 
of the country. Great incredulity existed as 
to the possibility of carrying on hostilities 
on a river where batteries from the shore 
might bar the passage. But in spite of all, 
Foote soon had a navy on the great river, 
and by the heroic qualities of the crews en- 
trusted to him, demonstrated the utility of 
this new departure in naval architecture. 
All being prepared, February 6, 1862, Foote 
took Fort Henry after a hotly-contested 
action. On the 14th of the same month, 
for an hour and a half engaged the batteries 
of Fort Donelson, with four ironclads apd 
two wooden gunboats, thereby dishearten- 
ing the garrison and assisting in its capture. 
April 7th of the same year, after several 
hotly-contested actions. Commodore Foote 
received the surrender of Island No. 10, one 
of the great strongholds of the Confederacy 
on the Mississippi river. Foote having been 
wounded at Fort Donelson, and by neglect 



it having become so serious as to endanger 
his life, he was forced to resign his command 
and return home. June 16, 1862, he re- 
ceived the thanks of congress and was pro- 
moted to the rank of rear admiral. He was 
appointed chief of the bureau of equipment 
and recruiting. June 4, 1863, he was 
ordered to the fleet off Charleston, to super- 
cede Rear Admiral Dupont, but on his way 
to that destination was taken sick at New 
York, and died June 26, 1863. 



NELSON A. MILES, the well-known sol- 
dier, was born at Westminster, Massa- 
chusetts, August 8,1839. His ancestors set- 
tled in that state in 1643 among the early 
pioneers, and their descendants were, many 
of them, to be found among those battling 
against Great Britain during Revolutionary 
times and during the war of 18 12. Nelson 
was reared on a farm, received an academic 
education, and in early manhood engaged in 
mercantile pursuits in Boston. Early in 

1 86 1 he raised a company and offered his 
services to the government, and although 
commissioned as captain, on account of his 
youth went out as first lieutenant in the 
Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry. In 

1 862 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel 
and colonel of the Sixty-first New York In- 
fantry. At the request of Generals Grant 
and Meade he was made a brigadier by 
President Lincoln. He participated in all 
but one of the battles of the Army of the 
Potomac until the close of the war. During 
the latter part of the time, he commanded 
the first division of the Second Corps. 
General Miles was wounded at the battles 
of Fair Oaks, Fredericksburg and Chan- 
cellorsville, and received four brevets for 
distinguished service. During the recon- 
struction period he commanded in North 
Carolina, and on the reorganization of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



177 



regular army he was made colonel of in- 
fantry. In 1880 he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general, and in 1890 to 
that of major-general. He successfully con- 
ducted several campaigns among the In- 
dians, and his name is known among the 
tribes as a friend when they are peacefully 
inclined. He many times averted war 
with the red men by judicious and humane 
settlement of difficulties without the military 
power. In 1892 General Miles was given 
command of the proceedings in dedicating 
the World's Fair at Chicago, and in the 
summer of 1894, during the great railroad 
strike at the same city, General Miles, then 
in command of the department, had the 
disposal of the troops sent to protect the 
United States mails. On the retirement of 
General J. M. Schofield, in 1895, General 
Miles became the ranking major-general of 
the United States army and the head of its 
forces. 

JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH, the great 
actor, though born in London (1796), is 
more intimately connected with the Amer- 
ican than with the English stage, and his 
popularity in America was almost un- 
bounded, while in England he was not a 
prime favorite. He presented " Richard III. " 
in Richmond on his first appearance on the 
American stage in 1821. This was his 
greatest role, and in it he has never had an 
equal. In October of the same year he 
appeared in New York. After a long and 
successful career he gave his final perform- 
ance at New Orleans in 1852. He con- 
tracted a severe cold, and for lack of proper 
medical attention, it resulted in his death 
on November 30th of that year. He was, 
without question, one of the greatest tra- 
gedians that ever lived. In addition to his 
professional art and genius, he was skilled 



in languages, drawing, painting and sculp- 
ture. In his private life he was reserved, 
and even eccentric. Strange stories are 
related of his peculiarities, and on his farm 
near Baltimore he forbade the use of animal 
food, the taking of animal life, and even the 
felling of trees, and brought his butter and 
eggs to the Baltimore markets in person. 

Junius Brutus Booth, known as the elder 
Booth, gave to the world three sons of note: 
Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., the husband of 
Agnes Booth, the actress; John Wilkes 
Booth, the author of the greatest tragedy 
in the life of our nation; Edwin Booth, in 
his day the greatest actor of America, if not 
of the world. 

TAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY, fa- 
<j mous as the "Danbury News Man," 
was one of the best known American humor- 
ists, and was born September 25, 1841, at 
Albany, N. Y. He adopted journalism as a 
profession and started in his chosen work on 
the "Danbury Times," which paper he pur- 
chased on his return from the war. Mr. 
Bailey also purchased the "Jeffersonian," 
another paper of Danbury, and consolidated 
them, forming the "Danbury News," which 
paper soon acquired a celebrity throughout 
the United States, from an incessant flow of 
rich, healthy, and original humor, which the 
pen of the editor imparted to its columns, 
and he succeeded in raising the circulation 
of the paper from a few hundred copies a. 
week to over forty thousand. The facilities 
of a country printing office were not so com- 
plete in those days as they are now, but Mr. 
Bailey was resourceful, and he put on re- 
lays of help and ran his presses night and 
day, and always prepared his matter a week 
ahead of time. The "Danbury News Man" 
was a new figure in literature, as his humor 
was so different from that of the newspaper 



178 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir 



wits — who had preceded him, and he maybe 
called the pioneer of that school now so 
familiar. Mr. Bailey published in book 
form "Life in Danbury" and "The Danbury 
News Man's Almanac. " One of his most 
admirable traits was philanthrophy, as he 
gave with unstinted generosity to all comers, 
and died comparatively poor, notwithstand- 
ing his ownership of a very profitable busi- 
ness which netted him an income of $40,000 
a year. He died March 4, 1894. 



MATTHEW HALE CARPENTER, a 
famous lawyer, orator and senator, 
was born in Moretown, Vermont, December 
22, 1824. After receiving a common-school 
education he entered the United States 
Military Academy at West Point, but only 
remained two years. On returning to his 
home he commenced the study of law with 
Paul Dillingham, afterwards governor of 
Vermont, and whose daughter he married. 
In 1847 he was admitted to practice at the 
bar in Vermont, but he went to Boston and 
for a time studied with Ruf us Choate. In 1 848 
he moved wet-t, settling at Beloit, Wisconsin, 
and commencing the practice of his profes- 
sion soon obtained a wide reputation for 
ability. In 1856 Mr. Carpenter removed to 
Milwaukee, where he found a wider field for 
his now increasing powers. During the 
Civil war, although a strong Democrat, he 
was loyal to the government and aided the 
Union cause to his utmost. In 1868 he 
was counsel for the government in a test 
case to settle the legality of the reconstruc- 
tion act before the United States supreme 
court, and won his case against Jeremiah S. 
Black. This gave him the election for sen- 
ator from Wisconsin in 1869, and he served 
until 1875, during part of which time he was 
president /;-tf /(TW/f?;-^ of the senate. Failing 
of a re-election Mr. Carpenter resumed the 



practice of law, and when William W. 
Belknap, late secretary of war, was im- 
peached, entered the case for General 
Belknap, and secured an acquittal. During 
the sitting of the electoral commission of 
1877, Mr. Carpenter appeared for Samuel 
J. Tilden, although the Republican man- 
agers had intended to have him represent 
R. B. Hayes. Mr. Carpenter was elected 
to the United States senate again in 1879, 
and remained a member of that body until 
the day of his death, which occurred at 
Washington, District of Columbia, Feb- 
ruary 24, iSof . 

Senator Carpenter's real name was De- 
catur Merritt Hammond Carpenter but about 
1852 he changed it to the one by which he 
was universally known. 



THOMAS E. WATSON, lawyer and 
congressman, the well-known Geor- 
gian, whose name appears at tlie head of 
this sketch, made himself a place in the his- 
tory of our country by his ability, energy 
and fervid oratory. He was born in Col- 
umbia (now McDuffie) county, Georgia, 
September 5, 1856. He had a common- 
school education, and in 1872 entered Mer- 
cer University, at Macon, Georgia, as fresh- 
man, but for want of money left the college 
at the end of his sophomore year. He 
taught school, studying law at the same 
time, until 1875, when he was admitted to 
the bar. He opened an office and com- 
menced practice in Thomson, Georgia, in 
November, 1876. He carried on a success- 
ful business, and bought land and farmed on 
an extensive scale. 

Mr. Watson was a delegate to the Demo- 
cratic state convention of 1880, and was a 
member of the house of representatives of 
the legislature of his native state in 1882, 
In 1888 he was an elector-at-large on W\t 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



179 



Cleveland ticket, and in 1890 was elected 
to represent his district in the fifty-second 
congress. This latter election is said to have 
been due entirely to Mr. Watson's "dash- 
ing display of ability, eloquence and popular 
power." In his later years he championed 
the alliance principles and policies until he 
became a leader in the movement. In the 
heated campaign of 1896, Mr. Watson was 
nominated as the candidate for vice-presi- 
dent on the Bryan ticket by that part of the 
People's party that would not endorse the 
nominee for the same position made by the 
Democratic party. 



FREDERICK A. P. BARNARD, mathe- 
matician, physicist and educator, was 
born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, May 5, 1809. 
He graduated from Yale College in i82S,and 
in 1830 became a tutor in the same. From 
1837 to 1848 he was professor of mathe- 
matics and natural philosophy in the Uni- 
versity of Alabama, and from 1848 to 1850, 
professor of chemistry and natural history 
in the same educational institution. In 
1854 he became connected with the Univer- 
sity of Mississippi, of which he became 
president in 1856, and chancellor in 1858. 
In 1854 he took orders in the Protestant 
Episcopal church. In 1861 Professor Barnard 
resigned his chancellorship and chair in the 
university, and in 1863 and 1 864 was con- 
nected with the United States coast survey 
in charge of chart printing and lithography. 
In May, 1864, he was elected president of 
Columbia College, New York City, which 
he served for a number of years. 

Professor Barnard received the honorary 
degree of LL. D. from Jefferson College, 
Mississippi, in 1S55, and from Yale College 
in 1859; also the degree of S. T. D. from 
the University of Mississippi in 1861, and 
that of L. H. D. from the regents of the 



University of the State of New York in 1 872. 
In i860 he was a member of the eclipse 
party sent by the United States coast sur- 
vey to Labrador, and during his absence 
was elected president of the American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science. lu 
the act of congress establishing the National 
Academy of Sciences in 1863, he was named 
as one of the original corporators. In 1867 
he was one of the United States commis- 
sioners to the Paris Exposition. He was 
a member of the American Philosophical 
Society, associate member of the Amer- 
ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 
many other philosophical and scientific 
societies at home and abroad. Dr. Barnard 
was thoroughly identified with the progress 
of the age in those branches. His published 
works relate wholly to scientific or educa- 
tional subjects, chief among which are the 
following: Report on Collegiate Education; 
Art Culture; History of the American Coast 
Survey; University Education; Undulatory 
Theory of Light; Machinery and Processes 
of the Industrial Arts, and Apparatus of the 
Exact Sciences, Metric System of Weights 
and Measures, etc. 



EDWIN McMASTERS STANTON, the 
secretary of war during the great Civil 
war, was recognized as one of America's 
foremost public men. He was born Decem- 
ber 19, 18 14, at Steuben ville, Ohio, where 
he received his education and studied law. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1836, and 
was reporter of the supreme court of Ohio 
from 1842 until 1845. He removed to 
Washington in 1856 to attend to his prac- 
tice before the United States supreme 
court, and in 1S58 he went to California as 
counsel for the government in certain land 
cases, which he carried to a successful 
conclusion. Mr. Stanton was appointed 



180 



':^VMPENDIUM OF BIOGRA. 



attorney-general of the United States in 
December, i860, by President Buchanan. 
On March 4, 1861, Mr. Stanton went with 
the outgoing administration and returned to 
the practice of his profession. He was 
appointed secretary of war by President 
Lincoln January 20, 1862, to succeed Simon 
Cameron. After the assassination of Presi- 
dent Lincoln and the accession of Johnson 
to the presidency, Mr. Stanton was still in 
the same office. He held it for three years, 
and by his strict adherence to the Repub- 
lican party, he antagonized President John- 
son, who endeavored to remove him. On 
August 5, 1867, the president requested him 
to resign, and appointed General Grant to 
succeed him, but when congress convened 
in December the senate refused to concur in 
the suspension. Mr. Stanton returned to 
his post until the president again removed 
him from office, but was again foiled by 
congress. Soon after, however, he retired 
voluntarily from office and took up the 
practice of law, in which he engaged until 
his death, on December 24, 1869. 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, the eminent 
theologian and founder of the church 
known as Disciples of Christ, was born in 
the country of Antrim, Ireland, in June, 
1788, and was the son of Rev. Thomas 
Campbell, a Scoth-Irish "Seceder. " After 
studying at the University of Glasgow, he, 
in company with his father, came to America 
in 1808, and both began labor in western 
Pennsylvania to restore Christianity to 
apostolic simplicity. They organized a 
church at Brush Run, Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, in 181 1, which, however, the 
year following, adopted Baptist views, and 
in 1 81 3, with other congregations joined a 
Baptist association. Some of the under- 
lying principles and many practices of the 



Campbells and their disciples were repug- 
nant to the Baptist church and considerable 
friction was the result, and 1827 saw the 
separation of that church from the Church 
of Christ, as it is sometimes called. The 
latter then reorganized themselves anew. 
They reject all creeds, professing to receive 
the Bible as their only guide. In most mat- 
ters of faith they are essentially in accord with 
the other Evangelical Christian churches, 
especially in regard to the person and work 
of Christ, the resurrection and judgment. 
They celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, 
hold that repentance and faith should precede 
baptism, attaching much importance to the 
latter ordinance. On all other points they 
encourage individual liberty of thought. In 
1 841, Alexander Campbell founded Bethany 
College, West Virginia, of which he was 
president for many years, and died March 4, 
1866. 

The denomination which they founded 
is quite a large and important church body 
in the United States. They support quite 
a number of institutions of learning, among 
which are: Bethany College, West Virginia; 
Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio; Northwestern 
Christian University, Indianapolis, Indiana; 
Eureka College, Illinois; Kentucky Univer- 
sity, Lexington, Kentucky; Oskaloosa 
College, Iowa; and a number of seminaries 
and schools. They also support several 
monthly and quarterly religious periodicals 
and many papers, both in the United States 
and Great Britain and her dependencies. 



WILLIAM L.WILSON, the noted West 
Virginian, who was postmaster-gener- 
al under President Cleveland's second ad- 
ministration, won distinction as the father 
of the famous " Wilson bill," which became 
a law under the same administration. Mr. 
Vv'iiaon was born May 3, 1843, in Jeffer- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



181 



son county, West Virginia, and received 
a good education at the Charlestown 
Academ}', where he prepared himself for 
college. He attended the Columbian Col- 
lege in the District of Columbia, from 
which he graduated in i860, and then 
attended the University of Virginia. Mr. 
Wilson served in the Confederate army dur- 
ing the war, after which he was a professor 
in Columbian College. Later he entered 
into the practice of law at Charlestown. 
He attended the Democratic convention 
held at Cincinnati in 1880, as a delegate, 
and later was chosen as one of the electors 
for the state-at-large on the Hancock 
ticket. In the Democratic convention at 
Chicago in 1892, Mr. Wilson was its per- 
manent president. He was elected pres- 
ident of the West Virginia University in 
1882, entering upon the duties of his office 
on September 6, but having received the 
nomination for the forty-seventh congress 
on the Democratic ticket, he resigned the 
presidency of the university in June, 1883, 
to take his seat in congress. Mr. Wil- 
son was honored by the Columbian Uni- 
versity and the Hampden-Sidney College, 
both of which conferred upon him the de- 
gree of LL. D. In 1S84 he was appointed 
regent of the Smithsonian Institution at 
Washington for two years, and at the end 
of his term was re-appointed. He was 
elected to the forty-seventh, forty-ninth, 
fiftieth, fifty-first, fifty-second and fifty- 
third congresses, but was defeated for re- 
election to the fifty- fourth congress. Upon 
the resignation of Mr. Bissell from the office 
of postmaster- general, Mr. Wilson was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy by President 
Cleveland. His many years of public serv- 
ice and the prominent part he took in the 
discussion of public questions gave him a 
national reputation. 



CALVIN S. BRICE, a successful and 
noted financier and politician, was 
born at Denmark, Ohio, September 17, 
1845, of an old Maryland family, who trace 
their lineage from the Bryces, or Bruces, of 
Airth, Scotland. The father of our subject 
was a prominent Presbyterian clergyman, 
who removed to Ohio in 1812. Calvin S. 
Brice was educated in the common schools 
of his native town, and at the age of thir- 
teen entered the preparatory department of 
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and the 
following year entered the freshman class. 
On the breaking out of the Civil war, 
although but fifteen years old, he enlisted in 
a company of three-months men. He re- 
turned to complete his college course, but 
re-enlisted in Company A, Eighty-sixth 
Ohio Infantry, and served in the Virginia 
campaign. He then returned to college, 
from which he graduated in 1863. In 1864 
he organized Company E, One Hundred 
and Eightieth Ohio Infantry, and served 
until the close of hostilities, in the western 
armies. 

On his return home Mr. Brice entered 
the law department of the University of 
Michigan, and in 1866 was admitted to the 
bar in Cincinnati. In the winter of 1870- 
71 he went to Europe in the interests of the 
Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad and pro- 
cured a foreign loan. This road became 
the Lake Erie & Western, of which, in 
1887, Mr. Brice became president. This 
was the first railroad in which he had a 
personal interest. The conception, build- 
ing and sale of the New York, Chicago & 
St. Louis Railroad, known as the "Nickel 
Plate," was largely due to him. He was 
connected with many other railroads, among 
which may be mentioned the following: 
Chicago & Atlantic; Ohio Central; Rich- 
mond & Danville; Richmond & West Point 



182 



COMTENDIL'^r OF BIOGRAPlir. 



Terminal; East Tennessee, Virginia & 
Georgia; Memphis & Charleston; Mobile & 
Birmingham; Kentucky Central; Duluth, 
South Shore & Atlantic, and the Marquette, 
Houghton & Ontonagon. In 1890 he was 
elected United States senator from Ohio. 
Notwithstanding his extensive business inter- 
ests, Senator Brice gave a considerable 
time to political matters, becoming one of 
the leaders of the Democratic party and one 
of the most widely known men in the 
country. 

BENJAMIN HARRISON, twenty-third 
president of the United States, was 
born August 20, 1833, at North Bend, 
Hamilton county, Ohio, in the house of his 
grandfather, General William Henry Har- 
rison, afterwards president of the United 
States. His great-grandfather, Benjamin 
Harrison, was a member of the Continental 
congress, signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and was three times elected gov- 
ernor of Virginia. 

The subject of this sketch entered Farm- 
ers College at an early age, and two years 
later entered Miami University, at Oxford, 
Ohio. Upon graduation he entered the 
office of Stover & Gwyne, of Cincinnati, as a 
law student. He was admitted to the bar 
two years later, and having inherited about 
eight hundred dollars vvorth of property, he 
married the daughter of Doctor Scott, pres- 
ident of a female school at Oxford, Ohio, 
and selected Indianapolis, Indiana, to begin 
practice. In i860 he was nominated by 
the Republicans as candidate for state 
supreme court reporter, and did his first 
political speaking in that campaign. He 
•was elected, and after two years in that 
position he organized the Se^-entieth Indi- 
ana Infantry, of which he was made colonel, 
and with his regiment joined General Sher- 



man's army. For bravery displayed at Re- 
saca and Peach Tree Creek he was made a 
brigadier-general. In the meantime the 
office of supreme court reporter had been 
declared vacant, and another party elected 
to fill it. In the fall of 1864, having been 
nominated for that office. General Harrison 
obtained a thirty-day leave of absence, went 
to Indiana, canvassed the state and was 
elected. As he was about to rejoin his 
command he was stricken down by an attack 
of fever. After his recovery he joined 
General Sherman's army and participated in 
the closing events of the war. 

In 1868 General Harrison declined to 
be a candidate for the office of supreme 
court reporter, and returned to the practice 
of the law. His brilliant campaign for the 
office of governor of Indiana in 1876, 
brought him into public notice, although he 
was defeated. He took a prominent part 
in the presidential canvass of 1880, and was 
chosen United States senator from Indiana, 
serving six years. He then returned to the 
practice of his profession. In 1888 he was 
selected by the Republican convention at 
Chicago as candidate for the presidency, and 
after a heated campaign was elected over. 
Cleveland. He was inaugurated March 4, 
1889, and signed the McKinley bill October 
I, 1890, perhaps the most distinctive feature 
of his administration. In 1892 he was 
again the nominee of the Republican party 
for president, but was defeated by Grover 
Cleveland, the Democratic candidate, and 
again resumed the practice of law in Indian- 
apolis. 

JOHN CRAIG HAVEMEYER, the 
celebrated merchant and sugar refiner, 
was born in New York City in 1833. His 
father, William F. Havemeyer, and grand- 
father, William Havemeyer, were both sugar 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



183 



refiners. The latter named came from 
Buckeburg, Germany, in 1799, and settled 
in New York, establishing one of the first 
refineries in that city. William F. succeeded 
his father, and at an early age retired from 
business with a competency. He was three 
times mayor of his native city, New York. 
John C. Havemeyer was educated in 
private schools, and was prepared for college 
at Columbia College grammar school. 
Owing to failing eyesight he was unable to 
finish his college course, and began his 
business career in a wholesale grocery store, 
where he remained two years. In 1854, 
after a year's travel abroad, he assumed the 
responsibility of the office work in the sugar 
refinery of Havemeyer & Molter, but two 
years later etablished a refinery of his own 
in Brooklyn. This afterwards developed into 
the immense business of Havemeyer & Elder. 
The capital was furnished by his father, 
and, chafing under the anxiety caused by the 
use of borrowed money, he sold out his 
interest and returned to Havemeyer & 
Molter. This firm dissolving the next year, 
John C. declined an offer of partnership 
from the successors, not wishing to use 
borrowed money. For two years he remain- 
ed with the house, receiving a share of the 
profits as compensation. For some years 
thereafter he was engaged in the commission 
business, until failing health caused his 
retirement. In 1871, he again engaged in 
the sugar refining business at Greenport, 
Long Island, with his brother and another 
partner, under the firm name of Havemeyer 
Brothers & Co. Here he remained until 
1880, when his health again declined. 
During the greater part of his life Mr. 
Havepieyer was identified with many benev- 
olent societies, including the New York 
Port Society, Missionary Society of the 
Methodist Church, American Bible Society, 



New York Sabbath School Society and 
others. He was active in Young Men's 
Christian Association work in New York, 
and organized and was the first president of 
an affiliated society of the same at Yonkers. 
He was director of several railroad corpo- 
rations and a trustee of the Continental Trust 
Company of New York. 



WALTER QUINTIN GRESHAM, an 
eminent American statesman and 
jurist, was born March 17, 1833, near Cory- 
don, Harrison county, Indiana. He ac- 
quired his education m the local schools of 
the county and at Bloomington Academy, 
although he did not graduate. After leav- 
ing college he read law with Judge Porter 
at Corydon, and just before the war he be- 
gan to take an interest in politics. Mr. 
Gresham was elected to the legislature from 
Harrison county as a Republican; previous 
to this the district had been represented by 
a Democrat. At the commencement of 
hostilities he was made lieutenant-colonel of 
the Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, but 
served in that regiment only a short time, 
when he was appointed colonel of the Fifty- 
third Indiana, and served under General 
Grant at the siege of Vicksburg as brigadier- 
general. Later he was under Sherman in 
the famous ''March to the Sea," and com- 
manded a division of Blair's corps at the 
siege of Atlanta where he was so badly 
wounded in the leg that he was compelled 
to return home. On his way home he was 
forced to stop at New Albany, where he re- 
mained a year before he was able to leave. 
He was brevetted major-general at the close 
of the war. While at New Albany, Mr. 
Gresham was appointed state agent, his 
duty being to pay the interest on the state 
debt in New York, and he ran twice for 
congress against ex-Speaker Kerr, but was 



184 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



defeated in both cases, although he greatly 
reduced the Democratic majority. He was 
held in high esteem by President Grant, 
who offered him the portfolio of the interior 
but Mr. Gresham declined, but accepted 
the appointment of United States judge for 
Indiana to succeed David McDonald. 
Judge Gresham served on the United States 
district court bench until 1883, when he 
was appointed postmaster-general by Presi- 
dent Arthur, but held that office only a few 
months when he was made secretary of the 
treasury. Near the end of President 
Arthur's term. Judge Gresham was ap- 
pointed judge of the United States circuit 
court of the district composed of Indiana, 
Illinois and contiguous states, which he held 
until 1893. Judge Gresham was one of the 
presidential possibilities in the National Re- 
publican convention in 1888, when General 
Harrison was nominated, and was also men- 
tioned for president in 1892. Later the 
People's party made a strenuous effort to 
induce him to become their candidate for 
president, he refusing the offer, however, 
and a few weeks before the election he an- 
nounced that he would support Mr. Cleve- 
land, the Democratic nominee for president. 
Upon the election of Mr. Cleveland in the 
fall of 1892, Judge Gresham was made the 
secretary of state, and filled that position 
until his death on May 28, 1895, at Wash- 
intrton, District of Columbia. 



ELISHA B. ANDREWS, noted as an ed- 
ucator and college president, was born 
at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, January 10, 
1844, his father and mother being Erastus 
and Elmira (Bartlett) Andrews. In 1S61, 
he entered the service of the general gov- 
ernment as private and non-commissioned 
officer in the First Connecticut Heavy Ar- 
tillery, and in 1S63 was promoted to the 



rank of second lieutenant. Returning home 
he was prepared for college at Powers In- 
stitute and at the Wesleyan Academy, and 
entered Brown University. From here he 
was graduated in 1870. For the succeeding 
two years he was principal of the Connecti- 
cut Literary Institute at Suffield, Connecticut. 
Completing a course at the Newton Theo- 
logical Institute, he was ordained pastor of 
the First Baptist church at Beverly, Massa- 
chusetts, July 2, 1874. The following 
year he became president of the Denison 
University, at Granville, Ohio. In 1879 
he accepted the professorship of homiletics, 
pastoral duties and church polity at Newton 
Theological Institute. In 1882 he was 
elected to the chair of history and political 
economy at Brown University. The Uni- 
versity of Nebraska honored him with an 
LL. D. in 1884, and the same year Colby 
University conferred the degree of D. D. 
In 1888 he became professor of political 
economy and public economy at Cornell 
University, hut the next year returned to 
Brown University as its president. From 
the time of his inauguration the college work 
broadened in many ways. Many timely 
and generous donations from friends and 
alumni of the college were influenced by 
him, and large additions made -to the same. 
Professor Andrews published, in 1887, 
"Institutes of General History," and in 
1888, •' Institutes of Economics." 



JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER, the subject 
of the present biography, was, during his 
life, one of the most distinguished chemists 
and scientific writers in America. He was 
an Englishman by birth, born at Liverpool, 
May 5, 181 1, and was reared in his native 
land, receiving an excellent .education, 
graduating at the University of London. In 
1833 he came to the United States, and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAniT. 



187" 



settled first in Pennsylvania. He graduated 
in medicine at the University of Philadel- 
phia, in 1836, and for three years following 
was professor of chemistry and physiology 
at Hampden-Sidney College. He then be- 
came professor of chemistry in the New York 
University, with which institution he was 
prominently connected for many years. It 
is stated on excellent authority that Pro- 
fessor Draper, in 1S39, took the first photo- 
graphic picture ever taken from life. He 
was a great student, and carried on many 
important and intricate experiments along 
scientific lines. He discovered many of the 
fundamental facts of spectrum analysis, 
which he published. He published a number 
of works of great merit, many of which are 
recognized as authority upon the subjects of 
which they treat. Among his work were: 
"Human Physiology, Statistical and Dyna- 
mical of the Conditions and Cause of Life 
in Man," "History of Intellectual Develop- 
ment of Europe," "History of the Ameri- 
can Civil War," besides a number of works 
on chemistry, optics and mathematics. Pro- 
fessor Draper continued to hold a high place 
among the scientific scholars of America 
until his death, which occurred in January, 
1882. 

GEORGE W. PECK, ex-governor of 
the -state of Wisconsin and a famous 
journalist and humorist, was born in Jeffer- 
son county. New York, September 28, 1840. 
When he was about three years of age his 
parents removed to Wisconsin, settling near 
Whitewater, where young Peck received his 
education at the public schools. At fifteen 
he entered the office of the "Whitewater 
Register," where he learned the printer's 
art. He helped start the "Jefferson County 
Republican" later on, but sold out his 
interest therein and set type in the office of 



the "State Journal," at Madison. At the 
outbreak of the war he enlisted in the 
Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry as a private, and 
after serving four years returned a second 
lieutenant. He then started the " Ripon 
Representative," which he sold not long 
after, and removing to New York, was on 
the staff of Mark Pomeroy's "Democrat." 
Going to La Crosse, later, he conducted the 
La Crosse branch paper, a half interest in 
which he bought in 1874. He next started 
"Peck's Sun," which four years later he 
removed to Milwaukee. While in La 
Crosse he was chief of police one year, and 
also chief clerk of the Democratic assembly 
in 1874. It was in 1878 that Mr. Peck 
took his paper to Milwaukee, and achieved 
his first permanent success, the circulation 
increasing to 80,000. For ten years he was 
regarded as one of the most original, versa- 
tile and entertaining writers in the country, 
and he has dehneated every phase of 
country newspaper life, army life, domestic 
experience, travel and city adventure. Up 
to 1890 Mr. Peck took but little part in 
politics, but in that year was elected mayor 
of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket. 
The following August he was elected gov- 
ernor of Wisconsin by a large majority, 
the "Bennett School Bill" figuring to a 
large extent in his favor. 

Mr. Peck, besides many newspaper arti- 
cles in his peculiar vein and numerous lect- 
ures, bubbling over with fun, is known to 
fame by the following books: "Peck's Bad 
Boy and his Pa," and "The Grocery Man 
and Peck's Bad Boy." 



CHARLES O'CONOR, who was for 
many years the acknowledged leader 
of the legal profession of New York City, 
was also conceded to be one of the greatest 
lawyers America has produced. He was 



188 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPlir. 



born in New York City in 1804, his fatlier 
being an educated Irish gentleman. Charles 
received a common-school education, and 
early took up the study of law, being ad- 
mitted to practice in 1824. His close ap- 
plication and untiring energy and industry 
soon placed him in the front rank of the 
profession, and within a few years he was 
handling many of the most important cases. 
One of the first great cases he had and which 
gained him a wide reputation, was that of 
"Jack, the Fugitive Slave," in 1835, in which 
his masterful argument before the supreme 
court attracted wide attention and com- 
ment. Charles O'Conor was a Democrat 
all his life. He did not aspire to office- 
holding, however, and never held any office 
except that of district attorney under Presi- 
dent Pierce's administration, which he only 
retained a short time. He took an active 
interest, however, in public questions, and 
was a member of the state (New York) con- 
stitutional convention in 1864. In 1868 he 
was nominated for the presidency by the 
" Extreme Democrats." His death occurred 
in May, 18S4. 

SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, a noted 
American officer and major-general in 
the Confederate army, was born in Ken- 
tucky in 1823. He graduated from West 
Point Military Academy in 1844, served in 
the United States infantry and was later as- 
signed to commissary duty with the rank of 
captain. He served several years at fron- 
tier posts, and was assistant professor in the 
military academy in 1846. He was with 
General Scott in the Mexican war, and en- 
gaged in all the battles from Vera Cruz to 
the capture of the Mexican capital. He 
was wounded at Cherubusco and brevetted 
first lieutenant, and at Molino del Rey was 
brevetted captain. After the close of the 



Mexican war he returned to West Point as 
assistant instructor, and was then assigned 
to commissary duty at New York. He re- 
signed in 1855 and became superintendent 
of construction of the Chicago custom house. 
He was made adjutaut-genenal, with the 
rank of colonel, of Illinois militia, and was 
colonel of Illinois volunteers raised for the 
Utah expedition, but was not mustered into 
service. In i860 he removed to Kentucky, 
where he settled on a farm near Louisville 
and became inspector-general in command 
of the Kentucky Home Guards. At the 
opening of the Civil war he joined the Con- 
federate army, and was given command at 
Bowling Green, Kentucky, which he was 
compelled to abandon after the capture of 
Fort Henry. He then retired to Fort Don- 
elson, and was there captured with sixteen 
thousand men, and an immense store of pro- 
visions, by General Grant, in February, 
1862. He was held as a prisoner of war 
at Fort Warren until August of that year. 
He commanded a division of Hardee's corps 
in Bragg's Army of the Tennessee, and was 
afterward assigned to the third division and 
participated in the battles of Chickamauga, 
and Murfreesboro. He was with Kirby 
Smith when that general surrendered his 
army to General Canby in May, 1865. He 
was an unsuccessful candidate for the vice- 
presidency on the Gold Democratic ticket 
with Senator John M. Palmer in 1896. 



SIMON KENTON, one of the famous pio- 
neers and scouts whose names fill the 
pages of the early history of our country, 
was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, 
April 3, 1755. In consequence of an affray, 
at the age of eighteen, young Kenton went 
to Kentucky, then the "Dark and Bloody 
Ground," and became associated with Dan- 
iel Boone and other pioneers of that region. 



COHIPRNDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



18» 



For a short time he acted as a scout and 
spy for Lord Dunmore, the British governor 
of Virginia, but afterward taking the side 
of the struggling colonists, participated in 
the war for independence west of the Alle- 
ghanies. In 1784 he returned to Virginia, 
but did not remain there long, going back 
with his family to Kentucky. From 
that time until 1793 he participated in all 
the combats and battles of that time, and 
until "Mad Anthony" Wayne swept the 
Valley of the Ohio, and settled the suprem- 
acy of the whites in that region. Iventon 
laid claim to large tracts of land in the new 
country he had helped to open up, but 
through ignorance of law, and the growing 
value of the land, lost it all and was reduced 
to poverty. During the war with England 
in 1812-15, Kenton took part in the inva- 
sion of Canada with the K^entucky troops 
and participated in the battle of the Thames. 
He finally had land granted him by the 
legislature of -Kentucky, and received a pen- 
sion from the United States government. 
He died in Logan county, Ohio, April 29, 

ELIHU BENJAMIN WASHBURNE, an 
American statesman of eminence, was 
born in Livermore, Maine, September 23, 
I 8 16. He learned the trade of printer, but 
abandoned that calling at the age of eight- 
een and entered the Kent's Hill Academy at 
Reading, Maine, and then took up the study 
of law, reading in Hallowell, Boston, and at 
the Harvard Law School. He began prac- 
tice at Galena, Illinois, in 1840. He was 
elected to congress in 1852, and represented 
his district in that body continuously until 
March, 1869, and at the time of his retire- 
ment he had served a greater number of 
consecutive terms than any other member 
of the house. In 1873 President Grant ap- 



pointed him secretary of state, which posi- 
tion he resigned to accept that of minister 
to France. During the Franco- Prussian 
war, including the siege of Paris and the 
reign of the Commune, Mr. Washburne re- 
mained at his post, protecting the lives and 
property of his countrymen, as well as that 
of other foreign residents in Paris, while the 
ministers of all other powers abandoned 
their posts at a time when they were most 
needed. As far as possible he extended 
protection to unfortunate German residents, 
who were the particular objects of hatred of 
the populace, and his firmness and the suc- 
cess which attended his efforts won the ad- 
miration of all Europe. Mr. Washburne 
died at Chicago, Illinois, October 22, 1887. 



"\ 1 7ILLIAM CRAMP, one of the most 
V V extensive shipbuilders of this coun- 
try, was born in Kensington, then a suburb, 
now a part of Philadelphia, in 1806. He 
received a thorough English education, and 
when he left school was associated with 
Samuel Grice, one of the most eminent 
naval architects of his day. In 1830, hav- 
ing mastered all the details of shipbuilding, 
Mr. Cramp engaged in business on his own 
account. By reason of ability and excel- 
lent work he prospered from the start, until 
now, in the hands of his sons, under the 
name of William Cramp & Sons' Ship and 
EngineBuilding Company, it has become the 
most complete shipbuilding plant and naval 
arsenal in the western hemisphere, and fully 
equal to any in the world. As Mr. Cramp's 
sons attained manhood they learned their 
father's profession, and were admitted to a 
partnership. In 1872 the firm was incor- 
porated under the title given above. Until 
i860 wood was used in building vessels, al- 
though pace was kept with all advances in 
the art of shipbuilding. At the opening of 



190 



COMTENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



the war came an unexpected demand for 
war vessels, which they promptly met. The 
sea-going ironclad "New Ironsides" was 
built by them in 1862, followed by a num- 
ber of formidable ironclads and the cruiser 
"Chattanooga." They subsequently built 
several war vessels for the Russian and 
other governments which added to their 
reputation. When the American steamship 
line was established in 1S70, the Cramps 
were commissioned to build for it four first- 
class iron steamships, the "Pennsylvania," 
"Ohio," "Indiana" and "Illinois," which 
they turned out in rapid order, some of the 
finest specimens of the naval architecture of 
their day. '^Villiam Cramp remained at the 
head of the great company he had founded 
until his death, which occurred January 6, 
1879. 

Charles H. Cramp, the successor of his 
father as head of the William Cramp & 
Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company, 
was born in Philadelphia May 9, 1829, and 
received an excellent education in his native 
city, which he sedulously sought to sup- 
plement by close study until he became 
an authority on general subjects and the 
best naval architect on the western hemis- 
phere. Many of the best vessels of our 
new navy were built by this immense con- 
cern. 

WASHINGTON ALLSTON, probably 
the greatest American painter, was 
born in South Carolina in 1779. He was 
sent to school at the age of seven years at 
Newport, Rhode Island, where he met Ed- 
ward Malbone, two years his senior, and 
who later became a pamter of note. The 
friendship that sprang up between them un- 
doubtedly influenced young Allston in the 
choice of a profession. He graduated from 
Harvard in 1800, and went to England the 



following year, after pursuing his studies for 
a year under his friend Malbone at his home 
in South Carolina. He became a student 
at the Royal Academy where the great 
American, Benjamin West, presided, and 
who became his intimate friend. Allston 
later went to Paris, and then to Italy, where 
four years were spent, mostly at Rome. In 
1809 he returned to America, but soon after 
returned to London, having married in the 
meantime a sister of Dr. Channing. In 
a short time his first great work appeared, 
"The Dead Man Restored to Life by the 
Bones of Elisha," which took the British 
Association prize and firmly established his 
reputation. Other paintings followed in 
quick succession, the greatest among which 
were "Uriel in the Center of the Sun," 
"Saint Peter Liberated by the Angel," and 
"Jacob's Dream," supplemented by many 
smaller pieces. Hard work, and grief at the 
death of his wife began to tell upon his health, 
and he left London in 1818 for America. 
The same year he was elected an associate 
of the Royal Academy. During the next 
few years he painted "Jeremiah," "Witch 
ofEndor," and "Beatrice." In 1830 Alls- 
ton married a daughter of Judge Dana, and 
went to Cambridge, which was his home 
until his death. Here he produced the 
"Vision of the Bloody Hand," "Rosalie," 
and many less noted pieces, and had given 
one week of labor to his unfinished master- 
piece, "Belshazzar's Feast," when death 
ended his career July 9, 1843. 



JOHN ROACH, ship builder and manu- 
facturer, whose career was a marvel of. 
industrial labor, and who impressed his in- 
dividuality and genius upon the times in 
which he lived more, perhaps, than any 
other manufacturer in America. He was 
born at Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ire- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



191 



land, December 25, 181 5, the son of a 
wealthy merchant. He attended school 
ui.til he was thirteen, when his father be- 
came financially embarrassed and failed 
and shortly after died; John determined to 
come to America and carve out a fortune 
for himself. He landed in New York at the 
age of sixteen, and soon obtained employ- 
ment at the Howell Iron Works in New Jer- 
sey, at twenty-five cents a day. He soon 
made himself a place in the world, and at 
the end of three years had saved some 
twelve hundred dollars, which he lost by 
the failure of his employer, in whose hands 
it was left. Returning to New York he 
began to learn how to make castings for 
marine engines and ship work. Having 
again accumulated one thousand dollars, in 
company with three fellow workmen, he 
purchased a small foundry in New York, 
but soon became sole proprietor. At the 
end of four years he had saved thirty thou- 
sand dollars, besides enlarging his works. 
In 1856 his works were destroyed by a 
boiler explosion, and being unable to collect 
the insurance, was left, after paying his 
debts, without a dollar. However, his 
credit and reputation for integrity was good, 
and he built the Etna Iron Works, giving it 
capacity to construct larger marine engines 
than any previously built in this country. 
Here he turned out immense engines for 
the steam ram Dunderberg, for the war ves- 
sels Winooski and Neshaning, and other 
large vessels. To accommodate his increas- 
ing business, Mr. Roach, in 1869, pur- 
chased the Morgan Iron Works, one of the 
largest in New York, and shortly after sev- 
eral others. In 1871 he bought the Ches- 
ter ship yards, which he added to largely, 
erecting a rolling mill and blast furnace, and 
providing every facility for building a ship 
out of the ore and timber. This immense 



plant covered a large area, was valued at 
several millions of dollars, and was known 
as the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding 
and Engine Works, of which Mr. Roach 
was the principal owner. He built a large 
percentage of the iron vessels now flying 
the American flag, the bulk of his business 
being for private parties. In 1875 he built 
the sectional dry docks at Pensacola. He, 
about this time, drew the attention of the 
government to the use of compound marine 
engines, and thus was the means of im- 
proving the speed and economy of the ves- 
sels of our new navy. In 1883 Mr. Roach 
commenced work on the three cruisers for 
the government, the "Chicago," "Boston" 
and "Atlanta," and the dispatch boat 
" Dolphin." For some cause the secretary 
of the navy refused to receive the latter and 
decided that Mr. Roach's contract would 
not hold. This embarrassed Mr. Roach, 
as a large amount of his capital was in- 
volved in these contracts, and for the pro- 
tection of bondsmen and creditors, July 18, 
1885, he made an assignment, but the 
financial trouble broke down his strong con- 
stitution, and January 10, 18S7, he died. 
His son, John B. Roach, succeeded to the 
shipbuilding interests, while Stephen W. 
Roach inherited the Morgan Iron Works at 
New York. 

JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, one of 
the two great painters who laid the 
foundation of true American art, was born 
in Boston in 1737, one year earlier than his 
great contemporary, Benjamin West. His 
education was limited to the common schools 
of that time, and his training in art he ob- 
tained by his own observation and experi- 
ments solely. When he was about seven- 
teen years old he had mapped out his future, 
however, by choosing painting as his pro- 



192 



COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHT. 



fession. If he ever studied under any 
teacher in his early efforts, we have no au- 
thentic account of it, and tradition credits 
the young artist's wonderful success en- 
tirely to his own talent and untiring effort. 
It is almost incredible that at the age of 
twenty-three years his income from his 
works aggregated fifteen hundred dollars 
per annuin, a very great sum in those days. 
In 1774 he went to Europe in search of ma- 
terial for study, which was so rare in his 
native land. After some time spent in Italy 
he finally took up his permanent residence 
in England. In 1783 he was made a mem- 
ber of the Royal Academy, and later his 
son had the high honor of becoming lord 
chancellor of England and Lord Lyndhurst. 
Many specimens of Copley's work are to 
be found in the Memorial Hall at Harvard 
and in the Boston Museum, as well as a few 
of the works upon which he modeled his 
style. Copley was essentially a portrait 
painter, though his historical paintings at- 
tained great celebrity, his masterpiece 
being his " Death of Major Pierson, " though 
that distinction has by some been given to 
his "Death of Chatham." It is said that 
he never saw a good picture until he was 
thirty-five years old, yet his portraits prior 
to that period are regarded as rare speci- 
mens. He died in 1815. 



HENRY B. PLANT, one of the greatest 
railroad men of the country, became 
famous as president of the Plant system of 
railway and steamer lines, and also the 
Southern & Texas Express Co. He was 
born in October, 18 19, at Branford, 
Connecticut, and entered the railroad serv- 
ice in 1844, serving as express messenger 
on the Hartford & New Haven Railroad until 
1853, during which time he had entire 
charge of the exor^.-? lousiness of that road. 



He went south in 1853 and established ex- 
press lines on various southern railways, and 
in 1 86 1 organized the Southern Express 
Co., and became its president. In 1879 he 
purchased, with others, the Atlantic & Gulf 
Railroad of Georgia, and later reorganized 
the Savannah, Florida & W^estern Railroad, 
of which he became president. He pur- 
chased and rebuilt, in 1880, the Savannah 
& Charleston Railroad, now Charleston & 
Savannah. Not long after this he organ- 
ized the Plant Investment Co., to control 
these railroads and advance their interests 
generally, and later established a steamboat 
line on the St. John's river, in Florida. 
From 1853 until i860 he was general 
superintendent of the southern division of 
the Adams Express Co., and in 1867 be- 
came president of the Texas Express Co. 
The "Plant system" of railway, steamer 
and steamship lines is one of the greatest 
business corporations of the southern states. 



WADE HAMPTON, a noted Confeder- 
ate officer, was born at Columbia, 
South Carolina, in 18 18. He graduated 
from the South Carolina College, took an 
active part in politics, and was twice elected 
to the legislature of his state. In 1861 he 
joined the Confederate army, and command- 
ed the " Hampton Legion " at the first bat- 
tle of Bull Run, in July, 1861. He did 
meritorious service, was wounded, and pro- 
moted to brigadier-general. He command- 
ed a brigade at Seven Pines, in 1862, and 
was again wounded. He was engaged in 
the battle of Antietam in September of the 
same year, and participated in the raid into 
Pennsylvania in October. In 1863 he was 
with Lee at Gettysburg, where he was 
wounded for the third time. He was pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and 
commanded a troop of cavalry in Lee's 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



193 



army during 1864, and was in numerous en- 
gagements. In 1865 he was in South Car- 
ohna, and commanded the cavahy rear 
guard of the Confederate army in its stub- 
born retreat before General Sherman on his 
advance toward Riclimond. 

After the war Hampton took an active 
part in politics, and was a prominent figure 
at the Democratic national convention in 
1868, which nominated Seymour and Blair 
for president and vice-president. He was 
governor of South Carolina, and took his 
seat in the United States senate in 1879, 
where he became a conspicuous figure in 
national affairs. 



IKOLA TESLA, one of the most cele- 
brated electricians America has known, 
was born in 1857, at Smiljau, Lika, Servia. 
He descended from an old and representative 
family of that country. His father was a 
a minister of the Greek church, of high rank, 
while his mother was a woman of remarka- 
ble skill in the construction of looms, churns 
and the machinery required in a rural home. 
Nikola received early education in the 
public schools of Gospich, when he was 
sent to the higher "Real Schule" at Karl- 
stadt, where, after a three years' course, 
he graduated in 1873. He devoted him- 
self to experiments in electricity and 
magnetism, to the chagrin of his father, 
who had destined him for the ministry, 
but giving way to the boy's evident genius 
he was allowed to continue his studies in 
the polytechnic school at Gratz. He in- 
herited a wonderful intuition which enabled 
him to see through the intricacies of ma- 
chinery, and despite his instructor's demon- 
stration that a dynamo could not be oper- 
ated without commutators or brushes, 
began experiments which finally resulted in 
his rotating field motors. After the study 



of languages at Prague and Buda-Pesth, he 
became associated with M. Puskas, who 
had introduced the telephone into Hungary. 
He invented several improvements, but 
being unable to reap the necessary benefit 
from them, he, in search of a wider field, 
went to Paris, where he found employment 
with one of the electric lighting companies 
as electrical engineer. Soon he set his face 
westward, and coming to the United States 
for a time found congenial employment whh 
Thomas A. Edisoh. Finding it impossible, 
overshadowed as he was, to carry out his 
own ideas he left the Edison works to join 
a company formed to place his own inven- 
tions on the market. He perfected his 
rotary field principle, adapting it to circuits 
then in operation. It is said of him that 
some of his proved theories will change the 
entire electrical science. It would, in an 
article of this length, be impossible to ex- 
plain all that Tesla accomplished for the 
practical side of electrical engineering. 
His discoveries formed the basis of the at- 
tempt to utilize the water power of Niagara 
Falls. His work ranges far beyond the 
vast department of polyphase currents and 
high potential lighting and includes many 
inventions in arc lighting, transformers, 
pyro and thermo-magnetic motors, new 
forms of incandescent lamps, unipolar dyna- 
mos and many others. 



CHARLES B. LEWIS won fame as an 
American humorist under the name of 
"M. Quad." It is said he owes his 
celebrity originally to the fact that he was 
once mixed up in a boiler explosion on the 
Ohio river, and the impressions he received 
from the event he set up from his case when 
he was in the composing room of an ob- 
scure Michigan paper. His style jjossesses a 
peculiar qaaintness, and there runs through 



194 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHr 



it a vein of philosophy. Mr. Lewis was 
born in 1844, near a town called Liverpool, 
Ohio. He was, however, raised in Lansing, 
Michigan, where he spent a year in an agri- 
cultural college, going from there to the 
composing room of the "Lansing Demo- 
crat." At the outbreak of the war he en- 
listed in the service, remained during, the 
^entire war, and then returned to Lansing. 
The explosion of the boiler that "blew him 
into fame, " took place two years later, while 
he was on his way south. When he re- 
covered physically, he brought suit for dam- 
ages against the steamboat company, which 
he gained, and was awarded a verdict of 
twelve thousand dollars for injuries re- 
ceived. It was while he was employed by 
the " Jacksonian " of Pontiac, Mich., that he 
set up his account of how he felt while being 
blown up. He says that he signed it "M 
Quad," because "abourgeoise em quad is 
useless except in its own line — it won't 
justify with any other type." Soon after, 
because of the celebrity he attained by this 
screed, Mr. Lewis secured a place on the 
staff of the " Detroit Free Press," and made 
for that paper a wide reputation. His 
sketches of the "Lime Kiln Club" and 
" Brudder Gardner " are perhaps the best 
known of his humorous writings. 



HIRAM S. MAXIM, the famous inventor, 
was born in Sangersville, Maine, 
February 5, 1840, the son of Isaac W. 
and Harriet B. Maxim. The town of his 
:birth was but a small place, in the 
woods, on the confines of civilization, 
and the family endured many hardships. 
They were without means and entirely 
dependent on themselves to make out of 
raw materials all they needed. The mother 
■was an expert spinner, weaver, dyer and 
seamstress and the father a trapper, tanner, 



miller, blacksmith, carpenter, mason and 
farmer. Amid such surroundings young 
Maxim gave early promise of remarkable 
aptitude. With the universal Yankee jack- 
knife the products of his skill excited the 
wonder and interest of the locality. His 
parents did not encourage his latent genius 
but apprenticed him to a coach builder. 
Four years he labored at this uncongenial 
trade but at the end of that time he forsook 
it and entered a machine shop at Fitchburg, 
Massachusetts. Soon mastering the details 
of that business and that of mechanical 
drawing, he went to Boston as the foreman 
of the philosophical instrument manufactory. 
From thence he went to New York and wiih 
the Novelty Iron Works Shipbuilding Co. 
he gained experience in those trades. His 
inventions up to this time consisted of 
improvements in steam engines, and an 
automatic gas machine, which came into 
general use. In 1877 he turned his attention 
to electricity, and in 1878 produced an 
incandescent lamp, that would burn 1,000 
hours. He was the first to design a process 
for flashing electric carbons, and the first 
to "standardize" carbons for electric light- 
ing. In 1880 he visited Europe and exhibit- 
ing, at the Paris Exposition of 1881, a self- 
regulating machine, was decorated with the 
Legion of Honor. In 1883 he returned to 
London as the European representative of the 
United States Electric Light Co. An incident 
of his boyhood, in which the recoil of a rifle 
was noticed by him, and the apparent loss 
of power shown, in 188 1-2 prompted the 
invention of a gun which utilizes the recoil to 
automatically load and fire seven hundred 
and seventy shots per minute. The Maxim- 
Nordenfelt Gun Co., with a capital of nine 
million dollars, grew from this. In 1883 he 
patented his electric training gear for large 
guns. And later turned his attention to fly- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHi'. 



195 



ing machines, which he claimed were not an 
impossibility. He took out over one hundred 
patents for smokeless gunpowder, and for pe- 
troleum and other motors and autocycles. 



JOHN DAVISON ROCKEFELLER, 
one of America's very greatest financiers 
and philanthropists, was born in Richford, 
Tioga county. New York, July 8, 1839. He 
received a common-school education in his 
native place, and in 1853, when his parents 
removed to Cleveland, Ohio, he entered the 
high school of that city. After a two-years' 
course of diligent work, he entered the com- 
mission and forwarding house of Hewitt & 
Tuttle, of Cleveland, remaining with the 
firm some years, and then began business 
for himself, forming a partnership with 
Morris B. Clark. Mr. Rockefeller was then 
but nineteen years of age, and during the 
year i860, in connection with others, they 
started the oil refining business, under the 
firm name of Andrews, Clark & Co. Mr. 
Rockefeller and Mr. Andrews purchased the 
interest of their associates, and, after taking 
William Rockefeller into the firm, established 
offices in Cleveland under the name of 
William Rockefeller & Co. Shortly after 
this the house of Rockefeller & Co. was es- 
tablished in New York for the purpose of 
finding a market for their products, -and two 
years later all the refining companies were 
consolidated under the firm name of Rocke- 
feller, Andrews & Flagler. This firm was 
succeeded in 1870 by the Standard Oil 
Company of Ohio, said to be the most 
gigantic business corporation of modern 
times. John D. Rockefeller's fortune has 
been variously estimated at from one hun- 
dred million to two hundred million dollars. 
Mr. Rockefeller's philanthropy mani- 
fested itself principally through the American 
Baptist Educational Society. He donated 



the building for the Spelman Institute at 
Atlanta, Georgia, a school for the instruction 
of negroes. His other gifts were to the 
University of Rochester, Cook Academy, 
Peddie Institute, and Vassar College, be- 
sides smaller gifts to many institutions 
throughout the country. His princely do- 
nations, however, were to the University of 
Chicago. His first gift to this institution 
was a conditional offer of six hundred thou- 
sand dollars in 1889, and when this amount 
was paid he added one million more. Dur- 
ing 1892 he made it two gifts of one million 
each, and all told, his donations to this one 
institution aggregated between seven and 
eight millions of dollars. 



JOHN M. PALMER.— For over a third 
of a century this gentleman occupied a 
prominent place in the political world, both 
in the state of Illinois and on the broader 
platform of national issues. 

Mr. Palmer was born at Eagle Creek, 
Scott county, Kentucky, September 13, 
1817. The family subsequently removed 
to Christian county, in the same state, where 
he acquired a common-school education, and 
made his home until 1831. His father was 
opposed to slavery, and in the latter year 
removed to Illinois and settled near Alton. 
In 1834 John entered Alton College, or- 
ganized on the manual-labor plan, but his 
funds failing, abandoned it and entered a 
cooper shop. He subsequently was en- 
gaged in peddling, and teaching a district 
school near Canton. In 1838 he began the 
study of law, and the following year re- 
moved to Carlinville, where, in December of 
that year, he was admitted to the bar. He 
was shortly after defeated for county clerk. 
In 1843 he was elected probate judge. In 
the constitutional convention of 1847, Mr. 
Palmer was a delegate, and from 1849 to 



196 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



1851 he was county judge. In 1852 he be- 
came a member of the state senate, but not 
being with his party on the slavery question 
he resigned that office in 1854. In 1856 
Mr. Palmer was chairman of the first Re- 
publican state convention held in Illinois, 
and the same year was a delegate to the 
national convention. In i860 he was an 
elector on the Lincoln ticket, and on the 
breaking out of the war entered the service 
as colonel of the Fourteenth Illinois Infan- 
try, but was shortly after brevetted brigadier- 
general. In August, 1862, he organized 
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illi- 
nois Infantry, but in September he was 
placed in command of the first division of 
the Army of the Mississippi, afterward was 
promoted to the rank of major-general. In 
1865 he was assigned to the military ad- 
ministration in Kentucky. In 1867 General 
Pfllmer was elected governor of Illinois and 
s°rved four years. In 1872 he went with 
the Liberal Republicans, who supported 
Horace Greeley, after which time he was 
identified with the Democratic party. In 
1890 he was elected United States senator 
from Illinois, and served as such for si.x 
years. In 1896, on the adoption of the sil- 
ver plank in the platform of the Democratic 
party, General Palmer consented to lead, 
as presidential candidate, the National Dem- 
oc'-ats, or Gold Democracy. 



WILLIAM H. BEARD, the humorist 
among American painters, was born 
at Painesville, Ohio, in 1821. His father, 
James H. Beard, was also a painter of na- 
tional reputation. William H. Beard be- 
gan his career as a traveling portrait 
painter. He pursued his studies in New 
York, and later removed to Buffalo, where 
he achieved reputation. He then vvfent to 



Italy and after a short stay returned to New 
York and opened a studio. One of his 
earliest paintings was a small picture called 
"Cat and Kittens," which was placed in 
the National Academy on exhibition. Among 
his best productions are "Raining Cats and 
Dogs," "The Dance of Silenus," "Bears 
on a Bender," "Bulls and Bears," " Whoo!" 
" Grimalkin's Dream," " Little Red Riding 
Hood," "The Guardian of the Flag." His 
animal pictures convey the most ludicrous 
and satirical ideas, and the intelligent, 
human ejipression in their faces is most 
comical. Some artists and critics have re- 
fused to give Mr. Beard a place among the 
first circles in art, solelj' on account of the 
class of subjects he has chosen. 



WW. CORCORAN, the noted philan- 
throphist, was born at Georgetown, 
District of Columbia^ December 27, 1798. 
At the age of twenty-five he entered the 
banking business in Washington, and in 
time became very wealthy. He was 
noted for his magnificent donations to char- 
ity. Oak Hill cemetery was donated to 
Georgetown in 1847, and ten years later the 
Corcoran Art Gallery, Temple of Art, was 
presented to the city of Washington. The 
uncompleted building was utilized by the 
government as quartermaster's headquar- 
ters during the war. The building was 
completed after the war at a cost of a mil- 
lion and a half dollars, all the gift of Mr. 
Corcoran. The Louise Home for Women 
is another noble charity to his credit. Its 
object is the care of women of gentle breed- 
ing who in declining years are without 
means of support. In addition to this he 
gave liberally to many worthy institutions 
of learning and charity. He died at Wash- 
ington February 24, 1888. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



197 



ALBERT BIERSTADT, the noted paint- 
er of American landscape, was born in 
Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1829, and was 
brought to America by his parents at the 
age of two 3ears. He received his early 
education here, but returned to Dusseldorf 
to study painting, and also went to Rome. 
On his return to America he accompanied 
Lander's expedition across the continent, in 
185S, and soon after produced his most 
popular work, "The Rocky Mountains — 
Lander's Peak. " Its boldness and grandeur 
were so unusual that it made him famous. 
The picture sold for twenty-five thousand 
dollars. In 1867 Mr. Bierstadt went to 
Europe, with a government commission, 
and gathered materials for his great historic- 
al work, "Discovery of the North River 
by Hendrik Hudson." Others of his great 
works were "Storm in the Rocky Mount- 
ains," " Valley of the Yoscmite," "North 
Fork of the Platte," "Diamond Pool," 
"Mount Hood," "Mount Rosalie," and 
"The Sierra Nevada Mountains." His 
"Estes Park" sold for fifteen thousand 
dollars, and "Mount Rosalie" brought 
thirty-five thousand dollars. His smaller 
Rocky mountain scenes, however, are vast- 
ly superior to his larger works in execution 
and coloring. 

ADDISON CAMMACK, a famous mill- 
ionaire Wall street speculator, was 
born in Kentucky. When sixteen years old 
he ran away from home and went to New 
Orleans, where he went to work in a ship- 
ping house. He outlived and outworked 
all the partners, and became the head of the 
firm before the opening of the war. At 
that time he fitted out small vessels and en- 
gaged in running the blockade of southern 
ports and carrying ammunition, merchan- 
dise, etc., to the southern people. This 



made him a fortune. At the close of the 
war he quit business and went to New 
York. For two years he did not enter any 
active business, but seemed to be simply an 
on-looker in the great speculative center of 
America. He was observing keenly the 
methods and financial machinery, however, 
and when, in 1867, he formed a partnership 
with the popular Charles J. Osborne, the 
firm began to prosper. He never had an 
office on the street, but wandered into the 
various brokers' offices and placed his orders 
as he saw fit. In 1873 he dissolved his 
partnership with Osborne and operated 
alone. He joined a band of speculative 
conspirators known as the "Twenty-third 
party," and was the ruling spirit in that or- 
ganization for the control of the stock mar- 
ket. He was always on the ' ' bear " side and 
the only serious obstacle he ever encoun- 
tered was the persistent boom in industrial 
stocks, particularly sugar, engineered by 
James R. Keane. Mr. Cammack fought 
Keane for two years, and during the time is 
said to have lost no less than two million 
dollars before he abandoned the fight. 



WALT. WHITMAN.— Foremost among 
the lesserpoets of the latter part of the 
nineteenth century, the gentleman whose 
name adorns the head of this article takes 
a conspicuous place. 

W^hitman was born at West Hills, Long 
Island, New York, May 13, 1809. In the 
schools of Brooklyn he laid the foundation 
of his education, and early in life learned the 
printer's trade. For a time he taught coun- 
try schools in his native state. In 1846-7 
he was editor of the " Brooklyn Eagle, " 
but in 1848-9 was on the editorial staff of 
the "Crescent," of New Orleans. He 
made an extended tour throughout the 
United States and Canada, and returned to 



198 



COMPEiVDILLM OF BIOGRAPIir 



Brooklyn, where, in 1850, he published the 
"Freeman. " For some years succeeding 
this he was engaged as carpenter and builder. 
During the Civil war, Whitman acted as 
a volunteer nurse in the hospitals at 
Washington and vicinity and from the close 
of hostilities until 1873 he was employed 
in various clerkships in the government 
offices in the nation's capital. In the latter 
year he was stricken with paralysis as a 
result of his labors in the hospital, it is 
said, and being partially disabled lived for 
many years at Camden, Nevv Jersey. 

The first edition of the work which was 
to bring him fame, "Leaves of Grass," was 
published in 1855 and was but a small 
volume of about ninety-four pages. Seven 
or eight editions of "Leaves of Grass" have 
been issued, each enlarged and enriched with 
new poems. "Drum Taps," at first a 
separate publication, has been incorporated 
with the others. This volume and one 
prose writing entitled "Specimen Days and 
Collect," constituted his whole work. 

Walt. Whitman died at Camden, New 
Jersey, March 26, 1892. 



HENRY DUPONT, who became cele- 
brated as America's greatest manufact- 
urer of gunpowder, was a native of Dela- 
ware, born August 8, 18 12. He received 
his education in its higher branches at the 
United States Military Academy at West 
Point, from which he graduated and entered 
the army as second lieutenant of artillery in 
1833. In 1834 he resigned and became 
proprietor of the extensive gunpowder 
manufacturing plant that bears his name, 
near Wilmington, Delaware. His large 
business interests interfered with his tak- 
ing any active participation in political 
life, although for many years he served 
as adjutant-general of his native state, and 



during the war as major-general command- 
ing the Home Guards. He died August 8, 
1889. His son, Henry A. Dupont, also was 
a native of Delaware, and was born July 30, 
1838. After graduating from West Point 
in 1 86 1, he entered the army as second 
lieutenant of engineers. Shortly after he 
was transferred to the Fifth Artillery as first 
lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank 
of captain in 1864, serving in camp and 
garrison most of the time. He was in com- 
mand of a battery in the campaign of 
1863-4. Aschief of artillery of the army of 
West Virginia, he figured until the close of 
the war, being in the battles of Opequan, 
Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, besides 
many minor engagements. He afterward 
acted as instructor in the artillery school at 
Fortress Monroe, and on special duty at 
West Point. He resigned from the army 
March i, 1875. 



WILLIAM DEERING, one of the fa- 
mous manufacturers of America, and 
also a philanthropist and patron of educa- 
tion, was born in Maine in 1826. His an- 
cestors were English, having settled in New 
England in 1634. Early in life it w as Will- 
iam's intention to become a physician, and 
after completing his common-school educa- 
tion, when about eighteen years of age, he 
began an apprenticeship with a physician. 
A short time later, however, at the request 
of his father, he took charge of his father's 
business interests, which included a woolen 
mill, retail store and grist mill, after which 
he became agent for a dry goods commission 
house in Portland, where he was married. 
Later he became partner in the firm, and 
removed to Nevv York. The business pros- 
pered, and after a number of years, on ac- 
count of fpiling health, Mr. Deering sold his 
interest to his partner, a Mr. Milner. The 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



19& 



business has since made Mr. Milner a mill- 
ionaire many times over. A few years 
later Mr. Deering located in Chicago. His 
beginning in the manufacture of reapers, 
which has since made his name famous, 
was somewhat of an accident. He had 
loaned money to a man in that business, 
and in 1878 was compelled to buy out the 
business to protect his interests. The busi- 
ness developed rapidly and grew to immense 
ptopori ions. The factories now cover sixty- 
two acres fif ground and employ many thou- 
sands of men. 



I 



OHN McAllister schofield, an 

kJ American general, was born in Chautau- 
qua couni:\', New York, September 29, 1831. 
Hegrad'iated at West Point in 1853, and 
was for five years assistant professor of nat- 
ural philosophy in that institution. In 1861 
he entered the volunteer service as major of 
the First Missouri Volunteers, and was ap- 
pointed chief of staff by General Lyon, under 
whom he fought at the battle of Wilson's 
Creek. In November, 1861, he was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and 
was placed in command of the Missouri 
militia until November, 1862, and of the 
army of the frontier from that time until 
1863. In 1862 he was made major-general 
of volunteers, and was placed in command of 
the Department of the Missouri, and in 1864 
of the Department of the Ohio. During the 
campaign through Georgia General Scho- 
field was in command of the Twenty-third 
Army Corps, and was engaged in most of the 
fighting of that famous campaign. Novem- 
ber 30, 1864, he defeated Hood's army at 
Franklin, Tennessee, and then joined Gen- 
eral Thomas at Nashville. He took part in 
the battle of Nashville, where Hood's army 
was destroyed. In January, 1865, he led 
his corps into North Carolina, captured 



Wilmington, fought the battle of Kingston, 
and joined General Sherman at Goldsboro 
March 22, 1865. He executed the details 
of the capitulation of General Johnston to 
Sherman, which practically closed the war. 
In June, 1868, General Schofield suc- 
ceeded Edwin M. Stanton as secretary of 
war, but was the next year appointed major- 
general of the United States army, and order- 
ed to the Department of the Missouri. From 
1870 to 1876 he was in command of the De- 
partment of the Pacific; from 1S76 to 1881 
supermtendent of the West Point Military 
Academy; in 18S3 he was in charge of the 
Department of the Missouri, and in 1886 of 
the division of the Atlantic. In 1888 he 
became general-in-chief of the United States 
army, and in February, 1895, was appoint- 
ed lieutenant-general by President Cleve- 
land, that rank having been revived by con- 
gress. In September, 1895, he was retired 
from active service. 



LEWIS WALLACE, an American gen- 
eral and famous author, was born in 
Brookville, Indiana, April 10, 1827. He 
served in the Mexican war as first lieutenant 
of a company of Indiana Volunteers. After 
his return from Mexico he was admitted to 
the bar, and practiced law in Covington and 
Crawfordsville, Indiana, until 1861. At the 
opening of the war he was appointed ad- 
jutant-general of Indiana, and soon after be- 
came colonel of the Eleventh Indiana Vol- 
unteers. He defeated a force of Confeder- 
ates at Romney, West Virginia, and was 
made brigadier-general in September, 1861. 
At the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862 he 
commanded a division, and was engaged in 
the second day's fight at Shiloh. In 1863 
his defenses about Cincinnati saved that city 
from capture by Kirby Smith. At Monoc- 
acy in July, 1S64, he was defeated, but 



200 



COMPENDlU.^[ OF BIOGRAniT. 



his resistance delayed the advance of Gen- 
eral Early and thus saved Washington from 
capture. 

General Wallace was a member of the 
court that tried the assassins of President 
Lincoln, and also of that before whom Cap- 
tain Henry Wirtz, who had charge of the 
Andersonville prison, was tried. In 1881 
General Wallace was sent as minister to 
Turkey. When not in official service he 
devoted much of his time to literature. 
Among his better known works are his 
"Fair God," "Ben Hur," "Prince of 
India," and a " Life of Benjamin Harrison." 



THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD, an Ameri- 
can statesman and diplomat, was born 
at Wilmington, Delaware, October 29, 1828. 
He obtained his education at an Episcopal 
academy at Flushing, Long Island, and 
after a short service in a mercantile house in 
New York, he returned to Wilmington and 
entered his father's law office to prepare 
himself for the practice of that profession. 
He was admitted to the bar in 185 1. He 
was appointed to the office of United States 
district attorney for the state of Delaware, 
serving one year. In 1869 he was elected to 
the United States senate, and continuously 
represented his state in that body until 1885, 
and in 1881, when Chester A. Arthurentered 
the presidential chair, Mr. Bayard was 
chosen president pro tempore of the senate. 
He had also served on the famous electoral 
commission that decided the Hayes-Tilden 
contest in 1876-7. In 1885 President Cleve- 
land appointed Mr. Bayard secretary of 
state. At the beginning of Cleveland's sec- 
ond term, in 1893, Mr. Bayard was selected 
for the post of ambassador at the court of 
St. James, London, and was the first to hold 
that rank in American diplomacy, serving 
.until the beginning of the McKinley admin- 



istration. The questions for adjustment at 
that time between the two governments 
were the Behring Sea controversy and the 
Venezuelan boundary question. He was 
very popular in England because of his 
tariff views, and because of his criticism of 
the protective policy of the United States 
in his public speeches delivered in London, 
Edinburgh and other places, he received, in 
March, 1896, a vote of censure in the lower 
house of congress. 



TOHN WORK GARRETT, for so many 
<J years at the head of the great Baltimore 
& Ohio railroad system, was born in Balti- 
more, Maryland, July 31, 1820. His father, 
Robert Garrett, an enterprising merchant, 
had amassed a large fortune from a small 
beginning. The son entered Lafayette Col- 
lege in 1834, but left the following year and 
entered his father's counting room, and in 
1839 became a partner. John W. Gar- 
rett took a great interest in the develop- 
ment of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He 
was elected one of the directors in 1857, 
and was its president from 1858 until his 
death. When he took charge of the road 
it was in an embarrassed condition, but 
within a year, for the first time in its exist- 
ence, it paid a dividend, the increase in its 
net gains being $725,385. After the war, 
during which the road suffered much damage 
from the Confederates, numerous branches 
and connecting roads were built or acquired, 
until it reached colossal proportions. Mr. 
Garrett was also active in securing a regular 
line of steamers between Baltimore and 
Bremen, and between the same port and 
Liverpool. He was one of the most active 
trustees -of Johns Hopkins University, and a 
liberal contributor to the Young Men's 
Christian Association of Baltimore. He 
died September 26, 1884. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



201 



Robert Garrett, the son of John W. 
■Garrett, was' born in Baltimore April 9, 
1847, and graduated from Princeton in 1867. 
He received a business education in the 
banking house of his father, and in 1871 
became president of the Valley Railroad of 
Virginia. He was made third vice-presi- 
dent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 
1879, and first vice-president in 1881. He 
succeeded his father as president in 1884. 
Robert Garrett died July 29, 1896. 



CARL SCHURZ, a noted German-Ameri- 
can statesman, was born in Liblar, Prus- 
sia, March 2, 1829. He studied at the Uni- 
versity of Bonn, and in 1849 was engaged in 
an attempt to excite' an insurrection at that 
place. After the surrender of Rastadt by 
the revolutionists, in the defense of which 
Schurz took part, he decided to emigrate to 
America. He resided in Philadelphia three 
years, and then settled in Watertown, Wis- 
consin, and in 1859 removed to Milwaukee, 
where he practiced law. On the organiza- 
tion of the Republican party he became a 
leader of the German element and entered 
the campaign for Lincoln in i860. He was 
appointed minister to Spain in 1861, but re- 
signed in December of that year to enter 
the army. He was appointed brigadier- 
general in 1862, and participated in the 
second battle of Bull Run, and also at 
Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg he had 
temporary command of the Eleventh Army 
Corps, and also took part in the battle of 
Chattanooga. 

After the war he located at St. Louis, 
and in 1869 was elected United States sena- 
tor from Missouri. He supported Horace 
Greeley for the presidency in 1872, and in 
the campaign of 1876, having removed to 
New York, he supported Hayes and the Re- 
publican ticket, and was appointed secre- 



tary of the interior in 1877. In 1881 he 
became editor of the "New York Evening 
Post," and in 1884 was prominent in his 
opposition to James G. Blaine, and became 
a leader of the "Mugwumps," thus assist- 
ing in the election of Cleveland. In the 
presidential campaign of 1896 his forcible 
speeches in the interest of sound money 
wielded an immense influence. Mr. Schurz 
wrote a " Life of Henry Clay," said to be 
the best biography ever published of that 
eminent statesman. 



GEORGE F. EDMUNDS, an American 
statesman of national reputation, was 
born in Richmond, Vermont, February i, 
1828. His education was obtained in the 
public schools and from the instructions of 
a private tutor. He was admitted to the 
bar, practiced law, and served in the state 
legislature from 1854 to 1859, during three 
years of that time being speaker of the lower 
house. He was elected to the state senate 
and acted as president pro tempore of that 
body in 1861 and 1862. He became promi- 
nent for his activity in the impeachment 
proceedings against President Johnson, and 
was appointed to the United States senate 
to fill out the une.xpired term of Solomon 
Foot, entering that body in 1866. He was 
re-elected to the senate four times, and 
served on the electoral commission in 1S77. 
He became president pro tempore of the 
senate after the death of President Garfield, 
and was the author of the bill which put an 
end to the practice of polygamy in the ter- 
ritory of Utah. In November, 1891, owing 
to impaired health, he retired from the sen- 
ate and again resumed the practice of law. 



LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR, a prominent 
political leader, statesman and jurist, 
was born in Putnam county, Georgia, Sep- 



202 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



temberi7, 1S25. He graduated from Emory 
College in 1845, studied law at Macon under 
Hon. A. H. Chappell, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1847. He moved to Oxford, 
Mississippi, in 1849, and was elected to a 
professorship in the State University. He 
resigned the next year and returned to Cov- 
ington, Georgia, and resumed the practice 
of law. In 1853 he was elected to the 
Georgia Legislature, and in 1 854 he removed 
to his plantation in Lafayette county, Mis- 
sissippi, and was elected to represent his 
district in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth 
congresses. He resigned in i860, and was 
sent as a delegate to the secession conven- 
tion of the state. He entered the Confed- 
erate service in 1861 as lieutenant-colonel 
of the Nineteenth Regiment, and was soon 
after made colonel. Li 1863 President 
Davis appointed him to an important diplo- 
matic mission to Russia. In 1866 he was 
elected professor of political economy and 
social science in the State University, and 
was soon afterward transferred to the pro- 
fessorship of the law department. He rep- 
resented his district in the forty-third and 
forty-fourth congresses, and was elected 
United States senator from Mississippi in 
1877, and re-elected in 18S2. In 18S5, be- 
fore the expiration of his term, he was 
appointed by President Cleveland as secre- 
tary of the interior, which position he held 
until his appointment as associate justice of 
the United States supreme court, in 1888, 
in which capacity he served until his death, 
January 23, 1894. 



BENJAMIN PENHALLOW SHILLA- 
BER won fame in the world of 
humorists under the name of "Mrs. Parting- 
ton." He was born in 1841 at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and started out in life as a 
printer. Mr. Shillaber went to Dover, 



where he secured employment in a printing 
office, and from there he went to Demerara, 
Guiana, where he was employed as a com- 
positor in 1835-37. In 1840 he became 
connected with the "Boston Post," and 
acquired quite a reputation as a humorist 
by his "Sayings of Mrs. Partington." He 
remained as editor of the paper until 1850, 
when he printed and edited a paper of his 
own called the "Pathfinder," which he con- 
tinued until 1852. Mr. Shillaber be- 
came editor and proprietor of the "Carpet 
Bag," which he conducted during 1850-52, 
and then returned to the "Boston Post," 
with which he was connected until 1856. 
During the same time he was one of the 
editors of the "Saturday Evening Gazette," 
and continued in this line after he severed 
his connection with the "Post," for ten 
years. After 1866 Mr. Shillaber wrote for 
various newspapers and periodicals, and 
during his life published the following 
books: "Rhymes with Reason and Without," 
"Poems," "Life and Sayings of Mrs. Part- 
ington," "Knitting Work," and others. 
His death occurred at Chelsea, Massachu- 
setts, November 25, 1890. 



EASTMAN JOHNSON stands first among 
painters of American country life. He- 
was born in Lovell, Maine, in 1824, and be- 
gan his work in drawing at the age of eight- 
een years. His first works were portraits, 
and, as he took up his residence in Wash- 
ington, the most famous men of the nation 
were his subjects. In 1 846 he went to Bos- 
ton, and there made crayon portraits of 
Longfellow, Emerson, Sumner, Hawthorne 
and other noted men. In 1849 he went to 
Europe. He studied at Dusseldorf, Ger- 
many; spent a year at the Royal Academy, 
and thence to The Hague, where he spent 
four years, producing there his first pictures^ 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



208 



of consequence, "The Card-Players " and 
"The Savoyard." He then went to Paris, 
but was called home, after an absence from 
America of six years. He lived some time 
in Washington, and then spent two years 
among the Indians of Lake Superior. In 
1858 he produced his famous picture, "The 
Old Kentucky Home." He took up his 
permanent residence at New York at that 
time. His " Sunday Morning in Virginia " 
is a work of equal merit. He was espe- 
cially successful in coloring, a master of 
drawing, and the expression conveys with 
precision the thought of the artist. His 
portrayal of family life and child life is un- 
equalled. Among his other great works are 
"The Confab," "Crossing a Stream,' 
"Chimney Sweep," "Old Stage Coach," 
" The New Bonnet," " The Drummer Boy," 
" Childhood of Lincoln," and a great vari- 
ety of equally familiar subjects. 



PIERCE GUSTAVE TOUTANT BEAU- 
REGARD, one of the most distin- 
guished generals in the Confederate army, 
was born near New Orleans, Louisiana, 
May 28, 1 8 18. He graduated from West 
Point Military Academy in 1838, and v/as 
made second lieutenant of engineers. He 
was with General Scott in Mexico, and dis- 
tinguished himself at Vera Cruz, Cerro 
Gordo, and the battles near the City of 
Mexico, for which he was twice brevetted. 
After the Mexican war closed he was placed 
in charge of defenses about New Orleans, 
and in i860 was appointed superintendent 
of the United States Military Academy at 
West Point. He held this positi(jn but a 
few months, when he resigned February 20, 
1 861, and accepted a commission of briga- 
dier-general in the Confederate army. He 
directed the attack on Fort Sumter, the 
first engagement of the Civil war. He was 



in command of the Confederates at the first 
battle of Bull Run, and for this victory was 
made general. In 1S62 he was placed in 
command of the Army of the Mississippi, 
and planned the attack upon General Grant 
at Shiloh, and upon the death of General 
Johnston he took cominand of the army 
and was only defeated by the timely arrival 
of General Buell with reinforcements. He 
commanded at Charleston and successfully 
defended that city against the combined at- 
tack by land and sea in 1863. In 1864 he 
was in command in Virginia, defeating Gen- 
eral Butler, and resisting Grant's attack 
upon Petersburg until reinforced from Rich- 
mond. During the long siege which fol- 
lowed he was sent to check General Sher- 
man's march to the sea, and was with Gen- 
eral Joseph E. Johnston when that general 
surrendered in 1865. After the close of the 
war he was largely interested in railroad 
management. In 1866 he was offered chief 
command of the Army of Roumania, and in 
1869, that of the Army of Egypt. He de- 
clined these offers. His death occurred 
February 20, 1893. 



HENRY GEORGE, one of America's, 
most celebrated political economists, 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
September 2, 1839. He received acommon- 
school education and entered the high, 
school in 1853, and then went into a mer- 
cantile office. He made several voyages on 
the sea, and settled in California in 1858. 
He tlien worked at the printer's trade for a 
number of years, which he left to follow the 
editorial profession. He edited in succession 
several daily newspapers, and attracted at- 
tention by a number of strong essays and 
speeches on political and social questions. 
In 1 87 1 he edited a pamphlet, entitled ' ' Our 
Land and Policy," in which he outlined a 



:204 



COMPENDIUM OF B lOGRAP III'. 



theory, which has since made him so widely 
known. This was developed iti " Progress 
and Poverty," a book which soon attained a 
large circulation on both sides of tlie Atlan- 
tic, which has been extensively translated. 
In 1880 Mr. George located in New York, 
where he made his home, though he fre- 
quently addressed audiences in Great Britain, 
Ireland, Australia, and throughout the 
United States. In 1886 he was nominated 
by the labor organizations for nia3'or of New 
York, and made a campaign notable for its 
development of unexpectedpower. In 1887 he 
was candidate of the Union Labor party for 
secretary of state of New York. These cam- 
paigns served to formulate the idea of a single 
tax and popularize the Australian ballot sys- 
tem. Mr. George became a free trader in 
1 888, and in 1892 supported the election of 
Grover Cleveland. His political and eco- 
nomic ideas, known as the "single tax," 
have a large and growing support, but are 
not confined to this country alone. He 
wrote numerous miscellaneous articles in 
support of his principles, and also published: 
"The Land Question," " Social Problems," 
"Protection or Free Trade," "The Condi- 
tion of Labor, an Open Letter to Pope Leo 
XIII.," and " Perplexed Philosopher." 



THOMAS ALEXANDER SCOTT. —This 
name is indissolubly connected with 
the history and development of the railway 
systems of the United States. Mr. Scott 
-was born December 28, 1823, at London, 
Franklin county, Pennsylvania. He was first 
regularly employed by Major James Patton, 
the collector of tolls on the state road be- 
tween Philadelphia and Columbia, Penn- 
sylvania. He entered into the employ of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1850, 
and went through all the different branches 
of work until he had mastered all the details 



of the office work, and in 1858 he was ap- 
pointed general superintendent. Mr. Scott 
was the next year chosen vice-president of 
the road. This position at once brought 
liim before the public, and the enterprise 
and ability displayed by him in its manage- 
m.ent marked him as a leader among the 
railroad men of the country. At the out- 
break of the rebellion in 1S61, Mr. Scott 
was selected by Governor Curtin as a mem- 
ber of his staff, and placed in charge of the 
equipment and forwarding of the state troops 
to the seat of war. On April 27, 1861, the 
secretary of war desired to establish a new 
line of road between the national capital 
and Philadelphia, for the more expeditious 
transportation of troops. He called upon 
Mr. Scott to direct this work, and the road 
by the way of Annapolis and Perry ville was 
completed in a marvelously short space of 
time. On May 3, 1861, he was commis- 
sioned colonel of volunteers, and on the 23d 
of the same month the government railroads 
and telegrapli lines were placed in his charge. 
Mr. Scott was the first assistant secretary 
of war ever appointed, and he took charge 
of this new post August i, 1861. In Janu- 
ary, 1S62, he was directed to organize 
transportation in the northwest, and in 
March he performed the same ser\ ice on 
the western rivers. He resigned June i, 
1862, and resumed his direction of affairs on 
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Colonel Scott 
directed the policy that secured to his road 
the control of the western roads, and be- 
came the president of the new company to 
operate these lines in 1871. For one year, 
from March, 1871, he was president of the 
Union Pacific Railroad, and m 1874 he suc- 
ceeded to the presidency of the Pennsyl- 
vania Company. He projected the Texas 
Pacific Railroad and was for many years its 
president. Colonel Scott's health failed 



COMPEXDIL-M OF JlIOGRArHT. 



205. 



him and he resigned the presidenc}- of the 
road June I, 1880, and died at hLs home in 
D.rby, Pennsylvania, May 2 i, 1881. 



ROBERT TOOMBS, an American states- 
man of note, was born in Wilkes coun- 
ty. Georgia, July 2, 18 io. He attended 
the University of Georgia, and graduated 
from Union College, Schenectady, New 
York, and then took a law^ course at the 
University of Virginia. In 1830, before he 
Lad attained his majority, he was admitted 
to the bar by special act of the legislature, 
and rose rapidly in his profession, attracting 
the attention of the leading statesmen and 
judges of that time. He raised a volunteer 
company for the Creek war, and served as 
captain to the close. He was elected to the 
state legislature in 1837, re-elected in 1842, 
and in 1S44 was elected to congress. He 
had been brought up as a Jeffersonian 
Democrat, but voted for Harrison in 1840 
and for Clay in 1844. He made his first 
speerh in congress on the Oregon question, 
and immediately took rank with the greatest 
debaters of that body. In 1853 he was 
ekcted to the United States senate, and 
again in 1859, but when his native state 
seceded he resigntd his seat in the senate 
and was elected to the Confederate con- 
gress. It is ."itatcd on the best authority 
that had it i;ot been for a misunderstanding 
v/hich could not be explained till too late he 
would have been elected president of the 
Confederacy. He was appointed secretary 
of state by President Davis, but resigned 
after a few months and was commissioned 
brigadier-general in the Confederate army. 
He won distinction at the second battle of 
Bull Run and at Sharpsburg, but resigned 
liis commission soon after and returned to 
Georgia. He organized the militia of 
Georgia to resist Sherman, and was made 



brigadier-general of the state troops. He 
left the country at the close of the war and 
did not return until 1S67. He died Decem- 
ber 15, 1885. 

AUSTIN CORBIN, one of the greatest 
railway magnates of the United States, 
was born July 11, 1827, at Newport, New 
Hampshire. He studied law with Chief 
Justice Gushing and Governor Ralph Met- 
calf, and later took a course in the Harvurd 
Law School, where he graduated in 1849. 
He was admitted to the bar, and practiced 
law, with Governor Mctcalf as his partner, 
until October 12, 1851. Mr. Corbin then 
removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he re- 
mained until 1865. In 1854 he was a part- 
ner in the banking firm of Macklot & Cor- 
bin, and later he prganized the First Na- 
tional bank of Davenport, Iowa, which 
commenced business June 29, 1863, and 
which was the first national bank op n for 
business in the United States. Mr. Corbin 
sold out his business in the Davenport bank, 
and removed to New York in 1 865 and com- 
menced business with partners under the 
style of Corbin Banking Company. Soon 
after his removal to New York h^; became 
interested in railroads, and became one of 
the leading railroad men of the country. 
The development of the west half of Coney 
Islanel as a summer resort first brought him 
into general prominence. He built a rail- 
road from New York to the island, ai;d 
built great hotels on its ocean front. He 
next turned his attention to Long Island, 
and secured all the railroads and consoli- 
dated them under one management, became 
president of the system, and under his con- 
trol Long Island became the great ocean 
suburb of New York. His latest public 
achievement was the rehabilitation of the 
Reading Railroad, of Pennsylvania, and 



20G 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHl'. 



during the same time he and his friends 
purchased the controlling interest of the 
New Jersey Central Railroad. He took it 
out of the hands of the receiver, and in 
three years had it on a dividend-pa3'ing 
basis. Mr. Corbin's death occurred June 
4, 1896. 

JAMES GORDON BENNETT, Sr. , 
was one of the greatest journalists of 
America in his day. He was born Septem- 
ber I, 1795, at New Mill, near Iveith, Scot- 
land. At the age of fourteen he was sent 
to Aberdeen to study for the priesthood, 
but, convinced that he was mistaken in his 
vocation, he determined to emigrate. He 
landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1S19, 
where he attempted to earn a living by 
teaching bookkeeping. .Failing in this he 
went to Boston and found employment as a 
proof reader. Mr. Bennett went to New 
York about 1822 and wrote for the news- 
papers. Later on he became assistant 
editor in the office of the "Charleston 
Courier, "but returned to New York in 1824 
and endeavored to start a commercial 
school, but was unsuccessful in this, and 
again returned to newspaper work. He 
continued in newspaper work with varying 
success until, at his suggestion, the "En- 
quirer" was consolidated with another 
paper, and became the "Courier and En- 
quirer," with James Watson Webb as 
editor and Mr. Bennett for assistant. At 
this time this was the leading American 
newspaper. He, however, severed his con- 
nection with this newspaper and tried, 
without success, other ventures in the line 
of journalism until May 6, 1835, when he 
issued the first number of the "New York 
Herald." Mr. Bennett wrote the entire 
paper, and made up for lack of news by his 
own imagination. The paper became popu- 



lar, and in 1838 he engaged European jour- 
nalists as regular correspondents. In 1841 
the income derived from his paper was at 
least one hundred thousand dollars. Dur- 
ing the Civil war the " Herald " had on its 
staff sixty-three war correspondents and the 
circulation was doubled. Mr. Bennett was 
interested with John W. Mackay in that great 
enterprise which is now known as the Mac- 
kay-Bennett Cable. He had collected for use 
in his paper over fifty thousand biographies, 
sketches and all manner of information re- 
garding every well-known man, which are 
still kept in the archives of the "Herald" 
office. He died in the city of New York in 
1872, and left to his son, James Gordon, 
Jr., one of the greatest and most profitable 
journals in the United States, or even in the 
world. 

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, a 
noted American, won distinction in the 
field of literature, in which he attained a 
world-wide reputation. He was born at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 29, 1809. 
He received a collegiate education and grad- 
uated from Harvard in 1829, at the age of 
twenty, and took up the study of law and 
later studied medicine. Dr. Holmes at- 
tended several years in the hospitals of 
Europe and received his degree in 1836. 
He became professor of anatomy and phys- 
iology in Dartmouth in 1838, and re- 
mained there until 1847, when he was 
called to the Massachusetts Medical School 
at Boston to occupy the same chair, which 
position he resigned in 1882. The first 
collected edition of his poems appeared in 
1836, and his "Phi Beta Kappa Poems," 
"Poetry," in 1836; "Terpsichore," in 1843; 
"Urania," in 1846, and "Astraea," won for 
him many fresh laurels. His series of 
papers in the "Atlantic Moi:thly," were: 



COMPENDIUM OF BTOGRAPHT. 



207 



"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," "Pro- 
fessor at the Breakfast Table, " "Poet at 
the Breakfast Table," and are a series of 
masterly wit, humor and pathos. Among 
his medical papers and addresses, are: "Cur- 
rents and Counter-currents in the Medical 
Science," and "Borderland in Some Prov- 
inces of Medical Science." Mr. Holmes 
edited quite a number of works, of which 
we quote the following: "Else Venner," 
"Songs in Many Keys," "Soundings from 
the Atlantic," "Humorous Poems," "The 
Guardian Angel," "Mechanism in Thoughts 
ar.d Morals," "Songs of Many Seasons," 
"John L. Motley" — a memoir, "The Iron 
Gate and Other Poems," "Ralph Waldo 
Emerson," "A Moral Antipathy." Dr. 
Holmes visited England for the second time, 
and while there the degree of LL. D. 
was conferred upon him by the University 
of Edinburgh. His death occurred October 
7. 1894. 

RUFUS CHOATE, one of the most em- 
inent of America's great lawyers, was 
born October i, 1799, at Essex, Massachu- 
setts. He entered Dartmouth in iSf5, 
and after taking his degree he remained as 
a teacher in the college for one year. He 
took up the study of lav/ in Cambridge, and 
subsequently studied under the distinguished 
lavvjer, Mr. Wirt, who was then United 
States attorney-general at Washington. Mr. 
Choatcbegan the practice of lav/ in Danvers, 
Massachusetts, and from there he went to 
Salem, and afterwards to Boston, Massa- 
chusetts. While living at Salem he was 
elected to congress in 1832, and later, in 
1 841, he was chosen United States senator 
to succeed Daniel Webster, Mr. Webster 
having been appointed secretary of state 
under William Henry Harrison. 

After the death of Webster, Mr. Choate 



was the acknowledged leader of the Massa- 
chusetts bar, and was looked upon by the 
younger members of the profession with an 
affection that almost amounted to a rever- 
ence. Mr. Choate's powers as an orator 
were of the rarest order, and his genius 
made it possible for him to enchant and in- 
terest his listeners, even while discussing the 
most ordinary theme. He was not merely 
eloquent on the subjects that were calculated 
to touch the feelings and stir the passions 
of his audience in themselves, but could at 
all times command their attention. He re- 
tired from active life in 1858, and was on 
his way to Europe, his physician having 
ordered a sea voyage for his health, but had 
only reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, when 
he died, July 13, 1858. 



D WIGHT L. MOODY, one of the most 
noted and effective pulpit orators and 
evangelists America has produced, was born 
in Northfield, Franklin county, Massachu- 
setts, February 5, 1837. He received but 
a meager education and worked on a farm 
until seventeen years of age, when he be- 
came clerk in a boot and shoe store in 
Boston. Soon after this he joined the Con- 
gregational church and went to Chicago, 
where he zealously engaged in missionary 
work among the poor classes. He met 
with great success, and in less than a year 
he built up a Sunday-school which numbered 
over one thousand children. When the 
war broke out he became connected with 
what was known as the "Christian Com- 
mission," and later became city missionary 
of the Young Men's Christian Association at 
Chicago. A church was built there for his 
converts and he became its unordainad pas- 
tor. In the Chicago fire of 1871 the church 
and iilr. Moody's house and furniture, which 
had been given him, were destroyed. The 



208 



COMI'EXniL'M OF BIOGRAPHT. 



church edifice was afterward replaced by a 
new church erected on the site of the old 
one. In 1873, accompanied by Ira D. 
Sankey, Mr. Moody went to Europe and 
excited great religious awakenings through- 
out England, Ireland and Scotland. In 
1875 they returned to America and held 
large meetings in various cities. They 
afterward made another visit to Great 
Britain for the same purpose, meeting with 
great success, returning to the United States 
in 1884. Mr. Moody afterward continued 
his evangelistic work, meeting everywhere 
with a warm reception and success. Mr. 
Moody produced a number of works, some 
of which had a wide circulation. 



JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN, a financier 
of world-wide reputation, and famous 
as the head of one of the largest banking 
houses in the world, was born April 17, 
1837, at Hartford, Connecticut. He re- 
ceived his early education in the English 
high school, in Boston, and later supple- 
mented this with a course in the University 
of Gsttingen, Germany. He returned to 
the United States, in 1857, and entered the 
banking firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co., 
of New York, and, in i860, he became 
agent and attorney, in the United States, for 
George Peabody & Co., of London. He 
became the junior partner in the banking 
firm of Dabney, Morgan & Co., in 1864, 
and that of Drexel, Morgan & Co., in 1871. 
This house was among the chief negotiators 
of railroad bonds, and was active in the re- 
organization of the West Shore Railroad, 
and its absorption by the New York Central 
Railroad. It was conspicuous in the re- 
organization of the Philadelphia & Read- 
ing Railroad, in 1887, which a syndicate of 
capitalists, formed by Mr. Morgan, placed 
on a sound financial basis. After that time 



many other lines of railroad and gigantic 
financial enterprises were brought under Mr. 
Morgan's control, and in some respects it 
maybe said he became the foremost financier 
of the century. 



THOMAS BRACIvETT REED, one of 
the most eminent of American states- 
men, was born October 18, 1839, at Port- 
land, Maine, where he received his early 
education in the common schools of the 
city, and prepared himself for college. Mr. 
Reed graduated from Bowdoin College in 
i860, and won one of the highest honors of 
the college, the prize for excellence in Eng- 
lish com.position. The following four years 
were spent by him in teacliing and in the 
study of law. Before his admission to the 
bar, however, he was acting assistant pay- 
master in the United States navy, and 
served on the "tin-clad" Sybil, which pa- 
trolled the Tennessee, Cumberland and 
Mississippi rivers. After his discharge in 
1865, he returned to Portland, was admit- 
ted to the bar, and began the practice of his 
profession. He entered into political life, 
and in 1 863 was elected to the legislature 
of Maine as a Republican, and in 1869 he 
was re-elected to the house, and in 1870 
was made state senator, from which he 
passed to attorney-general of the state. 
He retired from this oi'fice in 1873, and 
until 1877 he was solicitor for the city 
of Portland. In 1876 he was elected to 
the forty-fifth congress, which assembled 
in 1877. Mr. Reed sprung into prominence 
in that body by one of the first speeches 
which he delivered, and his long service in 
congress, coupled with his ability, gave liiin 
a national reputation. His influence each 
year became more strongly marked, and the 
leadership of \\\.i party was finally conceded 
to him, and in the foity-ninth and fiftietli 



COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAriir. 



209 



congresses the complimentary nomination 
for the speakership was tendered him by the 
Republicans. That party having obtained 
the ascendency in the fifty-first congress he 
was elected speaker on the first ballot, and 
he was again chosen speaker of the fifty- 
fourth and fifth-fifth congresses. As a 
writer, Mr. Reed contributed largely to the 
magazines and periodicals, and his book 
upon parliamentary rules is generally rec- 
ognized as authority on that subject. 



CLARA BARTON is a celebrated char- 
acter among what might be termed as 
the highest grade of philanthropists Amer- 
ica has produced. She was born on a farm 
at Oxford, Massachusetts, a daughter of 
Captain Stephen Barton, and was educated 
at Clinton, New York. She engaged in 
teaching early in life, and founded a free 
school at Bordentown, the first in New Jer- 
sey. She opened with si.\ pupils, but the 
attendance had grown to six hundred up to 
1854, when she went to Washington. She 
was appointed clerk in the patent depart- 
ment, and remained there until the out- 
break of the Civil war, when she resigned 
her position and devoted herself to the al- 
leviation of the sufferings of the soldiers, 
serving, not in the hospitals, but on the bat- 
tle field. She was present at a number of 
battles, and after the war closed she origi- 
nated, and for some time carried on at her 
own expense, the search for missing soldiers. 
She then for several years devoted her time 
to lecturing on "Incidents of the War." 
About 1868 she went to Europe for her 
health, and settled in Switzerland, but on the 
outbreak of the Franco-German war she ac- 
cepted the invitation of the grand duchess 
of Baden to aid in the establishment of her 
hospitals, and Miss Barton afterward fol- 
lowed the German army She was deco- 



rated with the golden cross by the grand 
duke of Baden, and with the iron cross by 
the emperor of Germany. She also served 
for many years as president of the famous 
Red Cross Society and attained a world- 
wide reputation. 



CARDINAL JAMES GIBBONS, one of 
the most eminent Catholic clergymen 
in America, was born in Baltimore, Mary- 
land, July 23, 1834. He was given a 
thorough education, graduated at St. Charles 
College, Maryland, in 1857, and studied 
theology in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, 
Maryland. In 1S61 he became pastor of 
St. Bridget's church in Baltimore, and in 
1868 was consecrated vicar apostolic of 
North Carolina. In 1872 our subject be- 
came bishop of Richmond, Virginia, and 
five years later was made archbishop of Bal- 
timore. On the 30th of June, 1886, he 
was admitted to the full degree of cardinal 
and primate of the American Catholic 
church. He was a fluent writer, and his 
book, ''Faith of Our Fathers," had a wide 
circulation. 

CHAUNCEY MITCHELL DEPEW.— 
This name is, without doubt, one of 
the most widely known in the United States. 
Mr. Depew was born April 23, 1834, at 
Peekskill, New York, the home of the Depew 
family for two hundred years. He attended 
the common schools of his native place, 
where he prepared himself to enter college. 
He began his collegiate course at Yale at 
the age of eighteen and graduated in 1856. 
He early took an active interest in politics 
and joined the Republican party at its for- 
mation. He then took up the study of law 
and went into the office of the Hon. Will- 
iam Nelson, of Peekskill, for that purpose, 
and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar. 



210 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



He was sent as a delegate by the new party 
to tlie Republican state convention of that 
year. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion in 1859, but though he was a good 
■Vv-orker, his attention was detracted by the 
campaign of i860, in which he took an act- 
ive part. During this campaign he gained 
his first laurels as a public speaker. Mr. 
Depew was elected assemblyman in 1862 
from a Democratic district. In 1863 he se- 
cured the nomination for secretary of state, 
and gained that post by a majority of thirty 
thousand. In 1866 he left the field of pol- 
itics and entered into the active practice 
of his law business as attorney for the 
New York & Harlem Railroad Company, 
and in 1869 when this road was consoli- 
dated with the New York Central, and 
called the New York Central & Hudson 
River Railroad, he was appointed the attor- 
ney for the new road. His rise in the rail- 
road business was rapid, and ten years after 
his entrance into the Vanderbilt system as 
attorney for a single line, he was the gen- 
eral counsel for one of the largest railroad 
systems in the world. He was also a 
<lirector in the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern, Michigan Central, Chicago & 
Northwestern, St. Paul & Omaha, West 
■Shore, and Nickel Plate railroad companies. 
In 1874 Mr. Depew was made regent of 
the State University, and a member of the 
commission appointed to superintend the 
erection of the capitol at Albany. In 1882, 
•on the resignation of W. H. Vanderbilt 
from the presidency of the Nev/ York Cen- 
tral and the accession to that office by 
James H. Rutter, Mr. Depew was made 
second vice-president, and held that posi- 
tion until the death of Mr. Rutter in 1885. 
In this year Mr. Depew became the execu- 
tive head of this great corporation. Mr. 
Depew's greatest fame grew from his ability 



and eloquence as an orator and " after-din- 
ner speaker," and it has been said by emi- 
nent critics that this country has never pro- 
duced his equal in wit, fluency and eloquence. 



PHILIP KEARNEY.— Among the most 
dashing and brilliant commanders in 
the United States service, few have outshone 
the talented officer whose name heads this 
sketch. He was born in New York City, 
June 2, 181 5, and was of Irish ancestry and 
imbued with all the dash and bravery of the 
Celtic race. He graduated from Columbia 
College and studied law, but in 1837 ac- 
cepted a commission as lieutenant in the 
First United States Dragoons, of which his 
uncle, Stephen W. Kearney, was tlien colo- 
nel. He was sent by the government, 
soon after, to Europe to examine and report 
upon the tactics of the French cavalry. 
There he attended the Polytechnic School, 
at Samur, and subsequently served as a vol- 
unteer in Algiers, winning the cross of the 
Legion of Honor. He returned to the 
United States in 1840, and on the staff of 
General Scott, in the Mexican war, served 
with great gallantry. He was made a cap- 
tain of dragoons in 1846 and made major 
for services at Contreras and Cherubusco. 
In the final assault on the City of Mexico 
at the San Antonio Gate, Kearney lost an 
arm. He subsequently served in California 
and the Pacific coast. In 185 i he resigned 
his commission and went to Europe, where 
he resumed his military studies. In the 
Italian war, in 1859, he served as a volun- 
teer on the staf? of General Maurier, of the 
French army, and took part in the battles 
of Solferino and Magenta, and for bravery 
was, for the second time, decorated with 
the cross of the Legion of Honor. On the 
opening of the Civil war he hastened home, 
and, offering his services to the general gov- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArUT. 



211 



ernrrent, was made brigadier-general of 
volunteers and placed in command of a bri- 
gade of New Jersey troops. In the cam- 
paign under McClellan he commanded a di- 
vision, and at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks 
his services were valuable and brilliant, as 
v/ell as in subsequent engagements. At 
Harrison's Landing he was made major-gen- 
eral of volunteers. In the second battle of 
Bull Run he was conspicuous, and at the 
battle of Chantilly, September i, 1862, 
while leading in advance of his troops, Gen- 
eral Kearney was shot and killed. 



RUSSELL SAGE, one of the financial 
giants of the present century and for 
more than an average generation one of the 
most conspicuous and celebrated of Ameri- 
cans, \\as born in a frontier hamlet in cen- 
tral New York in August, 1816. While Rus- 
sell was still a boy an elder brother, Henry 
Risley Sage, established a small grocery 
store at Troy, New York, and here Russell 
found his first employment, as errand boy. 
He served a five-years apprenticeship, and 
then joined another brother, Elisha M. Sage, 
in a pew venture in the same line, which 
proved profitable, at least for Russell, who 
soon became its sole owner. Next he 
formed the partnership of Sage & Bates, 
and greatly extended his field of operations. 
At twenty-five he had, by his own exertions, 
amassed what was, in those days, a consid- 
erable fortune, being worth about seventy- 
five thousand dollars. He had acquired an 
influence in local politics, and four years 
later his party, the Whigs, elected him to 
the aldermanic board of Troy and to the 
treasuryship of Rensselaer county. In 1 848 
he was a prominent member of the New 
York delegation to the Whig convention at 
Philadelphia, casting his first votes for Henry 
Clay, but joining the "stampede" which 



nominated Zachary Taylor. In 1850 the 
Whigs of Troy nominated him for congress, 
but he was not elected — a failure which he 
retrieved two years later, and in 1854 he 
was re-elected by a sweeping majority. At 
Washington he ranked high in influence and 
ability. Fame as a speaker and as a polit- 
ical leader was within his grasp, when he 
gave up public life, declined a renomination 
to congress, and went back to Troy to de- 
vote himself to his private business. Six - 
years later, in 1863, he removed to New 
York and plunged into the arena of Wall 
street. A man of boundless energy and 
tireless pertinacit}', with wonderful judg- 
ment of men and things, he soon took his 
place as a king in finance, and, it is said, 
during the latter part of his life he con- 
trolled more ready money than any other 
single individual on this continent. 



ROGER QUARLES MILLS, a noted 
United States senator and famous as the 
father of' the "Mills tariff bill, " was bora 
in Todd county, Kentucky, March 30, 1832. 
He received a liberal education in the com- 
mon schools, and removed to Palestine, 
Texas, in 1849. He took up the study of 
law, and supported himself by serving as an 
assistant in the post-office, and in the offices 
of the court clerks. In 1850 he was elected 
engrossing clerk of the Texas house of rep- 
resentatives, and in 1852 was admitted to 
the bar, while still a minor, by special act 
of the legislature. He then settled at Cor- 
sicana, Texas, and began the active prac- 
tice of his profession. He was elected to 
the state legislature in 1859, and in 1872 he 
was elected to congress from the state at 
large, as a Democrat. After his first elec- 
tion he was continuously returned to con- 
gress until he resigned to accept the posi- 
tion of United States senator, to which he 



212 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT. 



was elected March 23, 1892, to succeed 
Hon. Horace Chilton. He took liis seat in 
the senate March 30, 1892; was afterward 
re-elected and ranked among the most use- 
ful and prominent members of that body. 
In 1876 he opposed the creation of the elec- 
toral commission, and in 1887 canvassed 
the state of Texas against the adoption of 
a prohibition amendment to its constitution, 
which was defeated. He introduced into 
the house of representatives the bill that was 
known as the "Mills Bill," reducing duties 
on imports, and extending the free list. 
The bill passed the house on July 21, 1888, 
and made the name of "Mills" famous 
throughout the entire country. 



HAZEN S. PINGREE, the celebrated 
Michigan political leader, was born in 
Maine in 1842. Up to fourteen years of 
age he worked hard on the stony ground of 
his father's small farm. Attending school 
in the winter, he gained a fair education, 
and when not laboring on the farm, he 
found employment in the cotton mills in the 
vicinity. He resolved to find more steady 
work, and accordingly went to Hopkinton, 
Massachusetts, where he entered a shoe fac- 
tory, but on the outbreak of the war he en- 
listed at once and was enrolled in the First 
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He partici- 
pated in the battle of Bull Run, which was 
his initial fight, and served creditably his 
early term of service, at the expiration of 
which he re-enlisted. He fought in the 
battles of Fredricksburg, Harris Farm, 
Spottsylvania Court House and Cold Har- 
bor In 1864 he was captured by Mosby, 
and spent five months at AndersonvilJe, 
Georgia, as a prisoner, but escaped at the 
end of that time. He re-entered the service 
and participated in the battles of Fort 
Fisher, Boyden, and Sailor's Creek. He 



was honorably mustered out of service, and 
in 1866 went to Detroit, Michigan, where 
he made use of his former experience in a 
shoe factory, and found work. Later he 
formed a partnership with another workman 
and started a small factory, which has since 
become a large establishment. Mr. Pin- 
gree made his entrance into politics in 1889, 
in which year he was elected by a surpris- 
ingly large majority as a Republican to the 
mayoralty of Detroit, in which office he was 
the incumbent during four consecutive terms. 
In November, 1896, he was elected gov- 
ernor of the state of Michigan. While 
mayor of Detroit, Mr. Pingree originated 
and put into execution the idea of allowing 
the poor people of the city the use of va- 
cant city lands and lots for the purpose of 
raising potatoes. The idea was enthusiast- 
ically adopted by thousands of poor families, 
attracted wide attention, and gave its author 
a national reputation as "Potato-patch Pin- 
gree." 

THOMAS ANDREW HENDRICKS, an 
eminent American statesman and a 
Democratic politician of national fame, was 
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, Septem- 
ber 7, 18 19. In 1822 he removed, with his 
father, to Shelby county, Indiana. He 
graduated from the South Hanover College 
in 1 841, and two years later was admitted 
to the bar. In 1851 he was chosen a mem- 
ber of the state constitutional convention, 
and took a leading part in the deliberations 
of that body. He was elected to congress 
in 1851, and after serving two terms was 
appointed commissioner of the United States 
general land-office. In 1863 he was elected 
to the United States senate, where his dis- 
tinguished services commanded the respect 
of all parties. He was elected governor of 
Indiana in 1872, serving four years, and in 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



218 



1876 was nominated by the Democrats as 
candidate for the vice-presidency with Til- 
den. The returns in a number of states 
were contested, and resulted in the appoint- 
ment of the famous electoral commission, 
which decided in favor of the Republican 
candidates. In 1884 Mr. Hendricks was 
again nominated as candidate for the vice- 
presidency, by the Democratic party, on the 
ticket with Grover Cleveland, was elected, 
and served about six months. He died at 
Indianapolis, November 25, 1885. He was 
regarded as one of the brainiest men in the 
party, and his integrity was never ques- 
tioned, even by his political opponents. 



GARRETT A. HO BART, one of the 
many able men who have held the 
high office of vice-president of the United 
States, was born June 3, 1844, in Mon- 
mouth county. New Jersey, and in i860 en- 
tered the sophomore class at Rutgers Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1863 at 
the age of nineteen. He then taught 
school until he entered the law office of 
Socrates Tuttle, of Paterson, New Jersey, 
with whom he studied law. and in 1869 
was admitted to the bar. He immediately 
began the active practice of his profession 
i 1 the office of the above named gentleman. 
He became interested in political life, and 
es oused t e cause of the Republican party, 
and in 1865 held his first office, serving as 
clerk for the grind jury. He was also city 
counsel of Paterson in 1871, and in May, 
1872, was elected counsel for the board of 
chosen freeholders. He entered the state 
legislature in 1873. and was re-elected to 
the assembly in 1S74. Mr. Hobart was 
made speaker of the assembly in 1876, and 
and in 1879 was elected to the state senate. 
After serving three years in the same, he 
was elected president of that body in 1S81, 



and the following year was re-elected to 
that office. He was a delegate-at -large to 
the Republican national convention ni 1876 
and 1880, and was elected a member of the 
national committee in 1884, which pos-tion 
he occupied continuously until 1S96. He 
was then nominated for vice-president by 
the Republican national convention, ani^ 
was elected to that office in the fall of 1896 
on the ticket with William McKinley. 



WILLIAM MORRIS STEWART, noted 
as a political leader and senator, was 
born in Lyons, Wayne county. New York, 
August 9, 1827, and removed with his par- 
ents while still a small child to Mesopota- 
mia township, Trumbull county, Ohio. He 
attended the Lyons Union school and Farm- 
ington Academy, where he obtained his ed- 
ucation. Later he taught mathematics in 
the former school, while yet a pupil, and 
with the little money thus earned and the 
assistance of James C. Smith, one of the 
judges of the supreme court of New York, 
he entered Yale College. He remained 
there until the winter of 1849-50, when, at- 
tracted by the gold discovcrie-; in California 
he wended his way thither. He arrived at 
San Francisco in May, 1850, and later en- 
gaged in mining with pick and shovel in Ne- 
vada county. In this way he accumulated 
some money, and in the spring of 1852 he 
took up the study of law under John R. 
McConnell. The following December he 
was appointed district attorney, to which 
office he was chosen at tha general election 
of the next year. In 1854 he was ap- 
pointed attorney-general of California, and 
in 1S60 he removed to Virginia City, Ne- 
vada, where he largely engaged in early 
mining litigation. Mr. Stewart was also in- 
terested in the development of the "Coni- 
stock lode," and in 1S61 was chosen a 



214 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



member of the territorial council. He was 
elected a member of the constitutional con- 
vention in 1863, and was elected United 
States senator in 1864, and re-elected in 
iS6g. At the expiration of his term in 
1875, he resumed the practice of law in 
Nevada, California, and the Pacific coast 
generally. He was thus engaged when he 
was elected again to the United States sen- 
ate as a Republican in 1887 to succeed the 
late James G. Fair, a Democrat, and took 
his seat March 4, 1887. On the expiration 
of his term he was again re-elected and be- 
came one of the leaders of his party in con- 
gress. His ability as an orator, and the 
prominent part he took in the discussion of 
public questions, gained him a national rep- 
utation. 



GEORGE GRAHAM VEST, for many 
years a prominent member of the 
United States senate, was born in Frank- 
fort, Kentucky, December 6, 1848. He 
graduated from Center College in 1868, and 
from the law department of the Transyl- 
vania University of Lexington, Kentucky, 
in 1853. In the same year he removed to 
Missouri and began the practice of his pro- 
fession. In 1 860 he was an elector on the 
Democratic ticket, and was a member of 
the lower house of the Missouri legislature 
in 1860-61, He was elected to the Con- 
federate congress, serving two years in the 
lower house and one in the senate. He 
then resumed the practice of law, and in 
1879 was elected to the senate of the United 
States to succeed James Shields. He was 
re-elected in 1885, and again in 1891 and 
1S97. His many years of service in the 
National congress, coupled v/ith his ability 
as a speaker and the active part he took in 
the discussion of public questions, gave him 
a wide reputation. 



HANNIBAL HAMLIN, a noted American 
statesman, whose name is indissolubly 
connected with the history of this country, 
was born in Paris, Maine, August 27, 1809. 
He learned the printer's trade and followed 
that calling for several years. He then 
studied law, and was admitted to practice 
in 1833. He was elected to the legislature 
of the state of Maine, where he was several 
times chosen speaker of the lower house. 
He was elected to congress by the Demo- 
crats in 1843, and re-elected in 1845. I" 
1848 he was chosen to the United States 
senate and served in that body until 1861. 
He was elected governor of Maine in 1857 
on the Republican ticket, but resigned when 
re-elected to the United Stales senate 
the same year. Hl; was elected vice-presi- 
dent of the United States on the ticket with 
Lincoln in i860, and inaugurated in March, 
1 861. In 1865 he was appointed collector 
of the port of Boston. Beginning with 
1869 he served two six-year terms in the 
United States senate, and was then ap- 
pointed by President Garfield as minister to 
Spain in 1881. His death occurred July 4, 
1891. 

I SHAM G. HARRIS, famous as Confed- 
1 erate war governor of Tennessee, and 
distinguished by his twenty years of service 
in the senate of the United States, was 
born in Franklin county, Tennessee, and 
educated at the Academy of Winchester. 
He then took up the study of law, was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and commenced practice 
at Paris, Tennessee, in 1841. He was 
elected to the state legislature in 1847, was 
a candidate for presidential elector on the 
Democratic ticket in 1848, and the next 
year was elected to congress from his dis- 
trict, and re-elected in 185 1. In 1853 he 
was renominated by the Democrats of his 



COMPENDIUM OF VlOGRAPJir. 



215 



district, but declined, and removed to Mem- 
phis, where he took up the practice of law. 
lie was a presidential elector-at-large from 
Tennessee in 1856, and was elected gov- 
ernor of the state the next year, and again 
in 1859, and in 1861. He was driven from 
Nashville by the advance of the Union 
armies, and for the last three years of the 
war acted as aid upon the staff of the com- 
manding general of the Confederate army 
of Tennessee. After the war he went to 
Liverpool, England, where he became a 
merchant, but returned to Memphis in 1867, 
and resumed the practice of law. In 1877 
he was elected to the United States senate, 
to which position he was successively re- 
elected until his death in 1897. 



N 



ELSON DINGLEY, Jr., for nearly a 
i N quarter of a century one of the leaders 
in congress and framer of the famous 
" Dingley tariff bill," was born in Durham, 
Maine, in* 1832. His father as well as all 
his ancestors, were farmers, merchants and 
mechanics and of English descent. Young 
Dingley was given the advantages first of 
the common schools and in vacations helped 
his father in the store and on the farm. 
When twelve years of age he attended high 
school and at seventeen was teaching in a 
country school district and preparing him- 
self for college. The following year he en- 
tered Waterville Academy and in 185 i en- 
tered Colby University. After a year and a 
half in this institution he entered Dart- 
mouth College and was graduated in 1855 
with liigh rank as a scholar, debater and 
writer. He next studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1856. But instead of 
practicing his profession he purchased the 
" Levvi>town (Me.) Journal," which be- 
came famous throughout the New England 
states as a leader in the advocacy of Repub- 



lican principles. About the same time Mr. 
Dingley began his political career, although 
ever after continuing at the head of the 
newspaper. He was soon elected to the 
state legislature and afterward to the lower 
house of congress, where he became a 
prominent national character. He also 
served two terms as governor of Maine. 



OLIVER PERRY MORTON, a distin- 
guished American statesman, was born 
in Wayne county, Indiana, August 4, 1823. 
His early education was by private teaching 
and a course at the Wayne County Seminary. 
At the age of twenty years he entered the 
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and at 
the end of two years quit the college, began 
the study of law in the office of John New- 
man, of Centerville, Indiana, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1S47. 

Mr. Morton was elected judge on the 
Democratic ticket, in 1852, but on th', 
passage of the " Kansas-Nebraska Bill " he 
severed his connection with that party, and 
soon became a prominent leader of the Re- 
publicans. He was elected governor of In- 
diana in 1 86 1, and as war governor became 
well known throughout the country. He 
received a paralytic stroke in 1865, which 
partially deprived him of the use of his 
limbs. He was chosen to the United States 
senate from Indiana, in 1867, and wielded 
great influence in that body until the time 
of his death, November i, 1877. 



JOHN B. GORDON, a brilliant Confeder- 
ate officer and noted senatorof the United 
States, was born in Upson county, Georgia, 
February 6, 1832. He graduated from the 
State University, studied law, and took up 
the practice of his profession. At the be- 
ginning of the war he entered the Confederate 
service as captain of infantry, and rapidly 



216 



COMI'ENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



rose to the rank of lieutenant-general, 
commanding one wing of the Confederate 
army at the close of the war. In 1868 he 
was Democratic candidate for governor of 
Georgia, and it is said was elected by a large 
majority, but his opponent was given the 
ofBce. He was a delegate to the national 
Democratic conventions in 1868 and 1872, 
and a presidential elector both years. In 
1873 he was elected to the United States 
senate. In 1886 he was elected governor 
of Georgia, and re-elected in 1888. He 
was again elected to the United States 
senate in 1890, serving until 1897, when he 
was succeeded by A. S. Clay. He was 
regarded as a leader of the southern Democ- 
racy, and noted for his fiery eloquence. 



STEPHEN JOHNSON FIELD, an illus- 
trious associate justice of the supreme 
court of the United States, was born at 
Iladdam, Connecticut, November 4, 1S16, 
being one of the noted sons of Rev. D. 
D. Field. He graduated from Williams 
College in 1837. took up the study of law 
with his brother, David Dudley Field, be- 
coming his partner upon admission to the 
bar. He went to California in 1849, and at 
once began to take an active interest in the 
political affairs of that state. He was 
elected alcalde of Marysville, in 1850, and 
in the autumn of the same year was elected 
to the state legislature. In 1857 he was 
elected judge of the supreme court of the 
state, and two years afterwards became its 
chief justice. In 1863 he was appointed by 
President Lincoln as associate justice of the 
supreme court of the United States. During 
his incuinbenc}', in 1873, he was appointed 
by the governor of California one of a com- 
mission to examine the codes of the state 
and for the preparation of amendments to 
the same for submission to the legislature. 



In 1877 he was one of the famous electoral 
commission of fifteen members, and voted 
as one of the seven favoring the election of 
Tilden to the presidency. In 1S80 a large 
portion of the Democratic party favored his 
nomination as candidate for the presidency. 
He retired in the fall of 1897, having 
served a greater number of years on the 
supreme bench than any of his associates or 
predecessors, Chief Justice Marshall coming 
next in length of service. 



JOHN T. MORGAN, whose services in 
the United States senate brought him 
into national prominence, was born in 
Athens, Tennessee, June 20, 1824. At the 
age of nine years he emigrated to Alabama, 
where he made his permanent home, and 
where he received an academic education. 
He then took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1845. He took a 
leading part in local politics, was a presi- 
dential elector in i860, casting his ballot 
for Breckenridge and Lane, and in 1861 
was a delegate to the state convention which 
passed the ordinance of secession. In May, 
of the same year, he joined the Confederate 
army as a private in Company I, Cahawba 
Rifles, and was soon after made major and 
then lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Regiment. 
In 1862 he was commissioned colonel, and 
soon after made brigadier-general and as- 
signed to the command of a brigade in Vir- 
ginia. He resigned to join his old regiment 
whose colonel had been killed. He was 
soon afterward again marie brigadier-gen- 
eral and given command of the brigade that 
included his regiment. 

After the war he returned to the prac- 
tice of law, and continued it up to the time 
of his election to the United States senate, in 
1877. He was a presidential elector in 1876, 
and cast his vote for Tilden and Hendricks. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



217 



He was re-elected to the senate in 1883, 
and again in 1889, and 1895. His speeches 
and the measures he introduced, marked 
as they were by an intense Americanism, 
brought him into national prominence. 



WILLIAM McKINLEY, the twenty-fifth 
president of the United States, was 
born at Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan- 
uary 29, 1844. He was of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry, and received his early education 
in a Methodist academy in the small village 
of Poland, Ohio. At the outbreak of the 
war Mr. McKinley was teaching school, 
earning twenty-five dollars per month. As 
soon as Fort Sumter was fired upon he en- 
listed in a company that was formed in 
Poland, which was inspected and mustered 
in by General John C. Fremont, who at 
first objected to Mr. McKinley, as being too 
young, but upon examination he was finally 
accepted. Mr. McKinley was seventeen 
when the war broke out but did not look his 
age. He served in the Twenty-third Ohio 
Infantry throughout the war, was promoted 
from sergeant to captain, for good conduct 
on the field, and at the close of the war, 
for meritorious services, he was brevetted 
major. After leaving the army Major Mc- 
Kinley took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar, and in 1869 he took 
his initiation into politics, being elected pros- 
ecuting attorney of his county as a Republi- 
can, although the district was usually Demo- 
cratic. In 1 876 he was elected to congress, 
and in a call upon the President-elect, Mr. 
Hayes, to whom he went for advice upon the 
way he should shape his career, he was 
told that to achieve fame and success he 
must take one special line and stick to it. 
Mr. McKinley chose tariff legislation and 
he became an authority in regard to import 
duties. He was a member of congress for 



many years, became chairman of the ways 
and means connnittee, and later he advo- 
cated the famous tariff bill that bore his 
name, which was passed in 1890. In the 
next election the Republican party was 
overwhelmingly defeated through the coun- 
try, and the Democrats secured more than 
a two thirds majority in the lower house, 
and also had control of the senate, Mr. 
McKinley being defeated in his own district 
by a small majority. He was elected gov- 
ernor of Ohio in 1891 by a plurality of 
twenty-one thousand, five hundred and 
eleven, and two years later he was re-elected 
by the still greater plurality of eighty thou- 
sand, nine hundred and ninety-five. He was 
a delegate-at-large to the Minneapolis Re> 
publican convention in 1892, and was in- 
structed to support the nomination of Mr. 
Harrison. He was chairman of the con^ 
vention, and was the only man from Ohio 
to vote for Mr. Harrison upon the roll call. 
In November, 1892, a number of prominent 
politicians gathered in New York to discuss 
the political situation, and decided that the 
result of the election had put an end to Mc- 
Kinley and McKinleyism. But in less than 
four years from that date Mr. McKinley was 
nominated for the presidency against the 
combined opposition of half a dozen rival 
candidates. Much of the credit for his suc- 
cess was due to Mark A. Hanna, of Cleve- 
land, afterward chairman of the Republican 
national committee. At the election which 
occurred in November, 1896, Mr. McKinley 
was elected president of the United States 
by an enormous majority, on a gold stand- 
ard and protective tariff platform. He was 
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1897, 
and called a special session of congress, to 
which was submitted a bill for tariff reform, 
which was passed in the latter part of July 
of that vear. 



218 



COMPEXDIUM OF niOGRAPIIT 



CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER, 
known in the literary world as Joaquin 
Miller, "the poet of the Sierras," was born 
at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841. When only 
about thirteen years of age he ran away 
from home and went to the mining regions 
in California and along the Pacific coast. 
Some time afterward he was taken prisoner 
by the Modoc Indians and lived with them 
for five years. He learned their language 
and gained great influence with them, fight- 
ing in their wars, and in all modes of living 
became as one of them. In 1858 he left 
the Indians and went to San Francisco, 
where he studied law, and in i860 was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Oregon. In 1866 he 
was elected a county judge in Oregon and 
served four years. Early in the seventies 
he began devoting a good deal of time to 
literary pursuits, and about 1874 he settled 
in Washington, D. C. He wrote many 
poems and dramas that attracted consider- 
able attention and won him an e.xtended 
reputation. Among his productions maybe 
mentioned "Pacific Poems," " Songs of the 
Sierras," "Songs of the Sun Lands," 
' ' Ships in the Desert, " ' ' Adrianne, a Dream 
of Italy," "Danites," "Unwritten History," 
" First Families of the Sierras " (a novel), 
" One Fair Woman " (a novel), " Songs of 
Italy," " Shadows of Shasta," "The Gold- 
Seekers of the Sierras," and a number of 
others. 

GEORGE FREDERICK ROOT, a 
noted music publisher and composer, 
was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts, on August 30, 1820. While 
working on his father's farm he found time 
to learn, unaided, several musical instru- 
ments, and in his eighteenth year he went 
to Boston, where he soon found employ- 
ment as a teacher of music. From 1839 



until 1844 he gave instructions in music in 
the public schools of that city, and was also 
director of music in two churches. Mr. 
Root then went to New York and taught 
music in the various educational institutions 
of the city. He went to Paris in 1850 and 
spent one year there in study, and on his re- 
turn he published his first song, "Hazel 
Dell." It appeared as the work of " Wur- 
zel, " which was the German equivalent of 
his rijme. He was the originator of the 
normal musical institutions, an"d when the 
first one was started in New York he 
was one of the faculty. He removed to 
Chicago, Illinois, in i860, and established 
the firm of Root & Cady, and engaged in 
the publication of music. He received, in 
1872, the degree of " Doctor of Music" 
from the University of Chicago. After the 
war the firm became George F. Root & Co., 
of Cincinnati and Chicago. Mr. Root did 
much to elevate the standard of inusic in this 
country by his compositions and work as a 
teacher. Besides his numerous songs he 
wrote a great deal of sacred music and pub- 
lished many collections of vocal and instru- 
mental music. For many jears he was the 
most popular song writer in America, and 
was one of the greatest song writers of the 
war. He is also well-known as an author, 
and his work in that line comprises: " ivleth- 
ods for the Piano and Organ," "Hand- 
book on Harmony Teaching," and innumer- 
able articles for the musical press. Among 
his many and most popular songs of the 
war time are : ' ' Rosalie, the Prairie-flower, " 
"Battle Cry of Freedom," " Just Before the 
Battle," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys 
are Marching," " The Old Folks are Gone," 
"A Hundred Years Ago," "Old Potomac 
Shore, "and " There's Music in the Air." Mr. 
Root's cantatas include "The Flower Queen" 
and "The Haymakers." He died in 1896. 



FART II. 



^?T 



^^S^>3 






COMFENDIUMs 



5-^ 



OF 



/qSM^ 



(rX?7Ta) 






LOCAL BIOGRArHY 



?ii^a 



OF 



COLUMBIA. SAUK AND ADAMS COUNTIES, 



-l^-^WISCONSIN^— ^ 



i^s^^-s-s^^^^^^^^^^^^a^r^c^s^s^-^'^^^^^^^^'^^^^^fv. 



OF 



4^ LOCAL BIOGRAPHY 











ox. JAMES TAYLOR 
LEWIS, LL. D.— 
Eoremost am< mg the 
men of Ci)Iumbiacijun- 
ty, and recognized 
tliroughout tlie state as 
one of the most useful 
and iniluential citizens of Wisconsin, stands 
tlie venerable ex-governor, James T. Lewis, 
of Columbus. He may be justly termed one 
of the fathers of the state, having been close- 
ly identified with many of its most vital in- 
terests during the formative period and the 
Civil war. His distinguished serx'ice in puli- 
lic life as well as his personal wi>rth make 
the following history of general interest, n(jt 
only to the readers of the present day, l)ut 
to future historians of this section. 

Air. Lewis was born in Clarendon, New 
York, October 30, 1819, a son of Shubael 
and Eleanor (Robertson) Lewis. The 
mother was born in Edinburg, Scotland, and 
died October 8, 1854, at the age of forty- 
two years. The father, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, was born February 27, 1783, and 
\\ as a son of Samuel Lewis, whose ancestors 
located in New England at an early day in 



the history of this cnuntr}-. Shubael Lewis 
began life with few advantages, but with a 
strong iletermination to succeed and a spirit 
of integrity and enterprse which enaliled liim 
to acquire a comfijrtaljje estate in New York 
and to add to the same considerably in \Vis- 
ci^nsin. After the death of his first wife 
he was married in New York to ]Miss Parne 
Nichols, who was a true and devoted mother 
to her seven step-children. 

James T. Lewis, our subject, pursued his 
studies at Clarkson Academy, Monroe coun- 
ty. New York, and Clinton Seminary with 
the view of entering Hamilton College, but 
after C()mpleting the course at the seminary 
he abandoned the original project by his fa- 
ther's advice, and in 1842 commenced the 
study of law with (j(A'ernor Selden Clark- 
son, of New Y(jrk. L"i)on completing his 
studies, in 1845. ^^^ came to Columlnis, Wis- 
consin, and was admitted to practice before 
the LTnited States circuit court in the terri- 
tory of W'isconsin, and later before the state 
supreme court. Soon after locating here he 
became actively identified with public affairs 
and filled the offices of district attornev and 
countv judge. He was also a member of 



222 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



the con\-eiition whicli adopted the present 
constitution of the state, December 15, 1847. 
In 1852 Mr. Lewis was a member of the 
General Assembly from Columbia county 
and the following year he was electetl to the 
state senate. He served as lieutenant gov- 
ernor for two years, beginning in January, 
1854. In the fall of 1861 he was elected 
secretary of state, receiving every vote in 
Columbus cast for that oflice, and two years 
later was elected governor, receiving the 
largest majority ever given a governor of 
Wisconsin up to 1896. His administration 
was characterized by economy, activity and 
justice, and he was especially active in rais- 
ing and equipping troops for the army and 
looking after their comfort while in the field. 
He visited many camps and hospitals and se- 
cured from the surgeon general of the United 
States an order transferring sick and wound- 
ed soldiers from Wisconsin to hospitals with- 
in the state. By this means many lives were 
saved and those whose recovery was impos- 
sible were made more comfortable. Gov- 
ernor Lewis also assisted in establishing a 
home for soldiers' orphans. He secured the 
correction of an error in the state's quota 
of troops by which the number was reduced 
about four thousand. He declined the 
usual appropriation of governor's con- 
tingent fund and managed the affairs of 
the state in a judicious and economical 
manner, worthy of emulation by some 
latter day statesmen. Upon the expira- 
tion of his term, however, he positively de- 
clined a renomination. 

On the 23d of July, 1846, Governor 
Lewis married Aliss Orlena M. Sturges, a 
daughter of David Sturges, a prominent mer- 
chant of Clarendon, New York, and they 
are the parents of three children, two sons 
and one daughter, namely: Selden J., an at- 
torney of Vermillion, South Dakota; Charles 
R., who is employed in the city ticket office 



of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road at Minneapolis; and Annie L., wife of 
W. F. Dudley, assistant general auditor for 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, 
residing at Evanston, 111. Mrs. Lewis is a 
most estimable lady and one of the leading 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
of Columbus, which the family also attend. 
Until the beginning of the Civil war 
Governor Lewis was a stanch advocate of 
Democratic principles, but when the southern 
states attempted to secede, he took a decided 
stand in support of the government and was 
elected secretary of state on the Republican 
ticket. Ever since he has affiliated with that 
party, and has been one of its stanch sup- 
porters. One of his characteristic expres- 
sions while governor was "He who is not a 
faithful friend to the government of his 
country in this trying hour is no friend of 
mine," and he has ever been acknowledged 
one of the most patriotic and loyal citizens 
of the state or nation. Since his retirement 
from public life he has lived in his old-fash- 
inned residence at Columbus, amid rural antl 
picturesque surroundings, where he dispenses 
a hearty hospitality to his numerous visitors. 
He has always been a liberal supporter of ed- 
ucational and philanthropic institutions for 
some years, devoting most of his income to 
thatl object. In 1864 Lawrence Uni- 
\-ersity conferred upon him the degree 
of LL. D. A few years ago Gov- 
ernor Lewis made a journey around the 
world, visiting the principal countries and 
cities of the orient and collecting many in- 
teresting views and curiosities from those 
lands. After a pure, honorable and useful 
life, actuated by unselfish motives, prompted 
by patriotism and guided by truth and jus- 
tice, he may in his declining age rest assured 
that the people of this state are not unmind- 
ful of those who have labored for their in- 
terests. 



COMPENDIUM Of BIOGRAPHY 



1^23 



A TRUE COPY OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY FOUND 

AMONG THE PAPERS OF GENERAL 

GUPPEY. 

"General Josluui J. Giippey, Portage, 
\\'iscuiisin, member of Rousseau Post, Xo. 
14, G. A. R., son of John and Hannah 
(Dame) Guppey, was born August 2y, 1820, 
at Dover, New Hampshire, and is of English 
extraction. 

"Joshua Guppey, the founder of the 
American branch of tlie family, emigrated in 
early youth, about the year 1720, from 
southwest England to America, settled in 
Beverly, Massachusetts, married there and 
(lied there before reaching middle age. His 
SL'U, Cajitain James CJuppey, was a sea officer 
and commanded a United States naval \-essel 
in the war of the Revolution. John Guppey, 
son of Captain James Guppey, was a wealthy 
farmer and much respected business man, 
but never held any public position. 

"General Guppey graduated at Dart- 
mouth College in 1843. I''' '^'s senior year 
he was captain of the 'Dartmouth Phalanx,' 
the college military company. He studied 
law in Dover, New Hampshire, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in April, 1846, and in Sep- 
tember following he settled in Columljus, 
Wisconsin, in the practice of his profession 
and in doing a general land agency business. 
He remained there until 185 1, wlien he re- 
moved to Portage, in the same county, which 
is still his home. He is in good circumstan- 
ces, and has a beautiful homestead of fifty 
acres on Silver Lake. In February, 1847, 
he was appointed colonel of jNIilitia. In 
September, 1849, '^^ was appointed Judge of 
Probate. He has six times been elected 
County Judge for terms of four years each, 
commencing, respectively, January i, 1850, 
1854, 1866, 1870, 1874 and 1878. From 
1858 to 1 86 1 he was school superintendent 
of the city of Portage, and again from 1866 
to 1872. His elections to these offices were 
usually without opposition. 



"In 1862 he was the Democratic candi- 
date for congress in the Second Wisconsin 
district, and was defeated l)y only 2,000 
votes, the usual Repulilican majority being 
about 7.000. In 1868 he became a Repub- 
lican, and has ever since acted w:th that 
l)arty. He was never \'ery acti\'e in politics. 

"September 13, 1861, he was commis- 
sioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Tenth 
Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry 
and served under General O. M. Mitchell, 
in all his campaigns of 1861 and 1862 in 
Kentucky, Tennessee and Alaliama. 

"July 17, 1862, he was promoted to 
Colonel of the Twenty-third Regiment, Wis- 
consin Infantry, and was with it in actual 
command in the iirst assault on \'icksburg, 
I^ecember, 1862, under General Sherman; 
also in the assault and capture of Post Ar- 
kansas, January 11, 1863; and at the battle 
of Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Champion Hills 
and Black River Bridge. In all these bat- 
tles his regiment behaved with marked brav- 
ery, and the official report of the capture of 
I'ost Arkansas states that a part of the rebel 
right was 'djiMven in by a charge of the 
1 wenty-third Wisconsin, Colonel Guppey.' 

"Colonel Guppey was also in command 
of his regiment in the assault at Vicksburg 
in May, 1863, and in the siege operations re- 
sulting in the capture of that stronghold, 
July 4, 1863. After this capture, his regi- 
ment with the Thirteenth Army Corps, to 
\\hich it belonged, was transferred to the 
Department of the Gulf. 

"On Novemljer 3, 1863, the Fourth 
Division, in command of General Bur])ridge, 
Vv'as attacked by an overwhelming force of 
rebels at Carrion Crow or Ba_\'ou Corbeau, 
near Opelousas, Louisiana, and the battle 
of Grand Coteau was fought. In this bat- 
tle the Twenty-third W^isconsin, Colonel 
Guppey, was held in reser\-e. When it came 
its turn to take the brunt of the battle, says 
the Cincinnati Commercial, 'this excellent 



224 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



regiment, animated l)y its brave Colonel, 
lielcT the enemy in check for a short time, de- 
livering its fire with deadly effect. 

" 'Here Colonel Guppey was wounded 
(just below the knee of the left leg), and 
subsequently taken prisoner. The man who 
shot him was not thirty feet from him at the 
time. But the Twenty-third, too, had to 
gi\'e way. The odds were too great for 
human effort to ox'ercome. 

" 'The Colonel commanded his men fur 
some time after he was shot.' Mr. Greslev, 
in his '.Vmerican Conflict,' when describing 
this battle says : 'Our right, thus suddenly 
assailed in great force and with intense 
fury, was broken, and was saved from utter 
distruction by the de\oted bravery of the 
Twenty-third \\'isconsin and the efficient 
service of Xims battery.' Colonel Guppey 
was treated kindly while a prisoner, and 
was exchanged in January, 1864. He was 
soon after detailed by General Banks as 
President of a Military Commission for the 
examination of officers in the Thirteenth 
Army Corps. 

"In the summer of 1864 Colonel Guppey 
was assigned to the command of a brigade, 
and was in active service till the close of the 
v^-ar, all the way frcjm I\Iol:)ile Bay, Alabama, 
to Paducah, Kentucky, and was Post Com- 
mander at the latter place when the war 
endeil. On the 15th of June, 1865, Colonel 
Guppey was commissioned Brigadier Gen- 
eral of Volunteers by brevet, for gallant and 
meritorious services during the war. His 
regiment was mustered out of service July 
4, 1865, and had an enthusiastic reception 
on reaching Madison, Wisconsin, July i6Lh. 
(_)n the first of January, 1866, he again en- 
tered upon his duties as county judge, to 
which office he had been elected while sew- 
ing in the army. 

"In January, 18S2, at the close of his 
sixth term as county judge, on accoimt of 
impaired health from wuunds, and from 



rheumatism contracted while in the army, 
General 'Guppey retired to private life, and 
since that date has given most of his time 
to his own affairs — excepting business from 
a few of his old clients only. 

"He was never married; but notwith- 
standing that ill fortune, antl his suffering 
from rheumatism he retains his old time 
cheerfulness of spirit and finds much pleas- 
lu'c in the (|uiet days of his old ago." 

He died at Portage, \\'isciinsin, Decem- 
ber 8, 1S93. 

M. T. Alverson, Executor of the Estate 
of Joshua J. Guppey. 



HON. SOLOX WESLEY PIERCE. 

Hon. Solon ^^'esley Pierce, for more 
than forty years identified with the public 
affairs of Adams county, Wisconsin, is a resi- 
dent of the city of Friendship, and the an- 
nals of his county could not be compiled 
without frequent reference to his name and 
deeds. 

Solon Wesley Pierce is a native of Xew 
'^'ork, Ijorn in the town of Yorkshire, Catta- 
raugus county, March 7, 1831, the son of 
Daniel and Adeline (DeMott-Brunson) 
Pierce. Daniel Pierce is supposed to ha\e 
been a native of Massachusetts, and was of 
English lineage. His ancestors located near 
Marblehead in the early days of the Massa- 
chusetts colony, and the members of this 
family were active in the public affairs of 
the great commonwealth for many genera- 
tions. The grandfather of our subject, John 
Pierce, had charge of a military school in 
Marblehead for some years, and later became 
a Methodist minister, and removed to Xew 
York, where he died. Daniel Pierce fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer, and died 
in Rochester, Xew York, in 1843, ^t the age 
of fort}--fi\-e years. Our subject's mother, 
who later married James W. Xorris, lived 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



225 



for many years at Nunda, Livingston coun- 
ty, New York, where she died at the age of 
eighty years. Iler fatlier, Hosea Brunson, 
was a veteran of the war of 1812. serving in 
a New York regiment. If is family were of 
Scandinavian origin. His death occurred at 
Brighton, New York. 

Solon Wesley Pierce received his pri- 
mary education in the public schools of 
Rochester, then took a course in the 
Lima College, and later at Menden 
Academy, Menden, New ^'nrk. He 
then became a stationary engineer, continu- 
ing in that calling for si.x years. Li 1854 
he came to Wisconsin, and located at Cas- 
cade (now White Creek), Adams county. 
He had taken u;) the study of law before 
leaving New York, and he taught school 
for several years. In 1.S57 he removed to 
Friendship, and was admittetl to the bar 
in 1858, since which time he lias been in the 
practice of his profession. He instituted 
the first gerrymander suit in the state of 
\\'isconsin, in January, 1892, having pre- 
viously drafted a resolution wh'ich was 
adopted by the lioard of supervisors of 
Adams count}", authorizing such action. His 
position was x'indicateil liy the sujireme 
ccurt, which declared the appnrtionment 
unconstitutional, antl ordered a re-appor- 
tionment. At the age of thirt}- years he was 
elected district attorr.ey (jf the county. an<l 
he served three years as county judge. In 
1861, April 28th, he with two associates, 
Thomas B. Marsden and D. D. McGibeny, is- 
sued the first number of the "Adams County 
Press," i)f which iiapcr he has l)een the sole 
proprietor since 1866, and with which he has 
been continuously connected since its estab- 
lishment with the exception of the interval 
during which he was in the service. The 
"J'ress'' is the oldest and most influential 
journal in the county. In 1866 our subject 
published "Battle Field and Cami) Fires of 
the Thirty-eighth Regiment." 



Mr. Pierce enlisted in Company Iv, 
Thirty-eighth Wisconsin \'olunteer Lifant- 
ry, September 12, 1864, and was made first 
lieutenant. His cajjtain was T. B. Mars- 
den. His regiment was attached to the 
Ninth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, 
and he was ne\-er aljsent from duty during 
the entire period of his service. While in 
charge of a force of men engaged in felling- 
trees in front of the Union lines a tree fell 
across his legs, causing severe injuries. He 
was compelled to go on crutches for three 
weeks, but he appeared regularly for duty. 
His entire army record is marked by faith- 
fulness to duty, [jatriotism and unshrinking- 
courage. He received his honorable dis- 
charge June 24, 1865. 

In 1870 ]\lr. Pierce was elected to the 
Wisconsin Assemb'.y, and was electetl to tlie 
same body in 1877, 1878, 1880, 1881, 1882 
and 1897. He is the author of that measure 
providing for biennial elections in Wiscon- 
sin, and was active in securing the adoptii.m 
of the amendment to the state constitution 
authorizing the same. He served as chair- 
man of the judiciary committee in 1880, 
]S8i and 1882. He has always been active 
in the councils of the Repulilican party, ami 
in the assembly was a recognized leader. 

Mr. Pierce was married in 1851 to Hes- 
ter A. Mosher, of Nunda, New York. She 
died August 25, 1865, aged thirty-l< ur 
years. Our subject was married to his prt.s- 
cnt wife, who was Miss Hattie E. Water- 
man, in 1866. She was the daughter of 
Thomas and Susan (Norcross) Waterman, 
of Friendship, Wisconsin. ^Ir. and Mr;;. 
Pierce aire the parents of five children, 
nrmied as follows: Katie L., now Mrs. 
Robert S. Harrison, of Friendship; Jennie 
May, now the wife of Norman M. Jones, of 
I'riendship; Nellie L., now Mrs. C. F. 
Pierce, of Chicago; Jessie W., and Harry 
.S., cnnnected with his father in business in 
iM-iendship. Mr. Pierce is an honcjred 



226 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



member of Badger Post, G. A. R., and of the 
Quincy Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Friend- 
ship. He is a man deservedly popular 
throughout the county and that section of 
the state. He is liberal, broad minded and 
generous, and his services to his county and 
state merit the highest meed of praise, and 
no man in central Wisconsin can boast more 
warm friends and earnest supporters. 



HON. I<OBERT BOYD WENTWOirfH. 

Hon. Robert Boyd Wentworth, of Port- 
age, ^Visconsin, has long been identified with 
the leading commercial interests of the city 
and county, and is wiflely knt)\vn as one of 
the foremost citizens of the county. He was 
born January i8, 1827, -at Buxton, York 
county, Maine, and is a son of Robert and 
Sally (Harding) Wentworth, both of whom 
were natives of Maine. The Wentworths 
are descendants of Reginald \Ventworth, 
. who was owner of the lordship of Went- 
worth, in Strafford, Yorkshire, at the time of 
the Norman conquest. The Magna Britan- 
nica says the Wentworth House may justly 
be numbered with the most magnificent seats 
in liritain. The Wentworth family has been 
prominent in England, in the Colonies, and 
in tlie United States, for several centuries. 
The first of that name in this ciiuntry was 
Elder \Villiam \\'entworth, who located at 
Exeter, New Hampshire, as early as 1639. 
Burke, in his Peerage, says he belonged to 
the illustrious family of Thomas Wentworth, 
earl of Strafford. Fie was a contemporary 
of Rev. John Wheelwright and Ann Hutch- 
inson. He lived for a time at Wells, Maine, 
but his later years were spent at Dover, New 
Hampshire. His grave at that place is said 
to be underneath the present tracks of the 
Boston and Maine Railroad. \\'hen about 
eighty years old he was preaching in Exeter 



and in 1693 the town agreed to pay him 
fdrly pounds a year for his services. He 
reared a large family of sons and his poster- 
ity includes a number of men who have 
achieved distinction in the wtst, as well as 
some of the most prominent people of New 
England. A descendant of his was John 
Wentworth. Jr., who sat as a member of the 
Continental Congress from New Hampshire, 
and affixed his name to the Articles of Con- 
federation. Se\eral of his descendants have 
been citizens of ^Visconsin and Illinois, and 
among the number ma)^ be mentioned that 
famous "Long John Wentworth," for many 
years a resident of Chicago. He was mayor 
of that city for two terms, member of con- 
gress for several years and the compiler of 
the genealogy of the family 

Robert Wentworth, father of Robert B., 
spent his life upon a farm at Buxton Center, 
Maine, where he reached the age of eighty 
years. He was a worker in metals, and made 
brass clocks, sleigh bells, and other articles. 
He was a man of character and standing, 
was an officer in the Congregational church, 
and was elected to the state legislature by 
the Whigs in the year 1848. In later life 
he became a Republican. Mrs. Sally ^Vent- 
worth died at the age of thirty-five years, 
leaving seven small children. He afterward 
married her sister, Miss Eunice Harding", 
by whom he had four children. The father 
of these two ladies commanded a ship sailing 
from Portland in the West India trade, and 
v'AS a man of much importance in the early 
days. 

Robert Boyd Wentworth belongs to the 
seventh generation of Elder William Went- 
worth, and his great-grandfather. Lieu- 
tenant Samuel Merrill, fought in the l)attle 
of Bunker Hill. He left home at the age of 
fifteen vears, and went to Portland, where he 
learned the printing trade, which was his 
occupation for many years. In 1848 he 
came to Wisconsin, and has been a citizen of 




ROBERT B. WENTWORTH. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



229 



this state ever since its organization. He 
located at JNIadison, and had the position of 
state printer from i8=;o to 1852, and did all 
his work upon a hand press. At the end of 
that time he removed to Junean, and founded 
the "Dodge County Gazette," the first news- 
paper ever printed in that county. Mr. 
Wentworth has ^reserved the original files 
of the paper, and it must be confessed that 
it presents an appearance more pleasing" to 
the critical eye than many of the rural pub- 
lications of the present day. He published 
the "Gazette" for two years, and then sold it 
to Hon. Charles Billinghurst, who changed 
the name to "The Burr Oak." Mr. Went- 
worth continued to print it until it was dis- 
continued in 1855. In 1857 he came to 
Portage and purchased the "Independent," 
which became in his hands the "Portage City 
Record." He ])ublished the "Record" four 
years and then sold it to A. J. Turner. 

Mr. ^^'entworth now determined to en- 
ter a wider field of business activity, and con- 
structed a grain elevator on the bank of the 
, ship canal connecting the Fox and ^^'iscon- 
sin rivers, and for more than thirty years 
carried on an extensive business in grain. 
He helped to organize the "Portage and 
Green Bay Transportation Company," which 
operated a line of steamboats and barges 
Ijetwecn these points for a number of years. 
He alsi.) carried on, in connection with his 
grain business, an extensive trade in lumber. 
In 1S74 ]\Ir. Wentworth was largely instru- 
mental in the organization of the City Bank 
of Portage and was its first cashier, and is 
now its vice-president. In 1880 he became 
one of the chief promoters of the Portage 
Hosiery Company and is the president of 
that corporation at the present time. It 
has developed into one of the principal in- 
dustries of the city. 

]\lr. \\'ent\vorth is careful and methodical 
i:i all his business enterprises, conservative 
until e\ery.chance is estimated, and then pro- 



gressive and thoroughly alive. He enjoys 
the confidence of all with whom he comes 
in contact, and richly merits the fraternal re- 
gard in which he is held by all who know 
him. For several years Mr. Wentworth 
has practically lived a retired life, a portion 
of his time being spent in travel. He has 
given little time to the agitation and discus- 
sion of political cjuestions, liut he has a clear 
apprehension of the great themes that inter- 
est men. The people have shown their con- 
fidence in his judgment by electing him to 
responsible positions from time to time. 
He went from Dodge county to represent 
the people of that section in the first Republi- 
can legislature of the state, and acquitted 
himself in every wav in a most creditable 
manner. In Portage he has served as alder- 
man several terms, and is regarded as one 
of tlie verv foremost citizens of the town. 

Mr. Wentworth was married to Miss 
Lydia H. Pike, October 9, 1850. She was 
tlie daughter of Rev. John and Hannah Pike, 
of Fryeburg, Maine, and a lady of noble 
character. She died June 6, 1894. Four 
children were born to them : Ella W. Carr, of 
San Antonio, Texas; Winfield S., of Wau- 
kegan, Illinois; Florence W. Thomas, of 
Milwaukee, and John P., who died in child- 
hood. February 2, 1898, Mr. Wentworth 
was married to Miss Emma C. Haight, of 
Milwaukee. 

A portrait of ]\lr. Wentworth will be 
found upon another page in this \-iihnne. 



COLONEL D. K. NOYES. 

Colonel D. K. Noyes, one of the earliest 
and most i)rominent citizens of ]3araboo, 
Sauk county, was liorn in Orange county, 
Vermont, October 28, 1820. It is needless 
to introduce him to the people of Wisconsin, 
as iiis name is well known, and a history of 



290 



COM PES DI I'M 01- BIOGRAPHY. 



that state could not be written witlnnit fre- 
quently referring to his labors. 

Mr. Noyes is the son of Enoch and Mary 
A. (Knox) Noyes. His father was a son 
of Aaron Noyes, who was born at Pembroke, 
New Hampshire. He married Betty Ladd 
and moved to Vermont, the original famly 
in America coming in 1636. Two of the 
family of Noyes came together, and one set- 
tled in Massachusetts, while the other set- 
t!eil in Connecticut. Many honors have 
f;;llen to the family along the line of descent, 
and have included statesmen, min-sters, etc. 
iMioch Noyes, the father of our subject, was 
a farmer and remained in \'ermont until 
1844, when he emigrated to Wisconsin, then 
a territnry. He first located in Iowa countv, 
then in Dane county, and later went to Sauk 
county, about 1851, where he .spent the re- 
mainder of his life on a farm. He died 
December 29, 1855, at the age of fifty-nine 
years, and his wife died October 15, 1859, 
aged sixty years. Both were members of 
the Methodist church. The mother of our 
subject was a daughter of David Knox. The 
family ( riginally came from the north of 
Ireland, and settled near Londonderry, New 
Hampshire, afterwards at Tunbridge, Ver- 
mont, (ieneral Knox, of Revolutionary 
war fame, was of the same family, and all 
are descendants of |ohn Kuox, the great re- 
former of ScotLind. Our suliject was the 
eldest of nine children, eight of whom grew 
to maturity, as follows: D. K., our subject; 
"Aaron A., a practicing physician of Minne- 
apolis; William W., deceased, was an editor 
and never married: Mary .\.., who married 
Mr. Bennett, by whom she had two .sons, 
and later married Mr. Prentice, ])y whom 
two daughters were born. She is now de- 
cea.sed; Silon, deceased, was an editor at 
Mason City, L_)wa; Amanda died in chiM- 
liood : Pydia. deceased, married Mr. j\l(_)rse; 
Henry, who now resides at Baraboo. He 
ser\'ed through the Ci^•il war, and haj served 



a;: city treasurer of Baraboo, and filled nu- 
merous offices of minor character; and Rob- 
ert Bruce, who died at the age of eighteen 
years. 

Our subject uas educated in the common 
schools, and at Norwich University and 
Chelsea and Royalton .\cademies. He began 
to work at the age of eleven years, and wdien 
not studying was engaged at farming, herd- 
ing sheep and stock, learned the tanner's 
trade, and later run a saw null and worked 
al many employments. His brother, Aaron 
.\., came to Wisconsin in 1843, ^"d the fol- 
lowing year the family, including our sub- 
ject, joined him in Wisconsin. Our subject 
had taught in N'erniont and earned the 
money with w hich to bring the family to the 
new home. He was first employed at mak- 
ing rails at fifty cents per hundred and 
taught school winters, and he afterward 
made the acquaintance of Ceneral Amasa 
Cobb, with whom he went to the lead mines 
and spent one season prospecting; liut found 
n(> lead, and after their money was spent 
in foolish tligging they enlisted for the Mex- 
ican war. But the companv was not ac- 
, cepted. Our subject then went to Dodge- 
\-ille, anil soon entered the oflice of Strong 
i!\_ .\])l)ott, attorneys, at Alineral Point, and 
began the study of law. He was admitted at 
the March term in 1X47 to practice law, and 
in June of the same year went to Baraboo, 
\,hich had Ijeen located as the county seat 
of Sauk county. The country was a wilder- 
ness and but little land was cleared. Four 
saw mills were running and the settlers were 
few, and not permanenth- settled. Our 
subject was a \\ big and estal)lished the 
newspaper "Republic," which isstill running, 
Ijut in other hands. He was the first attor- 
ne\' locatetl at Baraboo, and erected the first 
office of the town, and was attorney and land 
agent. There was not much law practice 
tc attentl, and he spent the greater part of 
his time locating land, and did more of that 



COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHY 



231 



jjrolialily llian any other nian ut tliat reg'ion. 
He continued the paper about six or eight 
years, and later purchased a farm of three 
hundred and twenty acres, whicli liad been 
partially improved, and he erected a commo- 
ilious residence, large barn, and made other 
permanent improvements. In 180 1 he en- 
listed in the Sixth Wisconsin Infantry, and 
was elected first lieutenant of his company, 
and assigned to the Army of the Potomac. 
He was in numerous engagements, including 
Kai)pahannock, Gainesville, second battle of 
ilull Run, South Mountain and Antietam. 
He received a slight wound on the forehead, 
and at Antietam his right foot was taken 
off by a shell, while he was acting as captain, 
and after the battle he remained at a pri\-ate 
liouse eight weeks before he could lie re- 
moved to Georgetown lnjspital. All but his 
heel bone was taken from the foot and he was 
rendered a cripple for life. After abont 
three months he went home and with the aid 
of crutches was able to walk some. As 
soon as he was able he was given a recruit- 
ing office and continued thus for some time, 
and later was given a major's commission 
and again entered the service in the Forty- 
ninth Wisconsin Infantry. He v.as as- 
signed to St. Louis and Rolla, Missouri, 
where he remained a short time and was ap- 
pointed on the court martial service at St. 
Louis, remaining thus until November, 1865, 
when he returned home as lieutenant- 
colonel. He soon after established an in- 
dependent newspaper, and in 1867 was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Baraboo, which he 
held about sixteen years. He has now re- 
tired from active business, and devotes his 
attention to looking after his property inter- 
ests, of which he owns consideral)le in 
Baraboo. 

Colonel Xoyes married Miss Lucinda 
Barnes, in Vermont, in June, 1848. Mrs. 
Noyes was the daughter of Captain Joel 



Barnes, of Vermont. His father was Major 
Daniel Barnes, of the Revolutionary war. 
Joel Barnes settled in Wisconsin with his 
family in 1854, and engaged in farnn'ng; 
there his wife ^\.:^\. and the last three \'ears 
of his life lie found a coml'ortable home with 
Colonel and Mrs. Noyes. He died about 
1870, imd was the father of the following 
children: Harry, an ex-assemblyman; Lucy, 
now Mrs. Goodman; Leonard, of Iowa; and 
Lucinda, wife of our subject, b'our chil- 
dren were born to Colonel and AL's. Noyes, 
as follows: Clara L., deceased, who mar- 
ried Judge Huntington, of Green Bay, and 
M^ho left five children; Walter W., justice 
of the peace in Baraboo; .\rthur H., for- 
merly a prominent attorne)- of Minneapolis, 
VA)\\ one of the fe<lei'a! judges at Cape Nome, 
Alaska, and Rolla E., an attorney of Bara- 
boo. Mr. Noyes is a prominent member of 
the Masonic fraternity, the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, the (1. A. R., and the 
Loyal Legion. Both he and RL's. Noyes are 
members of the Presbyterian cluirch. He 
has been commander of the G. -\. R. ami 
was a delegate to the Boston reunion, and 
has received two honorable discharges as an 
officer. He early entered into public affairs 
and was a Republican from the organization 
of the party. The county, prior to the b're- 
mont c<ami)aign, was Uemocratic, but since 
tliat time has been a Republican county, and 
ftjr the first office for which lie was nomi- 
nated he was defeated, but has since lieen 
elected to numerous important offices. In 
1856 he was elected assemblyman, and 
served on the judiciary committee, and also 
on the town and county organizations com- 
mittee, and assisted with the Wisconsin 
code. He was the first town clerk of 1 bara- 
boo, and has also served as justice of the 
peace. A man respected and honored lor 
his good deeds, he is passing his decliifing 
years among those who know him well, and 



232 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



he has gained a competence which affords 
him a comfortable income, and he may well 
be accorded a prominent place in the annals 
of Wisconsin. 



HON. JAMES BRAINARD TAYLOR, A. 
B., A. j\I., Deceased. 

In the last half of the present century 
the lawyer has been a pre-eminent factor in 
all aft'airs of private concern and national 
importance. He has been depended upon 
to conserve the best and permanent interests 
of the whole people and is a recognized 
power in all the avenues of life. He stands 
as the protector of the rights and liberties" 
of his fell(.)w men and is the representative 
of a profession wlinse followers, if they 
would gain honor, fame and success, must 
be men of merit and al.iility. Such a one was 
Judge Taylor, \\-ho for years occupied the 
bench of Columbia county, winning high 
commendation by his fair and impartial ad- 
ministration of justice. 

He was born in Rupert, Bennington 
county, Vermont, August 15, 1840, a son of 
Stephen and Harriet (Sheldon) Taylor. The 
grandfather, Joel Taylor, removed to Ver- 
mont from Concord, New Hampshire, about 
the close of the eighteenth century, and be- 
came a successful farmer of Rupert, where 
he (lied at the age of eighty-eight years. He 
was one of the defenders of the country dur- 
ing the war of 1812. His ancestors came 
from England. The Judge's father spent 
bis life upon a farm in Rupert, Ver- 
mont, (lying there at the age of 
eighty-eight years. His wife, who was 
also a native of that place and a 
daughter of Increase Sheldon, passed away 
some years prior to her husband's death, at 
the age of fifty. Their six sons are now all 
deceased. His l)rother, Emmons Taylor, 
was at one time a prominent citizen of 



Portage, Wisconsin, and is represented on 
another page of this \-olume. 

Judge Taylor completed the prescribed 
course at Burr Seminary, Manchester, Ver- 
mont, and then entered Union College, 
Schenectady, New York, where he pursued 
a classical course and was graduated in 
1865. The same year he came to Portage, 
Wisconsin, and commenced reading law with 
his brother Emmons, who had located here 
in 1857. He was admitted to the bar in 
1868 and successfully engaged in practice, 
being at tlie time of his death one of the 
oldest established attorneys of Portage. 

In the spring of 1893 he was elected 
county j-udge and re-elected four years later 
by the unanimous vote of all parties. He 
also ser\-ed as city attorney several terms 
and as mayor for one term. His integrity 
as a judge was never called into question, 
and he was ecpially popular with his brethren 
of the legal profession and with all classes of 
citizens. 

On the 1 6th of September, 1873, Judge 
Taylor was united in marriage with Miss 
Julia A. Davidson, a native of Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, and a daughter of Alexander 
and Julia Davidson, of Portage, who were of 
Scottish birth. Her father, who was for 
a number of years in the United States 
mail serx'ice, is still living in Oshkcish, \\'is- 
consin, at the age of eighty-four years, but 
the mother died there in 1896. To the 
Judge and his \\ife came foiu' children: 
Emmons H., who is now in the employ of 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. I'aul Rail- 
road ; James Dixon; Dwight D., and Caro- 
line M. 

The family attend the Episcopal church, 
of which Mrs. Taylor is a member and the 
Judge was a \estrvnian. Since 1861 he 
was a member of the Masonic Order, and 
Vv'as one of the foremost -representatives of 
the fraternity in this state. He belonged 
to Adonisius Lodge, of Manchester, Vt. ; 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



233 



Poultney Cliapter, Poultney, \'t. ; Fort Win- 
nebago Commandery, No. 4, K. T., Port- 
age, Wis.; and the Milwaukee Consistory; 
and was a member of Tripoli Temple, A. A. 
O. X. M. S.. Milwaukee He was also a 
member of IMcQueeney Lodge, K. P., of 
Portage. Politically he was a Republican. 
Of amiable disposition and generous im- 
pulses, he was ever ready t(_) lend his encour- 
agement to worthy pubHc enterprises, or to 
extend a helping hand to the needy and 
distressed. Judge Ta}-lor died September 
25, 189S. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON WATER- 
MAN. 

George Washington Waterman, one of 
the best known citizens of Friendship, 
Adams county, is a leading merchant of that 
city, and has been interested in many of the 
business enterprises of that region. He be- 
came a resident of Adams county as early 
as 1857, and has ever lent a helping hand 
for the better interests of his county and 
state. 

]\Ir. Waterman was born in Baldwins- 
ville. Onondaga county. New York, July 
2, 1836, and was the son of Thomas and 
Susan E. (Norcross) Waterman. His 
father was a native of New York, and the 
son of Calvin Waterman, who was born in 
Connecticut, and removed to Onondaga 
county. New York, where he died at the age 
of eighty-five years. He was descended from 
an old New England family. Thomas 
Waterman went to Illinois when a young 
man, and about 1840 settled at LaGrange, 
Walworth county, Wisconsin, becoming one 
cf the pioneers of that county, where he en- 
gaged in farming. A few years later he 
established a store which he carried on in a 
part of his house, and also worked some at 
his trade of shoeniaking. Subsequently he 



erected a large building for a store and res- 
idence, which is still standing, and is a 
conspicuous landmark in that place. He re- 
moved to Adams county in the fall of 1857, 
and resided on a farm in Springville town- 
ship, and uiion tiie location of the county 
seat at Friendship he reiuo\'ed thither, serv- 
ing as deputy register of deeds for a time, 
and also operating a shoe shop until his death 
in i860, aged fifty-eight years and six 
months. He was always an active member 
of the Methodist church and ofttimes filled 
the pulpit, and his jiome was ever opened 
with true hospitality to the visiting clergy. 
He was earnest and conscientious in all his 
dealings, and was respected by all who knew 
him. 

INIr. \\'aterman was first married to 
Eliza Dennis, whose death occurred in 
New York. She was the mother of one 
daughter who died in infancy, and five sons, 
as follows: John, Andrew, Thomas, Law- 
rence and Matthew. Lawrence was one of 
the founders of the "Whitewater Register," 
one of the leading newspapers of Wisconsin. 
.Vndrew is at present proprietor of a hotel 
at Kilbourn. The mother of our subject, 
Susan E. \\'aterman, was born in New York, 
and was the daughter of John and JMatilda 
(\Mlbur) Norcross, both of whom passed 
away at La Grange, Wisconsin, on the same 
day, aged seventy-five years. John Nor- 
cross was a native of Massachusetts, and was 
possessed of considerable musical and liter- 
ary talent, and wrote numerous books, in- 
cluding an English grammar. The Wilbur 
family was of Holland lineage. Thomas 
and Susan Waterman were the parents of 
two sons and two daughters, as follows : 
George W., our subject; Harriet E., nov/ 
Mrs. S. W. Pierce, of Friendship; Sarah L., 
now ]\Irs. Isaac Tuttle, of Rhinelander, Wis- 
consin; and Benjamin F., of Friendship. 

George W. Waterman came with his 
parents to Adams ctjunly and in 1862 was 



234 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



elected register of deeds and held the office 
eight years, being an independent candidate 
at his last election. He served as chairman 
antl town clerk in Adams township several 
vears. He established a general merchan- 
dise store at Friendship in 1878, which he 
has since conducted, and now owns a com- 
modious building, devoted to that business. 
For one year about 1876 he was engaged in 
business with his brother, Benjamin, in 
Gundrum, Indiana. 

j\Ir. Waterman is a member and past 
master of Ouincy Lodge, No. 71, A. F. & 
A. AI. He has been a life limg Republican, 
and stands firmly for the principles of "nis 
party. He keeps abreast of the times an'i 
is one of the progressive gentlemen of the 
city. His courteous manner and honest 
dealings, make him many friends and he 
is held in the highest esteem by his fellow 
citizens. 



HOX. SILAS JAMES SEY.MOUR, 
Dece.\sed. 

Hon. Silas James Seymour, deceased, 
whose death occurred at Reedsburg, April 
z'^. 1899, was one of the nmst conspicuous 
pioneers of Sauk county, and a record of 
this character would be incomplete without 
a suitable tribute to his memory. During 
his residence of a half century therein he 
had been identified with many events of the 
utmost interest and importance to its people 
and fully merited the confidence which was 
unanimously reposed in him. 

Mr. Seymour was born at Pompey, On- 
ondaga county. New York, b'ebruary 21, 
1824. He was a son of James and Susan 
(Ostrander) Seymour and sprang of a family 
which has always been distinguished for the 
patriotic spirit of its members and their de- 
votion to principles of integrity and honor. 
His grandfather, Zadoc Seymour, was borii 
near Hartford, Connecticut, the birthplace 



of a number of statesmen of that name who 
have achieved national reputations. 

\Vhile a lx)y Zadoc Seymour was bound 
out to a farmer in the neighborhood. Be- 
fore reaching his majority , however, his 
father cancelled his indentures, whereupon 
he enlisted in the Continental army, being- 
one of the first to do so, and spent six or 
seven years in the service. He went through 
the terrible winter at Valley Forge and saw 
much other hard service under the immedi- 
ate command of General Washington. 
About 1798 he settled at Pompey, New York, 
where he died about 1844, at the age of 
eighty-eight years. He was a conscientious 
member of the Presbyterian church. His 
wife, Naomi Munger, was born in Vermont 
and died some years earlier than her hus- 
band, attaining the age of seventy-five years. 
They reared a family of five sons and five 
daughters, in which James was the third 
son and sixth child. He was born in Che- 
nango county. New Yiirk.and lived for some 
vears in Genesee count\-. He died at 
Covington, Wyoming county, in the same 
state, reaching the age of nearly sixty years. 
He was a devout memlier of the Congrega- 
tional churcli and a public-sp:rited citizen. 
In early life he was a Democrat but became 
an Abolitionist when that question began to 
be agitated. His wife, who was born at 
Pompey, died about three years before her 
husband. Her father, Peter Ostrander, 
who was of Dutch lineage, came from Essex 
count V, New York, and was one of the 
founders of the town of Pompey. His wife, 
Clarissa, was a native of Connecticut. It is 
related as a curious coincidence, that at the 
tnue of their marriage this lady could not 
speak a word of Dutch nor her husband a 
word of English. One of their sons. Rev. 
Jared F. Ostrander, a Congregationalist 
minister, was one of -the pioneers of Wiscon- 
sin, settling at Aztalan, Jefl^erson county, in 
1836. He never accepted any remunera- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



235 



tion for his professional services, thereby 
demonstrating his disinterested zeal in the 
cause of Christianity. 

S. J. Seymour, whose name heads this 
article, left home at the age of fourteen 
years and was employed about two years on 
the Wabash and Erie canal in western Ohio, 
but as he suffered much from fe\-er and ague, 
he returned to New Yurk. I'p to this time 
he had attended school but six weeks, but he 
now determined to obtain a better education 
and spent the next two winters at school at 
Co\'ington and Pompey. He then began 
teaching and spent several winters in that 
way, attending school in summer. While 
teaching in Manlius, New York, he began 
using the "word method," since adopted by 
the most progressi\'e teachers generally. 
This is the first instance known of the use of 
that method of instruction. 

In 1849 lis determined to seek a home 
iri the wilds of Wisconsin and came to Sauk 
county to locate a claim. Walking from 
Madison to Reedsburg, he selected a farm in 
the present town of Dellona and continued 
on foot as far as the United States land office 
a: Mineral Point to enter the same. At that 
time there were but fi\e dwellings in Reeds- 
burg. These were built of logs and shingled 
with bark. There was one other house be- 
tween that ])lace and his farm. 1 his farm he 
culti\'ated until 1892 when he became a resi- 
dent of Reedsburg. He was a practical land 
surveyor and for fort}' years did more or less 
work in that line. 

When the Milwaukee & La Crosse rail- 
road was projected in that vicinity, like many 
of his neighbors, Mr. Seymour mortgaged 
his farm to assist in promoting the enter- 
])rise. Wiiile the result of this action was 
not as disastrous to him as to many others, 
he took an active interest in trying to secure 
some relief for the sufferers and was ap- 
pointed by Governor Smith one of the com- 
n-.issioners to dispose fif certain lands, pre- 



viously in possession of the railroad com- 
pany, for the benefit of the mortgagors and 
labored diligently for several years to secure 
the best possible results from this fund. 

He was married Septemlier 23, 1851, to 
Aiary Ann Cnnine, daughter of Derrick and 
Abigail (Bates) Conine. This lady, wdio 
still survives, was born in the town of Win- 
dom, Greene ciiunt\'. New \'ork. Five chil- 
dren blessed their union, all of whom en- 
joyed exceptional educational advantages : 
Ellen iVugusta, who was engaged in teach- 
ing for several years, was born July 19, 
1852, and died November 25, 1880; Ida 
Jane was born March 2, 1855, and died 
April 27, 187O; [Merton Eugene is a promi- 
nent farmer of the t(jwn of Dellona ; \Valter 
Frederick, who is a graduate of Wisconsin 
Uni\-ersity autl of Chicago Medical College, 
is now a medical missionary in China; and 
Arthur Romeyn is an instructor of Frencli at 
Wisconsin Uni\ersity, of which he is an 
alumnus. 

Mr. Seymour was a leading member 
of the Methodist church for a number of 
years. Before the organization of the Repub- 
lican party he began to advocate its prin- 
ciples. He filled all the principal offices of 
the town of Dellona and served two terms 
in the Wisconsin assembly in 187^1 and 1877. 
While a member of that body he introduced 
a bill providing for the establishment of the 
state board of health and labored diligently 
to secure its jjassage. The wisdom of this 
measure has since been repeatedly demon- 
strated. He was an active member of the 
Reedsburg Old Settlers' .Association and 
his presence will be greatly missed at its an- 
nual gatherings. 



JOHN GWILLYM OWEN. 

John Gwill_\m Owen is a son of Hon. 
William Owen and a grandson of John 
Owen, the founder of the W^elsh colony 



286 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



in Caledonia, Columbia county. Detailed 
accounts of the lives of his progenitors 
\\\\\ lie found elsewhere in this rec- 
ord. Mr. Owen was horn at Portag-e, Wis- 
consin, July 12, 1854. He attended the high 
school in his native city and spent most of 
his early life upon the farm, also operating 
a steam threshing machine for several years. 
About 1887 he went to Chicago and followed 
the trade of paper hanger for eight or nine 
years in that city. Since that time he has 
resided in Portage, where he continues the 
same occupation in connection with paint- 
ing, contracting, and other pursuits. 

He was married November 8, 1893, to 
Miss Alice, daughter of Isaac Tully, of 
Shullsburg, Wisconsin, and their union has 
been blessed by two children, William El- 
dred and Evelyn. 

Mr. Owen has inherited a talent for mu- 
sic and literary work. He is a frecjuent con- 
tributor to current publications and has been 
instrumental in gathering and preserving 
much of the early history of the town of 
Caledonia as well as in rescuing from (..)b- 
livion numerous reminiscences and traditions 
of his ancestors. He was the chief promoter 
of the plan to hold a semi-centennial jubilee 
of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist church 
of Caledonia, which was carried out on the 
twenty-sixth of September, 1896. He was 
elected secretary of the organization and pre- 
served the only records of the event which 
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the 
settlement of his grandparents in Caledonia 
and the practical, beginning of the church. 
This jubilee was participated in l)y many 
of the early pioneers of the town and their 
descendants, all of whom passed an enjoy- 
able day, their only regret being that more 
of their neighbors had not taken part in the 
celebration. Many interesting relics of the 
early days were exhibited, including articles 
of clothing, furniture, farm implements and 
other things, many of which were rare curi- 



osities to the present generation and des- 
tined to be of great value to their descend- 
ants. 



FERDINAND EFFINGER. 

Ferdinand Ef^nger, one of the most 
energetic, enterprising and prosperous busi- 
ness men of Baraboo, Wisconsin, was born 
ir Rottweil, Dotternhausen, W\trtemburg, 
Germany, August 3, 1848, a son of Joseph 
and Veronika Etiinger, life-long residents of 
that country, where the father successfully 
engaged in the lirewery and cooperage busi- 
ness. 

Leaving home at the age of eighteen 
years, our subject went to Milhausen, Alsace, 
where he worked in a brewery for a time. 
In November, 1869, he entered the German 
army and remained in the service for three 
years, during which time he participated in 
the Franco-Prussian war. Although he took 
part in nine hard-fought battles, he for- 
tunately escaped uninjured. Later he was 
employed in a brewery in Donau, Eschingen, 
Baden, on the head waters of the river 
Danube. 

Bidding goodby to his native land, Air. 
Efifinger went to London, England, in 1873, 
and was there employed in a brewery for 
about a year. In April, 1874, he sailed for 
the United States and landed in New York 
city. As a cooper he worked in a sugar 
liouse at Hastings-on-the-Hudson for one 
year and nine months, and on the ist of 
January, 1S76, returned to New York city, 
and he was employed as a brewer and cooper 
until October, 1879, when he came to Wis- 
consin, locating in Baraboo in November 
of that year. His first employment here was 
in the capacity of superintendent of a brew- 
ery owned by Mrs. Bender, and a few 
months later, in company with Adolph Ben- 
der, he rented the establishment and em- 




V 






\ 




K 
W 
C5 

fc. CO 

^ s 

fa . 

o 

_■ o 

CQ 
>H 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



239 



barked in business on bis own account. This 
relation continued for one year, when he 
purchased the interest of his partner and has 
since carried on the business alone with 
marked success. In July, 1884, his plant 
was destroyed by hre, and until his present 
large brewery was completed the following 
year he handled Milwaukee beer. His plant 
has a capacity of 5,000 barrels per annum 
and he furnishes employment to four men. 
A view of his plant forms one of the illustra- 
tions of this volume on another page. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Effinger was ruiited in mar- 
riage with Miss Bertha ]\Iilke, a native of 
Pommerin, Germany, and to them have been 
born five children, namely : Bertha, Martha, 
Lilly, Frederick Carl and Ferdinand Joseph. 
The family attend the Lutheran church, and 
Mr. Effinger holds membership in the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen. He is not 
identified with any political party, and is 
now most creditably and acceptably serving 
his second term as supervisor from the third 
ward of Baraboo. He is a prominent and 
active member of the Baraboo Mannerchoir, 
was one of the prime movers in its organiza- 
tion, and has been very instrumental in mak- 
ing it one of the leading mannerchoirs in 
this part of the state. 



HON. WILLIAM OWEX, Deceased. 

Hon William Owen, deceased, will 
be long remembered as one of the most 
broad minded and public spirited citizens 
of Columbia county. The record of his 
life betokens an intelligent devotion to the 
welfare of the community with which he was 
identified, though his personal interests might 
sometimes have been better served by pursu- 
ing a different course. He was a prime 
mover in securing a number of public im- 
provements, the advantages of which are 
now unquestioned, but which recjuired con- 
siderable agitation to secure their adoption. 



He was the oldest son of John and ]Mar- 
garet Owen, the history of whose lives will 
be found elsewhere in this volume, and was 
born in the village of Llanelltyd, Whales, 
September 10, 1825. His death occurred 
in the town of Caledonia, Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, August 21, 1894. His educa- 
tion was of a rather rudimentary character, 
but he was an extensive reader, keeping well 
in touch with the leading questions of the 
day, and forming decided opinions on the 
various public questions which arose from 
time to time. He had marked taste for lit- 
erary work and was a frequent contributor 
to current publications, including several of 
the leading Welsh journals issued in the 
United States. For diversion he translated 
a number of articles from Welsh to English 
and others from English into the Welsh 
language. Though he reached his majority 
about the same time the family located in 
this county, he continued to live with his 
parents for several years, assisting in the 
dififerent kinds of labor necessary to the im- 
provement of the frontier farm. As lum- 
ber was one of the first things needed he 
spent one winter with his brothers and some 
of their neighbors in getting out timber on 
the Yellow river. Up to that time no one 
had ever attempted to run a raft through the 
Wisconsin dells, but, having had some ex- 
perience in navigation on the Welsh coast, 
he did not hesitate to make the attempt and 
successfully piloted his lumber to its desti- 
nation near his home, where the most of it 
was shaved into shingles and used to roof 
the houses of the early settlers in that neigh- 
borhood. His business capacity soon began 
to attract the attention of his neighbors and 
in 1849 he was elected the first school super- 
intendent of the town of Dekorra (which 
then included Caledonia) and also served as 
one of the first justices of the peace. W'hile 
filling the first named position he organized 
six district schools. 



240 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



In 1852 Mr. Owen was elected register 
of deeds and took up liis residence in Portage. 
He filled the office for four years and soon 
after removed to the \-illage of Cambria 
where he dealt in grain and lumber for al.iout 
nine years, four years of this time officiating 
as station agent at that place. He then en- 
gaged in farming and hop culture in the town 
of Randolph for a few years, after wdiich he 
returned to Caledonia and spent the balance 
of his life upon a farm, continuing to man- 
ifest a keen interest in every important public 
enterprise. He was always a stanch sup- 
porter of Republican principles and in 1865 
was elected by that party to a seat in the state 
assembly. In 1870 he was appointed to tak^^ 
the United States census in four townships, 
and in 1880 performed the same duty for the 
town of Caledonia. He was instrumental in 
promoting many improvements in the high- 
ways of the town. One of his first official 
acts was the laying out of the road along 
the south side of the Baraboo river, between 
"The Narrows" and the "Welsh Bridge." 
He ^^■as one of the organizers of the com- 
pany which finally secured the construction 
of the present bridge across the Wisconsin 
river at Portage and served as treasurer of 
the company for a time. He secured a spe- 
cial act of the legislature (drafted by him- 
self J authorizing the use of the ■"Swanip 
Land Funtls" due from the state to the town 
of Caledonia, for the purpose of building a 
lexee along the Wisconsin ri\er. and it was 
chiefly due to his influence that the fund was 
finally utilized for that purpose, thereby pro- 
tecting several thousand acres of land from 
overflow and adding immensely to their 
value. All these improvements were accom- 
plished in spite of the apathy and. in some 
cases, the positix'e opposition of many of the 
])eople who were most benefited 1)_\' them. 
He was also one of the first champions of 
the project to organize the "Leech Creek and 
Lower Baraboo Drainage District." It was 



ascertained that by cutting one mile of ditch 
the length of the Baraboo river between "the 
narrows" and its mouth could be reduced 
fi'om twenty-two miles to only eleven 
miles antl the water level of the whole valley 
would thereby be lowered about three feet, 
which would be of incalculable benefit to the 
adjacent property. Owing to a technicality, 
the idea failed of realization at the time but 
agitation of the project has recently been re- 
vi\ed and it promises to be eventually carried 
out by private enterprise. His enthusiasm in 
behalf of publk improvements sometimes 
proved disastrous to his private interests and 
he never fully recovered from the financial 
embarassments which resulted from mort- 
gaging his farm to promote the building of 
the Milwaukee & LaCrosse railroad through 
the county. 

The social and religious sides of his na- 
ture were amply developed. He was one 
of the workers in the Calvinistic Methodist 
church and ^vas known throughout the sur- 
rounding country as an organizer of Sabbath 
schools. He hail a natural talent for music 
which he took pains to cultivate and de- 
lighted to gratitV. Few instruments were 
to be found when he came to the county, but 
he was ready with his "tuning fork" on 
every occasion to pitch the key and lead the 
vocal melody 

January i, 1853, Mr. Owen was married 
to i\Iargaret, daughter of John W. and Laura 
( Price) Jones. This lady, who is still active 
in pursuit of the duties of life, was born at 
Bronyfoel, Parish of Llangelynin, Merion- 
ethshire, Wales. John W. Jones came to this 
country with his family in 1851 and settled 
in the towii of Randolph, Columbia county, 
where he gained quite a reputation on ac- 
ciiunt of his surgical skill. He died there 
April 4, 1868, at the age of sixty-one years. 
His wife reached the age of eighty-four 
years, passing away March 20, 1889. 

Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



241 



Owen, named as follows, their homes being 
in Columbia county, unless otherwise noted : 
John Gwillym ; Edwin Caradoc and Edwena 
Esellt, twins; Aneurim, of Langford, South 
Dakota; William Salisbury, in Chicago; 
David Garonwy, at Blue Earth City, Min- 
nesota ; Owen Jones ; Merrion Rhydderch, 
Atlantic City, New Jersey; Laura Maggie; 
and Edward Grant. 



MAIiCUS ALEXANDER WARREN. 

Marcus Alexander ^^^arren, president of 
the First National Bank of Baraboo, and 
one of the most prominent citizens of that 
vicinity, is a native of Wisconsin and has 
spent most of his life in Sauk county. He 
is the oldest son of Thompson M. and Cath- 
arine (McKennan) Warren. Thompson ^L 
Warren was born in the state of Maine, but 
while a young man went to New York City 
and carried on a book store for some time. 
Li 1845 he came to Wisconsin, locating at 
JNlineral Point where he was joined by his 
brothers, Dennis and Andrew. They formed 
a partnership under the name of Warren 
Brothers, and did an extensive trading busi- 
ness in general mercliandise and lumber 
with marked success. Andrew Warren, the 
only survivor of this firm, now resides in 
Chicago. After spending several years at 
Mineral Point, Thompson AL Warren re- 
moved to Dane county. He entered large 
tracts of land near the city of Madison and 
engaged in farming on a large scale. He 
improved this property and it rapidly in- 
creased in value until he sold it at a good 
profit in 1867 and removed to Baraboo. 
Upon becotning a citizen of this place he 
displayed the same enterprising spirit which 
had characterized his previous ventures and 
began to exert himself toward the upbuild- 
ing and development of the town, which was 



then but a struggling village. Being of a 
speculative turn of mind and possessing con- 
siderable foresight, he did not hesitate to 
invest his means where more timid men 
would have held aloof, and continued to 
prosper, accunudating a large estate. 
Among the enterprises which he established 
ma\' be mentioned Hotel Warren, built in 
1877. It is a substantial three-story stone 
building and continues to be the leading hos- 
telry of the town. In 1886 he organized the 
First National Bank, of which he was pres- 
ident until his death and which has 
always been one of the most sub- 
stantial financial institutions of Sauk 
county. After a long and useful ca- 
reer his death occurred February 26, 1893, 
ac the age of nearly eighty years. His ven- 
erable widow is still a resident of Baraboo. 
She was born in Herkimer county. New 
York, and is the mother of five children : 
Marcus A. ; Minnie, Mrs. J. Hoggins, of 
Chicago, Illinois; Thompson j\I., Jr., now 
deceased, a former ranchman of South Da- 
kota; Wm. A., cashier of the First National 
Bank of Baraboo; and Isabel, Mrs. L. E. 
Hoyt, of Baraboo. 

IMarcus A. Warren was born on the farm 
i:i Dane cuunty, Wisconsin, May 2^, ^^S7- 
He was ten years old when the family lo- 
cated in Baraboo and has therefore been a 
resident of that thriving city for more than 
thirty years. After leaving the Baraboo 
high school he took a course at the State 
University in Madison. He assisted his fa- 
tlier in various ways, acquiring a good un- 
derstanding of business aft'airs, and in 1889 
embarked in business on his own account, 
taking charge of the electric light plant, 
since merged into the Baraboo Gas & Elec- 
tric Light Company. 

Upon the death of his father he was 
elected president of the First National Bank 
and has ever since been at the head of that 
corporation. Besides other \aluable prop- 



242 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



erty, he is the individual owner of Hotel 
Warren. Believing that the precepts and 
principles of the Republican party embody 
the best interests of the nation, he gives that 
organization his hearty support but does not 
engage in active politics. 

He was happily married May 28, 1888, 
to Miss Mary R. Willott, a native of Boone 
county, Illinois, who has been a resident of 
Sauk county from early childhood. They 
are the parents of one daughter, Lucile. 
,Mi's. Warren is a communicant of the Epis- 
copal church and the social connections of 
the familv are all that could be desired. 



HON. WILLIAM HENRY PROCTOR. 

Hon. William Henry P.roctor, widely 
known as one of the most prosperous and 
enterprising farmers of the town of Foun- 
tain Prairie, Columbia county, is also equal- 
ly and as readily recognized as one of the 
most representative citizens of the county. 
Modest and unassuming in his personal 
habits and ciiaracter, he is yet so able and 
worthy that it somehow seems as a matter 
of course that he should come to the front 
on every occasion that demands clear and 
clean manhood. Pie is a noble type of the 
best American citizenship, and his name 
adorns these pages, not for great deeds and 
wide activities, but for straightforward hon- 
esty, moral cleanness, and sweet, wholesome 
living in the community in which his long 
and useful life has been passed. 

Mr. Proctor was born October 19, 1827, 
in Cavendish, Vermont, and inherits the best 
traditions of a long and illustrious New 
England lineage. His maternal grand- 
father was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
army at Lexington and Bunker Hill, and his 
paternal great-grandfather also participated 
in the same glorious struggle. His parents 



were Asa and Lorena Proctor, both resi- 
dents of Cavendish, Windsor county, Ver- 
mont, at the time when the subject of this 
article was ushered into this workl. In the 
same house the senior Proctor was also born 
and it was associated with the family for- 
tunes for many years. Lorena Proctor 
was a native of Mt. Plolly, Rutland county, 
Vermont. 

The or'ginal Proctor is said to have come 
into New England from Scotland, but ex- 
Secretary Proctor, perhaps the most conspic- 
uous member of the clan, was accustomed 
to look to England for the primal springs of 
the family name and fortune. English or 
Scotch, however, the family lineage is one 
(.)f which the present generation may well 
be proud. Asa Proctor was usually known 
as Captain Proctor, probably because of his 
soldierly bearing, which was his by hered- 
ity. His father served in both the army and 
the navy of the United States, and while yet 
a boy he heard the cannon roar in the dis- 
tance at the battle of Plattsburg. With his 
wife and family he left Vermont in 1836, and 
following a great tide of western immigra- 
tion found a home for several years in 
Schoolcraft, Michigan. In 1844 he moved on 
to a new home in what was then the terri- 
tory of Wisconsin, and, settling upon a gov- 
ernment claim of one hundred and twenty 
acres, made it his home for life. He died 
August 30, 1848, at the early age of fifty 
years, and his wife died on the same farm 
October 13, 1855, when fifty-five years old. 
They were the parents of five children, two 
(if whom died in infancy, and one after at- 
taining maturity. Ellen Lorette was twice 
married and died in Texas many years ago. 
Mrs. Stillman R. Dix is now living in Mitch- 
ell, South Dakota, and, with the subject of 
this writing, constitutes the only surviving 
members of the family. 

When the Proctor family came to Michi- 
gan, William Henry was but a lad of nine 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



243 



years. He attended school in Michigan, but 
after their removal to Wisconsin he was 
able to attend only a term at a private school 
at Aztalan. Upon his parents' death the 
farm on which they were living passed into 
his possession; and very soon occurred his 
wedding with Angeline Elizabeth Lashier. 
They were married November 8, 1857, and 
the union has proved in every way a most 
ideal and happy one. .She is a lady of many 
excellent traits of character, and has helped 
to make her husband's home the center of 
many wide and distant friendships. She 
is the second daughter of Samuel and Mary 
(Durfee) Lashier, of Fall River, Wiscon- 
sin. Her father was of Hollandish extrac- 
tion, while her mother was 1x)rn in Massa- 
chusetts. He was a carpenter and built 
many of the houses in Fall River and vicin- 
ity. He was also a wagon maker and is 
remembered as a capable workman and a 
thoroughly honest and reliable man. He 
died in 1881, survi\-ing the loss of his wife 
only one year. 

Mr. and JMrs. Proctor lia\e continued to 
make their home on the old farm. Here 
they have reared a family of eight children, 
and here they have written a history of can- 
dor and neighborly kindness, honesty and 
fair dealing, high moral character, and loyal- 
ty to the ideal. Their oldest child, Nettie 
Angeline, was born in 1S58, and died March 
23, 1876. Ellen Lorena, February 14, i860, 
is living at home. John Samuel, September 
30, 1861, lives in Mnnieapolis and is a mem- 
ber of a firm having very extensive trade 
in iron goods. William Rush, July i, 1863, 
lives at Sedalia, Missouri, where he is a 
train dispatcher for the Missouri Pacific rail- 
road. Mary Elizabeth, February 11, 1868, 
is the wife of A. S. Ralph, of Columbus. 
Walter Asa, June 21, 1874, is a graduate of 
the Delafield Military Academy, and served 
in the army used to police the city of Manila 
in the Spanish-American war. While there 



he learned the Spanish language, and was 
a court interpreter for some time; Clara 
May, February, 1875, a teacher in the Fall 
River school; Alfred Henry, March 17, 1878, 
is a graduate of the Columbus high school, 
and is now assisting in the management of 
the home farm. Adelaide Lulu, February 
20, 1878, is now in attendance at the same 
school. 

Mr. Proctor is an ardent Republican, and 
he has served his town many times as chair- 
man of the town bnard of Fountain Prairie. 
In 1882 he served as a member of the state 
assembly from the second district of Colum- 
bia county. He has always taken a lively 
interest in political affairs, and his influence 
is much sought. He was an alternate dele- 
gate to the Philadelphia convention that 
nom'inated Mcfelnley and 'Roosevelt. He 
is a member of the Columbus Universalist 
church, as are most of his family. He is an 
honest and upright citizen, careful and con- 
scientious in the performance of every duty. 
Recording his genuine worth and real manli- 
ness is no perfunctory task to the editorial 
pen. The writer (Dinsmore) has tender 
memories of days and scenes long gone, and 
has often communed with him heart to heart. 
He has seen into the soul of the man, and 
bears testimony to its nobilit}'. 



PLATON GARFIELD COLLIPP. 

Platon Garfield Collipp, one of the lead- 
ing attorneys of Friendship, and publisher of 
the "Adams County Reporter," is a young 
man whose ability and intelligent worth are 
recognized by every citizen of Adams coun- 
ty. He has already filled some of the most im- 
portant offices within the gift of the people of 
his community, and has faithfully discharged 
the duties of his commission in every in- 
stance, and is one of the public-spirited men 
of W^isconsin. 



244 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mr. Collipp was bom in Portage, Wis- 
consin, May 9, 1869, and was the son of Con- 
rad and Louisa (Slifer) Collipp. Conrad 
Collipp was a native of Obersuhl, Hesse-Cas- 
sel., Germany. His father died in his native 
land, but his mother passed away in Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania. Conrad Collipp 
learned the trade of carpet weaving in his 
native land, and about 1842 came to 
America, and worked at his trade in Phila- 
delphia several years, and then went to Chi- 
cago, and in 1848 came to Wisconsin. He 
settled at Portage where he engaged in farm- 
ing on land which is now within the city lim- 
its. After a few years he started a Isrick 
yard, and for a number of years was thus en- 
gaged, and was successful, but afterward 
rented the establisjiment. He served as 
county treasurer and was active in matters of 
public import. He was a consistent mem- 
ber of the German Methodist church. Mrs. 
Collipp is a resident of Portage, aged sixty- 
nine years, where her husband passed away 
in 1883, aged sixty-one years. Mrs. Collipp 
was born near Pittsburg, Pennsyh-ania, and 
was the daughter of Samuel Slifer, a native 
of German}-, and a cari^enter by trade. He 
settled at Portage in 1848. where he re- 
mained until his death. 1 he original name 
of the family was Schlifer. 

Platon G. Collipp completed the course in 
the Portage high school, and then spent two 
years in the English course at the Wiscon- 
sin Universitv. He then entered the freight 
office of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railroad Company at Portage, remaining 
there until 1896. In the fall of that year he 
entered the law department of the univer- 
sity, and after spending one year and three 
months at the study was admitted to the 
bar at Milwaukee in December, 1897. He 
spent three months in the office of J. H. 
Rogers, in Portage, and then established his 
present practice at Friendship. July 8, 
1898, in company with L. L. Ketchum, he 



began the publication of the "Adams County 
Reporter," and in November of that year be- 
came its sole proprietor. During the fall 
of 1898 he was elected district attornev, hav- 
ing been unanimously nominated at the Re- 
publican con\-ention. He is also engaged 
in the real estate and insurance business to 
some extent. His practice is a growing one 
and he is destined to become one of the fore- 
most men in his state. Wherever he has 
made his home he has many friends, and has 
been called upon to serve in various offices of 
local importance. \\'hile a resident of Port- 
age he served two vears as alderman, and in 
1894 was nominated for city treasurer, Init 
the party opposition caused his defeat. 

Mr. Collipp was married September 27, 
1899, to Miss Agnes A. Fulton, daughter of 
William and Agnes (More) Fulton, resi- 
dents of Portage, Wisconsin. Mr. Collii^p 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church at Portage, and also of McOueeney 
Lodge, No. 104, Knights of Pythias. 



CAL\"L\ E. REED, Dece.vsed. 

Of the worthy pioneers who lead the 
way of ci\-ilization into the wilderness 
too much cannot be said, and among 
those \vho ga\-e the best years of their 
lives to the development of the re- 
sources of Adams county, Calvin E. 
Reed must be mentioned with much praise. 
Born in Berkshire, iMassachusetts, December 
15, 1815, and rearetl to maturit}- in Li\-ing- 
ston count}-. New York, whither he had ac- 
companietl his parents when a child, he de- 
terniiiied earl}- in his career to seek fortune 
in the new west, and in 1845 'i*^ 's*'^ '^'^ New 
York home and came to Wisconsin. He lo- 
cated in Rock county, where he purchased 
land of the govennnent, improved it, and 
held it for ten years. He then, in 1856, 
nioved to White Creek, Adams countv. Wis- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



245 



consin, and purchased a farm of about one 
hundred and twenty acres of land on the 
site of the present village. He erected a 
good house, which now stands within the 
village limits; also good barns and other 
farm buildings. The residence is now oc- 
cupied by his daughter, ]Mrs. William Fisher. 
Mr. Reed was a man of great force of char- 
acter, business ability, strictest integrity, and 
a Christian of devout princiiiles. By good 
example and liberal cducatinn he did much 
to maintain Christian institutions and works 
iti the community. He was a member nf the 
Baptist church, but his Christianit)- was 
broad and generous. In politics he was not 
a strong partisan, but took great interest in 
the affairs of good government, local as well 
as national, and was always found support- 
ing those men and measures which he be- 
lieved were calculated for the good of the 
people. He served ior eighteen years as 
postmaster, and his duty was thoroughly and 
conscientiously performed during the whole 
of that long period. 

His death was seriously felt by the en- 
tire community as an irreparable loss, and 
the heartfelt sympathies of all were extended 
to the bereaved family, each member of the 
community- feeling it as a personal 1l>ss. He 
was the counselor and friend of all in dis- 
tress, a genial neighbor, and kintl and indul- 
gent parent and de\-oted husband. He died 
at White Creek, May 9, 1895. 

Sarah Twist, daughter of Thomas and 
Mary (Burkhart) Twist, became the wife 
of Calvin E. Reed December 30, 1837. ^Nlrs. 
Reed was born in Mt. Morris, Livingston 
county, Xew "^"ork, Jul}' 23, 1819. .She was a 
devoted wife and mother, and, like her hus- 
band, was a devout memlier of the Baptist 
church. Her death occurred in tlie \-illage 
of White Creek, January 28, 1899, and was 
deeply mourned l)y all who had known her. 
During the latter years of her life her 
liealtb failed and she was unable t;;) 



attend to her household duties. She devoted 
nnich time to reading, and was a close stu- 
dent of the Bible and of all good literature. 
She retained her faculties perfectly until lier 
last illness, which began in July, 1898. but 
from that time until her death she was a 
great sufferer, and reciuired the constant and 
closest care of her daughters, who attended 
her. 

^Ir. and Mrs. Calvin E. Reed were the 
parents of the following children: A. Jo- 
sephine, now Mrs. William Fisher; Ennis 
T., for whom Ennis T. Reed Post, G. A. R., 
of White Creek, was named: Mary E., now 
Mrs. C. J. Austin; Sarah W., now }ilrs. 
Bergman ; and Kittie, who died December 
25, 1864, aged si.x years. 



CHAUNCEY J. AUSTIN. 

Chauncey J. Austin, deceased, was one 
of tlie pione'ers of Wisconsin, and a \-eteran 
of the Civil war. He was born in Pennsyl- 
vania March 9, 1840. His parents, Alvah 
and Lucinda (Stowell) Austin, who moved 
from Pennsyl\-ania to Oconomowoc, Wis- 
consin, in 1844, devoted the best part of 
their lives Xo the uplnhlding of the unculti- 
vated and unci\ilized wilderness of Wiscon- 
sin, and the father died and now rests in the 
cemetery at Mapleton, near Oconomowoc. 
The mother died in La Crosse in the autumn 
of 1888, and is buried in that city. Her 
death occurred in her eighty-third year. 

Chauncey J. Austin, the subject of this 
article, came with his parents to Wisconsin 
when he was four years of age. He re- 
ceived the common school education afforded 
at that time in Wisconsin, remained at home 
until he reached his majority, and learned the 
trade of carpenter. In 1S61 he came to 
White Creek, .\dams county, where he pur- 
chased a tract of land near the village. Here 



246 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



lie engaged in the hop industry, and was 
successful in the enterprise, demonstrating 
tliat hops can he successfully cultivated in 
Adams county. 

In August, 1862, he responded to the 
country's call for soldiers, and enlisted in 
Company K, Twenty-fifth Wisconsin \'(.)1- 
unteer Infantry. He remained with his 
regiment through all its many and weari- 
some marches and hattles, and did his dut}' 
as a brave and true soldier, until May, i8f)T,, 
when, near Snyders Bluft', Mississippi, he 
was seized by an attack of dysentery, and 
suffered severely from that time on until in 
May, 1864, he was sent to Decatur to the 
hospital, and later to the United States hos- 
pital at Nashville. Tennessee. In June, 
1864, he received his discharge from the 
Twentv-fifth Regiment, and was commis- 
sioned first lieutenant in the Forty-second 
Wisconsin, by Go\-ernor Lewis. He came 
home to Madison, Wisconsin, on a furlough, 
and remained until September of that year. 
He was finally nuistered out June 20, 1865. 
after a long and arduous service, marked 
bv great o'allantry, and honored by his su- 
perior officers f(jr his courage. 

He did not reco\-er from his physical 
troulile contracted during the ser\-ice. and 
in August. 1879, he was attacked by what 
appeared to be paralysis of the lower limbs. 
A sudden relapse and a recurrence of his 
old trouble came on July 8, 1880, and for 
the six years following he suffered intense 
pain, and was never able to stand upon his 
feet, nor to so nuich as turn himself in bed 
with()ut assistance. Through all these years 
of sufi^ering he was always most patient and 
thoughtful, and ever considerate of the com- 
fort and well-being of those around him. 
Though not a memlier of anv church organi- 
2ation, he was a true Christian man. and the 
consolations of Christianity cheered him in 
his last sufferings. He was a man of great 
public spirit and generosity, and he took a 



lively interest in all matters of a public na- 
ture. It was largely through his sugges- 
tions and influence that the town of White 
Creek was subdivided into the towns of 
Easton, Spring\'ille, and Ouincy. He was 
a Republican in political sentiment, and was 
always loyal to the principles of good gov^- 
ernment. He was married Februat)' 15, 
1868, to Mary E., daughter of Calvin E. 
and Sarah (Twist) Reed, a sketch of whom 
will be found in connection with this article. 
]\Irs. Austin still lives at the old homestead 
at W'hite Creek. To this union two children 
were born, namely: George Edward, born 
April 22, 1869, who is now at home, and 
Alvah, born September 28, 1874, and who 
was married to Alice L. Henry, daughter 
of John A. and Augusta ( Stowell) Henry, 
December i, 1898. 



DARIUS ADAMS GOODYEAR. 

Darius Adams Goodyear, one of the 
most prominent and highly respected citi- 
zens of Portage, is now living in an hon- 
orable retirement. He is a native of Sem- 
pronius, Cayuga county. New York, where 
he was born August 6, 1822, the tenth child 
in a family of eleven children. His par- 
ents were John and Julia (Bradley) Good- 
year. His father was a native of Fair- 
haven, Connecticut, but rem(.)ved to New 
York in early y(juth. He li\ed on a farm 
in Cayuga county until a short time after the 
birth of his son, Darius .\., when he re- 
moved to Genesee count}', in the same state, 
\\'here he died in 1826. His wife did not 
long survive him. passing away the same 
\'ear. ]Mr. Goodyear has a letter written 
li}' his mother to her mother, and an- 
other written by her brother, Henry 
Bradley. Both contain much valuable in- 
formation about the family. It appears 




DARIUS A. GOODYEAR. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



249 



that Jolm Goodyear and Julia Brad- 
ley were married April 5, 1807, and their 
children were : Hannah, who was horn May 
8, 1808, and died July 6, 1852. Lavinia 
became Mrs. C. C. ^^'aterhouse, and prac- 
ticed medicine in California after his death. 
She was born November 13, 1809, and died 
April I. 1890. Diana married Dr. Briggs, 
and took up. the study and jjractice of medi- 
cine with him. She was born July 29, 181 1, 
and died Xovem])er j8, 1897. Pomeroy 
was born April 15, 1813, and died Septem- 
ber 28, 1857. Addison was born January 
8, 1815, and died April 10, 1849. Brad- 
ley, a physician, was born December 6, 1816, 
and died May 16, 1889. Julia was born 
Jmie 6, 1818, and died April 4. 1872. John, 
a physician, was born November 12, 1819, 
and died April 8, 1889. Franklin, a physi- 
cian, was born April 26, 1821, and died Sep- 
tember 30, 1883. Byron was born May 12, 
1824, and died October 9, 1887. 

Dr. ]\Iiles Goodyear, a prominent physi- 
cian of Cortland, New York, displayed 
much interest in his brother's orphan chil- 
dren, and did much for them through all 
their youthful years. It was due to his in- 
fluence that so many of the family studied 
for the medical profession, and acquitted 
themselves so creditably in its practice. The 
family had a part in the old cnlnnial days 
0/ New England, and came originally fr(jm 
the parish of Monken Haslley, cnuntv l\lid- 
dlesex, England. Stephen Goodyear, the 
founder of the family in the United States, 
was one of the original freemen of New 
Haven, a list of whom was prepared in 1638. 
He left England in the ship Hester in 1637. 
His wife, Mary, was a woman of large pos- 
sessions, including an estate in London, now 
known as Grosvenor Square. She died on 
a voyage to England in 1646, the ship never 
being heard of after it left the land. He 
afterward married Margaret, the widow of 
Captain (jeoree LambertDU. He was dep- 



uty governor of New Haven colony from 
1643 to 1658, and was a man of mark. His 
posterity included many prominent business 
and professional men, none of whom were 
ever known to fail in business, but were all 
famous for commercial success and integrity 
of character. 

The Bradlev family came from Leeds, 
England, and settled at New Haven, where 
many of the name subsequently attained 
prominence. The father of Julia Bradley 
made a home at N(-)rthfield, Cayuga county, 
New York, wliere he was widely known as a 
successful farmer, and as the founder of 
the Bradley Meeting House, to which he 
ga\-e the ground for the church and cem- 
etery. His sons were Harry, Jabez, Daniel 
and Walter, and his daughters were Mrs. 
Darius Adams, Mrs. Andrews, and perhaps 
other children. 

Mr. Goodyear, the subject of this article, 
is now the only survivor of his parents' 
numerous family and was less than four 
years old when they died. He was adopted 
by his great-uncle, Heman Bradley, a resi- 
dent of Cayuga county. When he was about 
nine he was taken into the home of his sis- 
ter, Mrs. ^^'aterhouse, then living at Havana, 
New York, and went with her when her 
fr.mily found a home at Fort Defiance, Ohio. 
Schools were scarce on the frontier, and the 
young lad had little chance for learning. 
With open eyes and attentive ears, however, 
lie learned much. He helped about a hotel 
kept by Mr. Waterhouse, w'here state and 
county oificials were frequently entertained. 
He also carried mail on horseback from Fort 
Defiance to Adrian, Michigan, Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, and IMaumee, Ohio, Mr. Water- 
house having obtained contracts for all these 
routes. In 1836 he went to New York 
citv to attend a school taught by his sister, 
Diana. He was with her for a year, and 
then engaged as a collector for a lumber 
firm, of which Mr. \\'aterhouse was a mem- 



250 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



ber, and spent a number of years in tbis 
way. 

]\Ir. Goodyear returned to Cortland wbile 
still a 3-oung man, and applied himself to tbe 
trade of cabinetmaker. A\'ben be bad 
learned tbis trade be worked bis way t(j 
New York city on a canal boat and secured 
emi)loyment witb a large furniture bouse, 
wbere be remained for many years. He 
was especially good at repairing, and tbis 
line of work took b:m to many of tbe bomes 
of tbe leading" and wealtby citizens of New 
York and Brooklyn. He was called to do 
tbe finest work in repairing passenger cars, 
and bis unusual ability gave tbe house a 
wide reputation. He e\'entually engaged in 
the lumber business, and became a partner 
ii^ tbe firm of W'aterbouse, Linn & Com- 
pany, which sent se\-eral shiploads of lum- 
ber to California in the boom days of 1849. 
Tbe enterprise, however, did not prove 
profitable, though boldly planned and ex- 
ecuted. Mr. Goodyear bad by this time be- 
come familiar with every department of tbe 
Ijusiness and determined to strike out for 
himself. He came to Portage in 1858, and 
at once opened a lumber yard. His intimate 
knowledge of tbe business gave him a grasp 
of tbe situation that at once put him ahead 
of all C(jm]jetition, and won for him an ex- 
tensive retail trade. All lumber was at first 
brought Ijy water, l)ut as railroad transporta- 
tion was increase!.! he opened other yards, 
and at one time bad four in Columbia coun- 
ty alone. In tbe meantime be invested his 
profits in timber land in central Wisconsin 
and after about twenty years sold out bis re- 
tail business and gave his entire attention to 
manufacture and wholesale dealing in lum- 
ber. For a number of years be operated 
extensi\-e saw-mills in tbe \\'isconsin valley. 
Tbis l)usiness took on large proportions, and 
continues very important. Mr. Goodyear 
sold out some years ago to bis son, and a 
grandson is now a principal partner in tbe 



firm. The headquarters of tbe business is 
at Tomah, \\'isconsin. 

Mr. Goodyear was married April 16, 
1 85 1, to Sarah, a daughter of Linus and 
Mary Holmes. Her father was a farmer, 
and spent his latter days at Portage. ^Ir. 
and Mrs. Goodyear have only one child, 
Charles Adams, who lives in Chicago, but 
has bis office at Tomah, ^\'isconsin. ]\Iuch 
of Mr. Goodyear's success be attributes to 
liis wife. They began housekeeping in 
Brooklyn, Xew Ynrk, on a salary of fifty 
dollars a nupntb. b\ed comfdrtaljly, rented a 
pew in tbe Strong Place Baptist church, 
but frequently attended Henry Ward Beecb- 
er's church, and saved money. In recent 
years they have spent much of their time 
in travel. Mr. Goodyear is a man of liberal 
and progressive ideas, and finds pleasure 
in freely using bis ample means to upbuild 
and adorn tbe city of Portage. He has erect- 
ed more substantial and elegant brick build- 
ings than any other man of that city, of 
recent times. Though not a member of any 
church, he encourages all Christian work 
and all other movements looking to tbe gen- 
eral good. He takes an active part in tem- 
perance work, is a trustee of tbe Presby- 
terian church, and \A'as for some years super- 
intendent of tbe Baptist Sunday school. 
From tbe organization of tbe party be has 
been a Republican, and, while never promi- 
nent as a politician, bis aih'ice has often 
been sought by friends and leading men in 
tbe political arena, and a respectful bearing 
given and his ideas often folI<i\ved in tliat 
field. 

A portrait nf Mr. Goodyear on another 
page of this \-olume will enhance its \alue 
to bis manv friends and admirers. 



HOX. FRANK A\'ERY. 
Hon. Frank Avery, of Baraboo, has i)er- 
haps been more closely identified \\itli tbe 
pulilic affairs of Sauk county than an}' other 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



251 



citizen, and lias also been instrumental in 
shaping more important legislation. He 
\vas born at Tenterden, county of Kent, 
England, November 17, 1830, a son of 
Thomas and Mary (Boorman) Avery. 
Thomas Avery came to Wisconsin in 1864 
and died at Baraboo April 15, 1885, aged 
eightv-three years. He was a native of 
Tenterden, where he carried on business 
as a shoemaker, following the occupati(^n 
in whicli his father. William Avery, had 
preceded him. Mrs. Mary Avery was born 
in the county of Kent and died there in 
1838. Her parents came to the United 
States several years previous to that time, 
settling at Rochester, New York, where the 
father engaged in farming. 

Frank Avery is the only son of his par- 
ents and the only survivor of the family. 
He received a common-school education and 
learned his father's trade, which he has fol- 
lowed during the greater part of his life. 
In 1853 he came to the United States and 
worked successi\'ely at Oswego and Fort 
Brewerton, New York. In 1855 he re- 
moved to Janesville, \\'isconsin, and soon 
after to Baraboo, which has since been his 
home. Here he opened a shoe shop and 
store and successfully carried on that line 
of business until 1891. For the first twenty 
years the firm was Avery & Green, but dur- 
ing the balance of this period he was sole 
proprietor. Since 1891 he has been en- 
gaged in general insurance, als(3 managing 
a number of estates. 

He has always been an active Republi- 
can, having supported John C. Fremont in 
1856, and every presidential candidate of his 
party since that time. He has participated 
in many county and state conventions and 
was chairman of the county committee for 
six years, a neriod which included the fa- 
mous Blaine and Logan campaign of 1884. 
For more than a score of 3'ears he has almost 
continuously held some important public 



office and has frequently filled several such 
positions simultaneously. In 1876 he was 
elected president of the village of Baraboo 
and in 1898 became the mayor of the city. 
For ten years he was a member of the com- 
ty board of supervisors. In 1887 he was 
elected a memljer of the Wisconsin assem- 
bly, where he soon became conspicuous for 
his activity and devotion to puljlic inter- 
ests. He was made chairman of the com- 
mittee on labor and manufactures, the first 
committee of that name e\er formed in the 
assemblv, and was instrumental in prevent- 
ing the passage of a bill to prohibit prison 
lebor. In 1889 he was elected a member of 
the Wisconsin senate, in which liody he 
served as a member of the committee on 
roads antl bridges and on state affairs. 
He continued his interest in prison reform 
work and helped to secure the passage of 
laws permitting the indeterminate sentence 
for con\'icts, a pro\-ision the wisdom of 
which is now universally recognized. He 
also strongly supported the bill for a gen- 
eral city charter and worked industriously 
to secure an amendment to the constitution 
of the state prohibiting special legislation 
for cities. He is now president of the 
board of directors of the Baraboo Public 
Library and chairman of the jury commis- 
sion of Sauk county. 

May 30, 1859, he was wedded to Miss 
Emily Anclrus, a daughter of Edwin and 
Susan (Gillette) Andrus, who was born 
near Loraine, Ohio, and died at Baraboo, 
April 17, 189;. aged sixty-one years. In 
addition to manv other admirable qualities, 
this lady developed remarkable Kterary 
ability, and from time to time contributed 
to some of the leading" periodicals of the 
country, expressing many charming ideas 
in both prose and verse. 

Julia, the only daughter of ]\f r. and Mrs. 
Avery, departed this life March 18, 1897, 
at the age of thirtv-lhree vears. She was 



252 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



a highly accomphshed lady and served as 
secretary to Governor W. D. Hoard during 
the latter's term of office as chief magis- 
trate of the state of Wisconsin. Miss 
Avery was afterwards employed for several 
years as stenographer for the superintendent 
of schools for the city of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Avery was reared in the Unitarian 
faith, to which he has always consistently 
adhered. Since 1854 he lias heen identified 
with the ^lasonic fraternity and he justly 
merits the high regard in which he is held 
b}- his fellow citizens. 

Mr. Avery was married May 4, 1899, 
to Hattie Hall, a resident of Baraboo. 



M.VURICE GOODMAN. 

One of the prominent representatives of 
the journalistic profession in \\'isconsin is 
the gentleman whose name introduces this 
brief notice, the well-known editor and pro- 
prietor of the "Wisconsin State Register" 
and the "Portage Daily Register," published 
at Portage, Columbia county. He was born 
in Penn Yan, New York, July 15, 1866, 
a son of Philip and Sarah (Cardozo) Good- 
man. The father, a native of Germany, 
came to Wisconsin in 1867, and for several 
years was engaged in mercantile business 
in Portage, where he dietl in 1886. The 
mother is still living and makes her home 
iri Chicago. She was born in London, 
England, and when a child came to the 
United States. Her ancestors were orig- 
inally from Spain, where they were people 
of much prominence. 

It was during his infancy that Maurice 
Goodman was brought by his parents to 
Portage, where he later attended the public 
schools, and was afterward a student at a 
private academy conducted by Dr. A. M. 
Allen in Chicago, where he was partially 



fitted for college, but owing to ill health 
he was at length forced to aljandon the 
course. After spending a year or two in 
recuperating, he entered his father's store 
in Portage, where he remained for a num- 
ber of years, and after his father's death 
carried on the business with his brother, 
Louis, now deceased, until 1889, when he 
sold out and became secretary and treas- 
urer of the Register Printing Company, a 
stock company engaged in the newspaper 
business and the manufacture of blank 
books. Severing his connection with that 
business in 1892, Mr. Goodman spent two 
years in a clothing house in Chicago, and 
owing to ill health spent the following year 
in the west. On his return to Portage, in 
1894, he bought the "Register," and has 
since successfully engaged in the publica- 
tion of the weekly "Wisconsin State Regis- 
ter" and the "Portage Daily Register." 
Through his paper he supports the men and 
measures of the Republican party. Fra- 
ternally he is a member of the Masonic 
order. Mr. Goodman was married, March 
5, 1890, to Miss Mary Goodell, a native of 
Montello, Wisconsin, and a daughter of B. 
F. and Mary Goodell, of Portage. 



HON. EPHRAIM WOOD YOUNG. 

Hon. Ephraim Wood Young, deceased, 
was for many years one of the most promi- 
nent and influential citizens of Baraboo, 
Wisconsin. It is an important public duty 
to honor and perpetuate, as far as possible, 
the memory of an eminent citizen — one who 
by his blameless and honorable life and dis- 
tinguished career reflected credit, not only 
upon his city and county, but also upon the 
whole state. Through such memorials as 
this at hand the individual and the char- 
acter of his services are kept iin remem- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



253 



brance and the importance of those services 
acknowledged. His example, in whatever 
field his work may ha\'e been done, thus 
stands an object lesson to those who come 
after him, and though dead he still speaks. 
Mr. Young was born in Bingham, Som- 
erset county, Maine, October 8, 1821, and 
was the eldest in a family of fourteen chil- 
dren. By his own efforts he acquired an 
education and graduated from Idar\-ard 
College with the class of 1848. Edward 
Everett, president of the college, spoke of 
him as having sustained a distinguished 
rank as a scholar, and that his character was 
most exemplary. For several years he was 
professor of natural sciences in the high 
school of Lowell, Mass., and in the meantime 
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 
1856. The same year he came to Wiscon- 
sin and opened a law office at Waupun, but 
soon becoming dissatisfied he bought a farm 
in Prairie du Sac township, Sauk county, 
and turned his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits, as farming was always his delight. 

For fourteen or fifteen years Mr. Young 
attended the annual sessions of the general 
assembly, as a member one year, as clerk 
several years, and later as chief clerk for 
seven or eight years. He was also a trus- 
tee for the Wisconsin State Hospital for the 
Insane and a member of the commission 
to locate the Northern Hospital for the In- 
sane. He was a prominent representative 
of the Republican party and was its candi- 
date for secretary of state in 1873, but 
shared the fate of his associates in their 
defeat of that year. In 1881 he was elected 
county judge and some time afterward re- 
moved to Baraboo. He was twice re-elect- 
ed and had but little more than half served 
his Last term of four years when his death 
occurred, March 25, 1892. 

Judge Young married Miss Harriet Nor- 
ton, of Lowell, Mass., and to them were 
born two children : a daughter, who died 



in infancy; and a son, who was killed by 
runaway horses at the age of eighteen years. 
In his religious views the Judge was a Uni- 
tarian and quite liberal, and was one of the 
board of trustees of the Free Congrega- 
tional church of Baraboo. He was sys- 
tematic, accurate and conscientious in the 
discharge of his official duties and his sen- 
tences were models of judicial fairness. He 
was a noble, generous man, deeply inter- 
ested in the cause of education and the ad- 
vancement of his fellowmen, and was a 
member of the board of education in Bara- 
boo for some time. Universally respected 
and beloved, he was laid to rest by his 
brother Masons in the cemetery at Prairie 
du Sac, where those members of his family 
who had preceded him were also buried. 



CAPTAIN IRA H. FORD. 

Captain Ira H. Ford, of Hampden, Co- 
lumbia county, an original son of the Revo- 
lution and a veteran of the Civil war, was 
born June n, 1827, in Granville, Vermont, 
to Caleb and Roxanna (Lamb) Ford, both 
natives of the Green Mountain state. His 
father was a militiaman in the Revolution, 
and was present at the capture of Ticonder- 
oga. He died in 1852 at the great age of 
eighty-eight. His mother died in 1861 
when about seventy-eight years old. They 
were the parents of twelve children, of whom 
seven are now living: Elisha B., Chicago; 
Warren W., Granville, A'ermont ; George L., 
Chicago; Ira H., the subject of this sketch; 
Sarah married Artemus A. Rice, and lives 
in San Francisco, California; Elizabeth, who 
is now Mrs. Captain Garcia; Ellen, Mrs. 
Robinson, of Rochester, Vermont. 

Captain Ford left Vermont in 1849 and 
went to California by way of the Horn. He 
sought gold the first year, and followed 



254 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



(lairving for the next two years. In 185 J lie 
came to Wisconsin to visit relatives, and was 
so charmed with the agricnltural p;)ssibili- 
ties of Hampden, in tliis county. then largely 
a wilderness, that he bought a farm of two 
hundred and eighty acres and devoted him- 
self with characteristic energy to its im- 
provement. He continued on this farm until 
the breaking out of the Civil war, when he 
dropped everything and made haste to join 
the Union army. He enlistetl August 0, 
1S61. Governor Salomon recognized his 
executive ability, made him a lieutenant, and 
at the suggestion of J. T. Lewis (the follow- 
ing governor of the state, and only surviv- 
ing war governor) appointed him to recruit 
a company for the Eighteenth Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry. He did this very eas.ly 
and the command was mustered in as Com- 
pany I, and sent with others immediately 
south. At Shiloh, while in command of the 
company, Captain Ford was taken prisoner 
|jy the rebels and sent to the war prison at 
Jackson, Mississippi, and after that to Mont- 
gomery, Alabama, and at Macon and Madi- 
son, Georgia. At Macon he was detailed at 
the recjuest of a superior officer, to attend a 
brother oi^cer through a severe sickness. He 
nursed him back to health, and then gained 
permission to visit the barracks and minister 
to the wants of his soldiers. This permis- 
sion was given by Dr. Owen, a Confederate 
officer with Union sympathies. Captain 
Ford found William Foster, one of his men, 
lying in the sand beside a tree, and in a ter- 
rible condition. He turned him upon his 
side, and found he was wasted away to that 
extent that his hip bone fell from its sock- 
el. Scores were in as bad a condition, and 
every morning sixty or seventy were taken 
out dead. The flies were terrible, but through 
Masonic influence he was able to secure nets 
for five hundred. During the fore part of 
June an order for exchange was issued, but 
2lT. the officers were left out, Captain Ford 



and another officer determined to escape. 
Accordingly they got a long iron poker from 
a negro and found there was a Union sym- 
pathizer on guard duty. The night of 
June 22, 1862, he went o\-er the dead hne 
and was not hit l)y the Ijullets fired by the 
friendly sentinel. He went immediately to 
a tree that had been agreed upon as a meet- 
ing place with his brother officer, and waited 
there until nearly daylight. As his comrade 
had not yet appeared he left the city, and 
co\-ered twenty-se\-en miles before the follow- 
ing noon in hopes of eluding pursuit. Hear- 
ing bloodhounds in the distance he walked 
down a creek hoping to throw them off the 
scent. It was to no purpose, and presently 
he was beset by a pack of nine hounds, led 
by a great Dane that generally throttled the 
man they caught. Captain Ford watched his 
chance, and when the dog leaped at him 
struck it a blow that laid it low. At this 
moment a man appeared in a thicket a short 
distance awa)-, and, with lexeled gun, de- 
manded his surrender. Our subject drew 
his poker to a firing position and said "Don't 
you shoot unless you want to be killed." 
They finally agreed to lower their arms, and 
Ford surrendered. He was taken back to 
prison and put in shackles. It was expected 
he would wear these all the time, but he got 
a key from a negro, and when the officers 
were not near took one of tliem oft'. It 
was supposed by the rebels that he wore them 
for fi\'e months. He still has the poker and 
the shackles in his possession. He was after- 
wards transferred to Columbus, South Caro- 
lina, and then to Libby prison. He says 
this was the best prison he was in, as it was 
the only place where he found white bread. 
At Libby prison he was paroled and sent to 
Washington. He came back to Madison, and 
understanding he had been exchanged, went 
back into the army. It \\-as not until he 
fought through several battles that he got 
official notice of his exchange at Vicksburg. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



255 



He was in tlie battles of Port Gibson, Ray- 
mond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Black River 
Bridge, Vicksburg. and many other import- 
ant engagements. In 1864 he res-gned to 
come home and raise another company. This 
company he took out of the vicinity of Co- 
lumbus, under the designation of Company 
]\1, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, and 
was, by Governor Lewis, commissiuned 
captain, and went to Alexandria, V.rgiiiia. 
They did garrismi duty until Jinie J6, 1865, 
A\ hen they were discharged. 

Like a million other bra\-e and loyal 
soldiers, when war's alarms were over. 
Captain Ford came back to his farm, and ap- 
plied himself as sedulously to its duties as 
if there had never been a war. In 1867 and 
1868 he represented the Twenty-second as- 
sembly district of Columl)ia county in the 
state assembly. He was one of the three 
commissioners appointed liy the governor 
to administer the affairs of ColumJjia county, 
a method since replaced by the county board. 
Beginning in 1881 he was superintendent of 
a silver mining company Ihat conducted ex- 
tensive operations at Buena \'ista, Colo- 
rado. Our subject has been three times mar- 
ried, and his present wife, whose maiden 
name was Gertrude D. Erickson, has pre- 
sided over his household since March 17, 
i88j. They ha\-e four bright chdclren, all 
at home ; Jessie E., Clarence \'., Ellen R., 
and Ira H., Jr. 

Captain Fonl is a strong Republican, 
and takes much interest in public affairs. In 
September, 1899, he called his company to 
gether at Columbus, and twenty-six respond- 
ed. It was an interesting occasion, and he 
was presented with a gold headed cane by 
his soldiers as a mark of their appreclaUon 
of his unceasing interest in their welfare. 
The whole community honors Captain Ford, 
■and his friends are not confined to this 
county or state. All who know him think 
kindly of him. 



WTLLIA^I FISHER, M. D. 

William Fisher, i\I. D., deceased, was 
born September 18, 1S33, in western New 
York, the son of John W. Fisher, a native 
of the state of New York. John W. Fisher 
brought his family to Wisconsin at an early 
day in the history of the state, and located 
in Rock county, at Cookville, where he fol- 
lowed his trade of millwright. His death 
occurred N'ox-ember 1 1, 1873, in the seventy- 
second year i:>f his age. He was a promi- 
nent Mason, and his funeral services were 
conducted by that order. His wife died 
at Cookville, Wisconsin, about the year 

1853- 

\\'illian: Fisher, the subject of this 
sketch, received a high education, and 
graduated from a medical college in Phila- 
delphia. He located at ^Vhite Creek, Adams 
county, Wisconsin, in 1861, and practiced 
his profession there for two years. He then 
removed to Catlin, Vermilion coun,ty, Illi- 
nois, where he practiced one year. He was 
then offered the position of general agent 
for the state of Kansas of the Northwestern 
Life Insurance Company. He held this 
position for five years and then became the 
representative of the Connecticut Mutual 
Life Insurance Company in the state of 
Texas and others of the southwestern states, 
and he continued in this capacity until his 
death. lie died August 5, 1874, at War- 
ren, Ohio, among strangers. His remains 
were conveyed to St. Charles, Illinois, where 
his family resided at that time. 

William Fisher was married September 
14, 1861, to A. Josephine Reed, daughter of 
Calvin E. and Sarah (Twist) Reed, of 
Nunda, Livingston county, New York. 
Mention of Mrs. Fisher's parents will be 
found elsewhere in this volume. To this 
union four children were born, named in 
order of birth as follows: Ennis E., now 
living at \\'au\\atosa, Wisconsin; \\'illiam 



COMPEXDIi'M OF BIOGRAPHY 



AV.. nrw in Ccv^radC': Eiigene B.. state in- 
specii:-- f;- Wisconsin Telephr-ne Company: 
and Joim J., graduate in Eeloit CoJlege. 



SALMON BROW X. 

Salmon Brown, one of tbe most ex- 
tcBsave pirodsce dealers o£ ihe Dorthwest. 

itadine in Kilbccini. Colmnbia coanJy. 
"\V:s: - - ' isi can be 

£cc; :: - - - •trsisreat ef- 

ic-iT. vfcij coTccie^j- iiic iikttSi C'l persever- 
;.r.r; :s t"::; srrcessfal inan in whaiever tc- 
and 333 diis gead e^rc m are 

_.: 1 ,; caits of cJiaracier ^^ ":; ;!: 

are booad to psodnce the best and 
lesiiks. 

Mr. BrowTs isas bom in Hndsos, Snm- 
nsi cc'-nnfr. OIjjo, FdjiBaiy 13. 1&5S, aiid 
is the son of Fiedeikk Brown, a BaliTe of 
tbe sEiDc place, irbo was bom Fdimaiy 13, 
1S07- ^?r. Brown is a Hr>pa3 desosadaTit 
r i P : : caaae to Anaenca in 

iht I - r^g ai PljHDomh Reck, 

Deoemiier 30, loja Tbe fadaer of osr 
subject iras a farnaer br ooagjatiim aad 
dealr escreBsrelT in siock. iiscindii^ bosses 
and caifl-e. He wem 10 Sank coeEirr. W 35- 
caaosan, in 1870, aiid icr a time liTed on a 
fim: near Ree.ds.'bnrg'. He was a Isroil^er of 
jrin BrC'im- d AboiiBon fanje. He nar- 
r^ei ' '-— iaizn. in Obio. wbo was a 

— -■!— ; -rrScirt. ^"d^ere she lired nnii! 

gT:-s— ;. -en she renaovef 

as the Wesrem iveserre. Sbe niS'ie : 

tine rrrp in tbe saddJe. and was ihe nrs: r 

lieacber in xhai secr^':xi. Sbe dkd in Hnd- 
s^::!n, OMg. in 2S63. Tbe txthe^ of oar 
scLject daed ia Reedsbairg. WlsooGisia. in 
2S7- , " - jeais. Six djiJdien 

werr "Jo* conpiSe. our snbject 

being '"'^- j ^^' Two 01 bis In^sbeis, 



frederidc and Owen, enlisted at the Dreil-:- 
ing ont of the Gvil war. Tbe first nar::ed 
was bom in Ohio, in 1828. and was a grad- 
uate of tbe Western jReserre CoDege. He 
si'&di&d law and sensed in Pecaioojca, IBi- 
n:is. and was a^jiinted postmaster at the 
beginning of Lincoln's first admimstrariou, 
bni iip'3n ibe call for three mcaiihs' serricje 
be esilisied. and at the es^ratioa otJns time 
re-enlisted for three years, asm agairi for one 
year, tins serving for foor years and three 
months under three enHsHDems. He oya- 
sianily refused prccncdc^n, preferring to 
fight in tbe ranks, au-i dirrrng the peric^d in. 
which he "-z? ^ rbe aimy be was engaged 
innacr: ---battles. His -wife Jocfed 

ir'tr - ~- re during fn^ entsre ^ ''j*^ 

He is &yv liriag in Anrosa, 

;. - is Qigaged in tbe pjaciioe of 

!aw, and is jnsiice of the peace. He -sras 
posHnasiEr at Pecaicsfica imtil ihe. beginning 
of Giant's first term as pressdeot, wben he 
fifsigned, naTing filled tis oSoe absul eight 
years. Tbe c»tber broihex, nanoed Owen 
Brown, was also a najxre of the Buckeye 
state, ha-fii^ bees hoai in 1830. He re- 
oareJ a good euncat33n and resn-jTed to 
sombem IIiii»is in 185S, ba-dng preriogisJy 
nsarried in C&io. In 1862 be eniiised in die 
Eighty-Hesghih ITI jtc jqs VolamBss- Infamrr, 
and died in tbe bogEtal at XashriHe, Ten- 
nessee, FcSjraaTy 2, 1863. 

Saincm Bro"sra lired in his nairre S32le 
mail 187^. where be was ^agaged in lartn- 
ii^ and fmir grcwing. Upcm Jearing Ohio 
be went direci t;' DeDcma township. Sank 
rr^TTT-. ""srC'Xisin. azid ssetJed on a farm 
r-d ic'- ihirDeea years. He ea- 

__^ -— ig - pTTTTig tTtp ■= .! , "'i: I tf~ -TTVtn .Ik; 

and ^jent tbe balance of his vn>t shiTfcng 
pffodooe. Here be laid -ays. fc^ndaiian iss 
his preseni inHnense produce bnsrsss, wijacb 
He m jved to 



ry, 2SS6, and now 

aiad sells in nacse 




SALHOH BROWH. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



259 



than twenty-five. His trade extends from 
Boston on the east to the Missouri river on 
the west, and the vohime of his trade has 
been so extensive of late that it reached 
eighteen hundred car lots in the last fifteen 
months. He is considered one of the most 
extensive clover seed dealers in the state, 
and is, at this time, engaged exclusively in 
the wholesale business. 

Our subject was married at Put-in-Bay 
Island, Ohio, October 28, 1869, to Mrs. 
Belle M. Brown, a native of the Empire 
state, who was born in 1848. Mr. and Mrs. 
Brown are the parents of two children : Jen- 
nie B., born October 6, 1870, who married 
Dr. O. H. Browm, and is now a resident of 
Belvidere, Illinois; and Lydia H., born Sep- 
tember 12, 1873, who married C. H. Croth- 
ers, who is connected with Mr. Brown's office 
at Kilbourn. j\Ir. and ^Irs. Brown have 
four grandsons and three granddaughters. 

Our subject is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows^ and the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He has al- 
ways been a stanch Republican, and*is now 
a member of the county central committee. 
He has no\y served two terms as chairman 
of the Columbia county board of supervisors, 
and has been a member from Newport town- 
ship for six continuous terms. He was one 
of the leading spirits in the celebrated fight 
of Columbia county against the famous 
tramp nuisance case, in which the county was 
engaged a short time since. This case was 
the first to be tried in the state, and the 
county was victorious, mainly throug'h the 
great efforts which Mr. Brown with others 
put forth with that end in view, thereby sav- 
ing to the county many thousands of dollars. 
He is ever ready to defend the people against 
the encroachment of evil doers, and the 
community in \\hich he resides may well be 
proud to number him among the influential 
and public-spirited citizens. So well known 
and active a character necessarily has many 



friends throughout the land, and all will 
fully appreciate the portrait of him shown 
elsewhere in this volume. 



REVEREND JAMES H. McCHESNEY. 

Reverend James H. McChesney, an aged 
resident of the township of New Chester, 
has a very comfortable home on section 4, 
near the postoffice of Grand Marsh, and 
commands the respect and veneration of a 
wide circle of friends and neighbors. He 
was born at Newark, New Jersey, February 
12, 1825, and has lived a long and active life. 
James McChesney, the father of the sub- 
ject of this writing, was born in county 
Monaghan, Ireland, June 4, 1798, and came 
to the United States when about seventeen 
years old. When he was three years older 
he traveled through the country with Lor- 
enzo Dow and Francis Williams, preaching 
the gospel at country school houses, and any 
place where a congregation could be gath- 
ered. A little later he became associated 
with D. D. Beach in the publication of a 
religious paper with an office in New York 
City. He was engaged in this work for 
many years, and when he reached the ma- 
ture age of forty-two was ordained a min- 
ister in Dr. Wallace's church in New York. 
He had various settlements and after several 
years brought up in Glenn Ellyn, Illinois, 
where he was one of thirteen to organize the 
Chicago Congregational Association. His 
pure character, lofty soul and loving spirit 
commanded reverence and esteem, and in 
whatever work he was engaged his sterling 
worth was at once recognized. He died at 
Glenn Ellyn when over ninety-six. He was 
married to Matilda Davis, April 4, 1824. 
She was born at Flempstead Harbor, Long- 
Island, New York, April 4, 1806, and proved 
herself in every way a worthy associate of 
her husband. 



2G0 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



The Reverend James H. McChesiiey, the 
subject of this writing, lived with his parents 
until he was twenty-five years old. He 
studied much and read deeply and wisely 
under his father's direction. In 1850 he 
left home and went to Sparta, Wisconsin, 
where he remained for some four years. At 
that time he moved to Adams county, and 
secured a home in New Chester, where he 
has continued to reside to the present time. 
He was ordained a minister of the gospel 
in 1869 at Westfield, Marquette county, in 
the Congregational church. He preached 
for over thirty years and owned a farm in the 
meantime. He is still called upon to offici- 
ate at the funeral services of the old resi- 
dents, and has tender and touching words 
for those with whom he has been so closely 
associated for so many years. He was mar- 
ried to Mary B. Hull, April 3, 1845, '" the 
city of Brooklyn. She is a native of the city 
of New York, where she was born November 
8, 1829. Mr. and Mrs. McChesney are the 
parents of eleven children. Three of these 
died in infancy. Those now living are : 
Josephine May, Margaret M., Jane E., 
Samuel, Joseph, James J., Mark H., and 
Myrtle A. It is a goodly family, and all 
its members have won a good standing in 
the great world. Their venerable father is 
much revered and loved, and he is still the 
center of their thoughts and ambitions. 



CLARENCE CLAYTON EATON. 

Clarence Clayton Eaton, editor and pro- 
prietor of the "Columbus Democrat," at 
Columbus, Columbia county, Wisconsin, is 
a gentleman of the highest character, and 
popular throughout that section of the coun- 
try. He is a native of Whitewater, Wis- 
consin, and was born August 7, 1861, and 
was the son of Sephrenas and Eleanor 



(Green) Eaton. His father was a native of 
Leeds, Ontario, and is a lineal descendant of 
P'rancis Eaton, who came to America on the 
Mayflower. His descendants in direct line 
follow: Francis, Benjamin, Benjamin, 
Jr., Francis H., Jabez, Jabez, Jr., Al- 
mon Ranson, Sephrenas. Francis Ea- 
ton II wedded Thankful Alden, grand- 
daughter of John and I'riscilla Alden, 
and James Edison Eaton, brother of 
Almon R. Eaton, was one of the pioneers of 
Columbus, and served as the first postmasier 
and justice of the peace and was later county 
clerk. Almon R. Eaton came to Wisconsin 
and settled at Hebron, Jefferson county, 
where he died aged over seventy years. He 
was a farmer by occupation, and served as 
one of the first justices at Hebron and was 
a man of good judgment and business ability. 
The father of our subject was by trade a 
mechanic, and worked in the Esterly Reaper 
Factory at Whitewater as a wood worker. 
In his early life he was a sailor on the great 
lakes, and he is now a manufacturer at 
Watertown, in which city he has served sev- 
eral years in succession as alderman. The 
mother of our subject came to Wisconsin 
with her parents at an early day, and the 
family settled on a farm at Hebron. 

Clarence C. Eaton attended public school 
at Fond du Lac and Watertown, and later La 
Borveau Academy at Watertown, and after 
completing a course there entered the office 
of the "Watertown Democrat." L^pon the 
death of its editor, Thomas Jones, in 187^, 
he took charge of the paper for a few months, 
after which he became foreman of the news 
and job department of the "Eau Claire Free 
Press," and also acted as correspondent to 
Chicago papers. He went to Madison in 
1884 to accept a jxisition on the "Democrat," 
and in 1887 purchased the "Columbus 
Democrat," which he has since published, 
with much success. It has been the policy of 
the paper to agitate the subject of public 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



261 



improvements, and it is largely due to its 
influence that the town has an excellent sys- 
tem of street lighting and water works, and 
a city hall which would do credit to a much 
larger town. Mr. Eaton has been active in 
many public improvements, and helped to 
organize a Fourth of July American Asso- 
ciation, which raised two hundred dollars 
for public improvements. 

Our subject was married in January, 
1884, to Julia J. Ford, daughter of John and 
Martha ( Maciritchie) Ford, of Watertown, 
Wisconsin. Two sons have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Eaton, bearing the names : 
Sumner Ford and Roswell Carlisle. Mr. 
Eaton has served as justice of the peace two 
years, and one year as superintendent of 
city schools, and in 1897 was elected alder- 
man in the first ward, the first Democratic 
candidate elected in that ward. He is a 
member of the Gold Democratic state central 
committee. He is a gentleman whose work 
is extended for the benefit of his fellow men, 
and he is held in the highest esteem. He 
is a gentleman of culture and possesses a 
naturally fine baritone voice, which he has 
greatly improved under excellent instruction, 
and aside from taking a leading part in the 
choirs of the local churches is solicited to 
sing in other towns on public occasions. 



ARTHUR MARSDEN, M. D. 

Arthur Marsden, M. D., and who has 
also won the degree of Ph. D., is located at 
Rio, Columbia county, and is engaged in the 
practice of his profession. He has rapidly 
won the favor of the public both by his pro- 
fessional skill and stability of character, and 
his friends expect for him a long and use- 
ful career in the great work to which he has 
devoted himself. He was born at Albion 
Prairie, Dane county, Wisconsin, May 15, 



1869, and is a son of Henry and Margaret 
Marsden. The Marsden family traces its 
lineage back to Normandy, and to adven- 
turous spirits who crossed the Channel with 
William the Conqueror. Henry Marsden 
was a native of Derbyshire, England, and in 
1844 he was brought by his parents into Wis- 
consin when only thirteen years old. He 
lived on the farm with them until 1880 when 
he located in Edgerton, and dealt in lumber 
and building material in that city. Mrs. 
Marsden comes of an illustrious line. She 
was born in Perthshire, Scotland, and her 
grandmother was a sister of the Earl of 
Dumbarton. 

Dr. Marsden attended the public school 
at Edgerton, and was graduated from the 
local high school at the age of eighteen. He 
spent three years at Albion Academy, devot- 
ing himself to general and philosophical 
studies, and entered Rush Medical College 
at Chicago in 1891, and received his di- 
ploma in 1894. He also spent a year at the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. 
Louis, and received a diploma from that in- 
stitution in 1895. In June of that year he 
opened an office in Rio, and soon command- 
ed an extensive practice in Rio and the sur- 
rounding country. He is now the only 
physician in the village. He is an atten- 
dant upon the services of the Congregational 
church, belongs to the Masons, is the camp 
physician of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
He is a Republican, but not a politician. He 
reads much, and has an office fitted out with 
a valuable library. 



CHEBAR FORBUSH. 

The history of a community or a nation 
is made up of the experiences and deeds of 

individuals, and for this reason it would 



2G-2 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



be difficult to write a readable narrative of 
the development of Adams county, Wiscon- 
sin, without frequent mention of the name 
of Chebar Forbush. He is one of the pio- 
neers who did so much in those early days 
to shape the destinies of the great state of 
Wisconsin, and to make for her a career of 
prosperity and greatness rarely paralleled 
in the world's history. The subject of this 
review has been a resident of Adams county 
practically half a century and with the ex- 
ception of a few years has occupied his pres- 
ent home in New Chester township. 

Chebar Forbush was born in the town 
of Starke, Coos county, Xew Hampshire, 
November 24, 1834. His parents were 
Chebar and Elizabeth (Graper) Forbush. 
The father was born in Massachusetts, near 
Bloody Brook, and the grandfather of our 
subject ser\-ed through the Revolutionary 
war, seven years in all. It is said two For- 
bush brothers were taken prisoners by the 
great Cromwell in Scotland, and were ban- 
ished from the country in 1655. They set- 
tled in Massachusetts, near Springfield, and 
their descendants have scattered throughout 
the United States, many of them still living 
in Massachusetts. Chebar Forbush, Sr., re- 
moved to North Adams, Massachusetts, 
where he was employed as watchman in the 
factories in that place for a niunber of years. 
In 1848 he went to Cook county, Illinois, 
V. here he lived three 3-ears. He then moved 
to Adams county, Wisconsin, locating in 
Pleasant Prairie, and thence to Sharon, Wis- 
consin. His death occurred in ]\Iinneapolis, 
jSIinnesota; in 1872, at the age of seventy- 
two years. He was a stanch Whig in his 
earlier days, and later voted with the Re- 
publicans. Our subject's mother was born 
in 1804 in New Hampshire, and died in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the age of 
eighty-five years. Her father was a farmer, 
and lived and died in New Hampshire. Her 
mother was a descendant of the Hollanders. 



Giebar Forbush, our present subject, 
was a small lad when his family took him to 
North Adams, IMassachusetts, where he 
worked five years in a cotton factory. He ac- 
companied the family to Illinois, and thence 
to Wisconsin. He took up his residence in 
Adams county in 1851, and a few years 
later purchased his present farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres. He has placed 
many valuable and convenient improvements 
upon it, and has made it in every sense a 
home, where genuine hospitality and good 
cheer are extended to all who cross itS: 
threshold. 

Mr. Forbush enlisted February 11, 1862, 
in Company G, Nineteenth Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Infantry. His first two years of ser- 
vice were in eastern Virginia and North 
Carolina. He was later transferred to the 
Army of the Potomac, and took part in the 
siege of Norfolk, the battles of Drury's 
Blutf, Fair Oaks, and the sieges of Peters- 
burg and Richmond. He was mustered out 
and discharged May 4, 1865, having been in 
the ranks almost continuously during his en- 
tire sers'ice. 

Chebar Forbush was married November 
5, 1856, to Sarah Foster, of New Chester 
township, Adams cotmty, Wisconsin. She 
died January 8, 1859, aged twenty years. 
Sophia C. Stewart, daughter of James 
Stewart, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, became 
the wife of our subject, IMarch 19, i860. 
Mrs. Forbush was born in Martha's \'ine- 
yard, Massachusetts. To this union three 
children w^ere born, namely: Clara Sophia, 
now Mrs. Peter Johnson, of Hancock, 
Wisconsin ; Sarah Agnes, now Mrs. William 
DeMott, of Westfield, Wisconsin, and Wal- 
ter U., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Forbush are 
members of the Congregational church of 
New Chester, of which INIr. Forbush is a 
deacon and trustee. He is also a member 
of Badger Post, G. A. R., at Friendship. He 
is a Republican in political views, having 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



263 



voted for Fremont in 1856, and has con- 
tinued to support the men and measures of 
the "grand old party" ever since. He has 
been chosen supervisor of Xew Chester 
township several times, always serving his 
community with fidelit}- and to the satis- 
faction of all men of all shades of political 
faith. 



GOTTLIEB LOHR. 

A brilliant example of a self-made 
American citizen and a grand exemplifica- 
tion of the progress that an ambitious 
foreigner can make in this country of un- 
bounded opportunities, is shown in the case 
of Mr. Lohr, one of the leading German- 
American residents of Sauk City, Wisconsin. 
For many years he was actively identified 
with the agricultural interests of Sauk 
county, but two years ago he gave up busi- 
ness life and removed to the village, where 
ho is now living retired. 

Mr. Lohr was born in Prussia, Germany, 
June 7, 1835, and acquired a limited educa- 
tion in his native land. In 1854, in company 
with his parents and seven other children, 
he emigrated to America, where they hoped 
to improve their financial condition. By 
close economy and careful management they 
saved enough to pay their passage, and bid- 
ding good bye to friends and native land, 
embarked at Bremen on a sailing vessel, 
which was sixty days in crossing the Atlan- 
tic. They landed at New York, August 30, 
1854, and proceeded at once to Sauk county, 
Wisconsin, where they secured work at 
whatever they could find to do. 

Our subject found employment working 
with a threshing machine, and receive.l fifty 
cents per day and his board, which seemed 
to him at that time very good wages, as it 
was much more than he had ever earned be- 
fore. This brought before him visions of 
wealth and fortune quickly secured. He 



next worked for a farmer at $5 per month, 
and the following winter made for him oak 
shingles which were used in covering a new 
granary which the farmer built and which 
was soon afterward destroyed by fire. Later 
he was employed by another farmer at $144 
per year and remained with him three years 
and a half, during which time he saved all 
liis money, being steady, industrious and 
economical, and spending nothing for beer 
and luxuries. At the end of twelve years 
spent in the employ of others, he managed to 
save considerable money, and in the mean- 
time purchased eighty acres of raw land in 
Hone}^ Creek township, on time, and his 
wages went to pay the interest and complete 
the purchase. He then located upon his 
land and turned his attention to its cultiva- 
tion and improvement. 

About this time Mr. Lohr married Aliss 
Helena Hartmann, and together they worked 
night and day until they had one of the best 
improved farms of the locality. x\t times 
Mr. Lohr also worked for others and as 
his financial resources increased he added to 
his land until he now has a fine farm of 192 
acres, which is operated by his son. Our 
subject erected thereon a nice stone house 
20x30, with a kitchen 18x24, all two stories 
high; a barn, 40x70 feet, and good outbuild- 
ings, all of which he keeps in excellent re- 
pair. His place is supplied with all kinds 
of farm machinery, and he also has a fine 
threshing machine outfit, purchased at a cost 
of $2,400; a sorghum mill, which cost $350; 
and a saw mill, where, during the winter 
season, from 75,000 to 125,000 feet of lum- 
ber are manufactured. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lohr have five children: 
John, a farmer of Troy township, Sauk 
county, whose place cost $8,000; Chris, who 
lives on the home farm; Amelia, wife of 
William Wenzel, b\' whom she has three 
children; Herman, a school teacher; and 
Emma, at home. All of the children have 



264 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



been given good educational advantages, and 
the family are meml>ers of the Lutheran 
church. In his political views j\lr. Lohr 
is a Republican. His word in business 
transactions is considered as good as his 
bond, and when purchasing his threshing 
machine he would not sign a contract but 
said he would pay the amount in so many 
days, and he did pay it before that time. He 
is a man of excellent judgment and good 
business ability, is upright and reliable in all 
things, and is justly recognized as one of 
the most energetic and representative citi- 
zens of Sauk Citv. 



JOHN RICHMOND DECKER. 

John Richmond Decker, publisher of the 
"Columbus Republican," enjoys the distinc- 
tion of being the oldest editor in Columbia 
county. He is also connected with other 
business interests, including a prosperous 
furniture business at Pittsville, Wood coun- 
ty, and since 1886 had been local mana- 
ger of the Wisconsin Telephone Company 
until about one year ago. 

Mr. Decker was born in Sinclairville, 
Chautauqua county. New York, February 
28, 1842, and was the son of Stephen and 
Sylvania (Richmond) Decker. His father 
was a native of Troy, New York, and was 
of Holland descent, his ancestors having 
located on the Hudson river, and were neigh- 
bors of the Van Rensselaers, and other prom- 
inent Knickerbocker families. The grand- 
father of our subject, Christopher Decker, 
was a farmer by occupation, and his mother, 
Phoebe Cushman, was a relative of the 
famous actress, Charlotte Cushman. Our 
subject's father learned the trade of wagon- 
maker in Bennington, Vermont, and later 
conducted a large factory at Sinclairville, 
New York, and about 1845 "loved to Erie 



county. New York, and in 1855 to Waupun, 
Wisconsin, where he carried on a wagon 
factory, and his death occurred there in 
1886, aged seventy-eigiit years. The mother 
of our subject was born in Bennington, 
Vermont, and was the daughter of John 
and Sarah (Truman) Richmond. Her fa- 
ther represented the sixth generation of that 
family in America. The first was John 
Richmond, who settled at Taunton, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1635. His grandson, Sylvanus 
Richmond, married a descendant of John 
Alden. John Richmond, the fifth in line 
of descent, served under General Wolfe at 
the battle of Quebec. He was seventy- 
three years of age when the Revolutionary 
war began, and although too old to take 
active part espoused the patriot cause. The 
mother of our subject died at Columbus, 
Wisconsin, in 1888, aged eighty-five years. 

John R. Decker attended Waupun high 
school, and in 1859 spent one year in the 
office of the "Waupun Times," and finished 
his trade in the job office of Edward Beeson, 
one of the veteran printers and editors of 
the state, now deceased. Mr. Decker returned 
to Waupun in 1867 and purchased the 
"Times," wdiich he published one year, and 
in 1868 established the "Columbus Republi- 
can," which he has since published. He is 
the oldest editor in the county and one of 
the oldest in Wisconsin. 

Our subject was married, in 1866, to 
Miss Harriet E. Shelmadine, daughter of 
Abram and Lucy Shelmadine, of Waupun, 
Wisconsin. Mrs. Decker was born in 
Elmira, New York, and died in 1869, 
at the age of twenty-nine years, leav- 
ing two children, Minnie J. and Ray, who 
died at the age of four and one-half years. 
Mr. Decker married Miss Susan Hawx- 
hurst, of Columbus, daughter of Mrs. 
Penelope Hawxhurst, in. 1870. Mrs. Decker 
died three years later, aged thirty-two years. 
Her only child, Myrta, died the day follow- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



265 



ing her mother's death, aged two and a 
half years. Mr. Decker married Emma L. 
Kolmes, of Portage City, Wisconsin, in 
1875. Mrs. Decker was born in West 
Point, New York, and was tlie daugliter of 
Joshua Holmes, who died at Columbus, 
aged ninety-three years. Both our subject 
and wife are members of the Episcopal 
church, and Mr. Decker is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and the 
blue lodge, chapter and Eastern Star, of 
the Masonic fraternity. He was appointed 
postmaster of Columbus by President Har- 
rison and served from 1890-94. He was 
justice of the peace eight years at Columbus, 
and chairman of the county board of super- 
visors in 1877, '78 and '79. He is well 
and favorably known and well merits his 
success and prominent position. 



ANDREW OLESON HOLM, Deceased. 

For more than a score of years Adams 
county, Wisconsin, was the home of the 
gentleman above nametl and his public 
career was one of which his community 
could always boast. He was an ex-soldier 
and a liberty loving citizen and enjoyed 
the esteem of his fellow men. He was an 
active business man and displayed ability 
and enterprise. 

Mr. Holm was born in Skeen, Norway, 
March 5, 1831, the son of Ole and Anna 
Holm. His mother died in Norway, and 
he and his father came to America in 1849, 
and his father died the day following their 
arrival. 

Our subject attended school in this 
country but little, but was well read in his 
native language. He resided at Palmyra 
until 1859, when he went to Adams county, 
Wisconsin, and settled in Strong's Prairie 
township, where he lived for a number of 
years. He entered the United States army 
September 26, 1864, and became a member 



of Company F, Third Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry. He was stationed at Nashville 
for some time and took part in General 
Thomas' battle with Hood and subsequent 
march through Alabama. He received no 
wounds, but his health was much impaired 
by the service. He was discharged June 
9, 1865, and about two years after his re- 
turn to Wisconsin he was elected county 
clerk and removed to Friendship, where he 
resided until his death. He did consider- 
able insurance business, and also filled the 
office of county clerk continuously until his 
death. 

Mr. Holm was married, Alarch 24, 1857, 
to Rebecca, daughter of Peter U. and 
Louise Barnson. Mrs. Holm was born near 
Farsund, Norway, and came to America 
with her parents in 1849. The family re- 
sided four years in Dane county, Wisc<in- 
sin, and moved from thence to Adams coun- 
ty, where her father engaged in farming 
in Strong's Prairie township until his death, 
in April, 1872, aged seventy-one years. 
Mrs. Holm's mother died in December, 
1880, aged seventy-four years. Ten chil- 
dren, three of whom died in infancy, were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Holm, as follows: 
Louise, now IMrs. James Power, of Port- 
land, North Dakota; Marie, now the wife 
of J. E. Fladeland, of North Dakota; Peter 
L'., a teacher of Farmington, Washington ; 
Tillie, a teacher at Jefferson, Wisconsin; 
Ella, now Mrs. E. E. Smith, of Friendship; 
Clara, now Mrs. Bennett, of Wyoming; 
and Ada, a resident of Friendship. Mrs. 
Holm has eleven grandchildren. She 
resides in Friendship and her home is 
one of culture and refinement. Mr. Holm 
died in Friendship September 9, 1882. Pie 
was a consistent member of the Lutheran 
church of Strong's Prairie, and was a gen- 
tleman of excellent characteristics. He was 
a life long Republican, and stood firmly for 
the prinoi[)les of his party. 



266 



COMPIiXDlUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



WILLIAM McLEISH. 

William McLeish, deceased, was num- 
bered among the honored pioneers of Co- 
hiipbia county, who located in Caledonia 
township when this region was wild and un- 
improved. In the work of development he 
took an active part and aided in opening up 
the country t(j ci\-ilization. As the years 
passed he faithfully performed his duties of 
citizenship, and his interest in the welfare 
and progress of the community never abated. 
Becoming widely and favorably known he 
made many friends, and his death was a 
joss to the entire community. A portrait 
of this respected citizen and influential mem- 
ber of the county is presented 'on another 
page in this volume. 

Air. jMcLeish was born in the parish of 
Mythel, Perthshire, Scotland, January 12, 
1824, a son of William and Margaret (Car- 
michael) AIcLeish. The mother died in 
that country, leaving five children, three sons 
and two daughters, of whom only two, Will- 
iam and Charles, came to America. The fa- 
tlier. an agriculturist of Perthshire, was a 
representative of a family who were farm- 
ers in Scotland for many generations. In 
185 1 he crossed the Atlantic and joined our 
subject in Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
where he died in 1854. 

It was in 1847 that William McLeish, 
Jr., emigrated to the United States, and af- 
ter spending one year in New York state, 
came to \\'isconsin and purchased a soldier's 
claim in Caledonia township, Columbia 
county, where he made his home until his 
death, July 18, 1878. He was a thrifty, in- 
dustrious farmer, and succeeded in accumu- 
lating several hundred acres of land. He 
was distinguished for a spirit of sociability 
and genuine Scotch hospitality, and w^as 
held in high esteem by his neighbors, who 
honored him with several local positions of 
public trust. 



In December, 1851, Mr. McLeish mar- 
ried Miss Jane Thompson, a native of New 
Monkland parish, Sterlingshire, Scotland, 
and a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth 
(W^addell) Thompson. Her father was a 
building contractor and also operated stone 
quarries near Airdree some years. He met 
with success in his undertakings, and be- 
came proprietor of considerable property. 
To our subject and his wife were born seven 
children, two of whom died in infancy. The 
others are : Eliza, wife of Thomas Mc- 
Lean, of Nobles county, Minnesota ; Will- 
iam, who lives on the home farm in Cale- 
donia township; Margaret, wife of James 
Towers, of the same township; Andrew, a 
farmer near White, South Dakota; and 
Jc.hn, a farmer of Rock county, Minnesota. 

During her girlhood Mrs. McLeish was 
given fair educational advantages for those 
days. In 1850 she came to the United 
States on a sailing vessel, the Buena Vista, 
which made the voyage in four weeks and 
two days, and after spending one season in 
New York City, she came to Wisconsin in 
185 1. For almost half a century she has 
made her home in Columbia county, and 
although seventy-nine years of age, she is 
still active in mind and body. She is a 
lady of hospitable instincts and cultivated 
tastes, and has numerous friends through- 
out the community in which she lives. She 
was reared in the Baptist faith, her hus- 
band in the strict Presbyterian form. They 
never united with any church here, but led 
conscientious and exemplary lives, and 
sought to gi\-e their children the best ad- 
vantages in every respect. 



JOSEPH L. GREEN. 

Joseph L. Green, fleceased, was for 
many years one of the most prominent and 
influential citizens of Reedsburg, as well as 
one of its leadingand successful business men. 




WILLIAM McLEISH. (Deceased. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



269 



He was identified witli some of the most 
important industries of tlie community, 
and liis connection with tliese various busi- 
ness enterprises was of decided advantage 
to tliis section of tlie county, promoting its 
material welfare in no uncertain manner. 
Mr. Green was born in Cairo, Greene 
county, New York, June 6, 1827, and 
died at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, July 8, 
1885. His parents, James and Lodimma 
(Pitts) Green, were also natives of Greene 
county, New York. Our subject passed 
his boyhood and youth upon the home 
farm in New York, and in 1843 ''^" 
moved with the family to Racine coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, and five years later to Reeds- 
burg, when that village consisted of only a 
few log cabins. For several years he worked 
in a sawmill owned by David C. Reed, and 
later lived on a farm near the village. In 
1853 he embarked in merchandising in 
Reedsburg, and carried on business along 
that line until 1864, when he removed to 
Sparta and engaged in hop culture for a few 
years. About 1870 he went to Rudd's, 
Monroe county, becoming a partner of Rudd 
Brothers, under the firm name of Rudd 
& Green. They built a sawmill, which 
they operated until 1881, when they sold 
the plant, and Mr. Green returned to Reeds- 
burg, where he purchased an interest in a 
flouring mill. He was one of the incor- 
porators of the Reedsburg" Woolen Mills, 
and retained an interest in that concern un- 
til his death. He was also one of the in- 
corporators of the Reedsburg Bank, and 
was a direct(.)r of that flourishing institu- 
tion throughout the remainder of his life. 
The Republican party found in him a stanch 
supporter of its principles, and for a time 
he held the office of postmaster in Reeds- 
burg. He was a member of the Good 
Templars Society, and took an active in- 
terest in advancing the cause of temperance. 
He was a man of the highest respectability. 



and those who were most intimately asso- 
ciated W'ith him speak in unqualified terms 
of his sterling integrity, his honor in busi- 
ness and fidelity to all the duties of public 
and private life. 

On the 20th of November, Mr. Green 
was united in marriage with Miss Lavina 
Reed, also a native of Cairo, Greene county, 
New York, and a daughter of Alanson C. 
and Mary (Roberts) Reed, who in 1845 
removed with their family to Lake Geneva, 
\Valvvorth county, Wisconsin, and remained 
there five years. At the end of that time 
they came to Reedsburg, and located on a 
farm near the village. The father, who was 
a farmer by occupation, died in Sparta, in 
October, 1867, at the age of sixty-five years, 
and the mother died at the same place, in 
June, 1877, at the age of seventy-two. His 
cousin, David C. Reed, came to what is now 
Reedsburg, Wisconsin, about 1849, and built 
the first sawmill in the place. The village 
was afterward named in his honor. The 
paternal grandparents of Mrs. Green were 
Adam and Rebecca (Chichester) Reed, na- 
tives of Morristown, New Jersey, and the 
former w^as of Welsh and the latter of 
Dutch descent. The Reed family was rep- 
resented in the Revolutionary war. 

Mrs. Green is the third in order of birth 
in a family of six children, the others being 
as follows: Rebecca, who died in 1853, at 
the age of twenty years; Mary, widow of 
John Coughran, and a resident of Grand 
Rapids, Michigan; George, a resident of 
Greene county, Iowa ; Martha, widow of 
Samuel Coughran, wdio is represented else- 
where in this volume; and Francis, who 
died in Reedsburg, in 1856, at the age of 
fourteen years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Green w'as born a 
daughter, Mary Evelyn, who died July 13, 
1888, at the age of thirty-four years. Mrs. 
Green still makes her home in Reedsburg, 
where she is surrounded by a large circle 



270 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of friends and acquaintances who esteem 
her highly for her sterhng worth. She at- 
tends the Preshvterian church. 



SAMUEL COUGHRAN. 

Samuel Coughran, deceased, was one of 
the early settlers and honored citizens of 
Sauk county, where he made his home for 
many years. He was born in Vermont, 
May 8, 1828, and was a son of Samuel and 
Elizabeth Coughran. The father, who was 
a native of Ireland, was drowned while a 
resident of Vermont, but the mother died 
in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where she spent 
her last years. 

About 1845 our subject came to Wis- 
consin and first located in Racine county, 
but in 1853 came to Sauk county, locating 
on a farm in Excelsior township, where he 
lived for five years. He then went to Idaho, 
by way of the overland route, and for some 
time was engaged in gold mining in Idaho, 
Washington and Oregon. On his return to 
this state he became interested in hop culture 
at Sparta in company with his brother-in- 
law, Joseph L. Green. In the fall of 1890 
he went to California, and later became a 
resident of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 
where he died in November, 1891, hon- 
ored and respected by all who knew him. 
He was a Knight Templar Mason, a mem- 
ber of the Commandery at Sparta, and was 
a supporter of the Repulilican party and its 
principles. 

In 1855 Mr. Coughran was united in 
marriage with Miss Martha A. Reed, a na- 
tive of Greene county. New York, and a 
daughter of Alanson C. and Mary (Rob- 
erts) Reed, who are mentioned more fully 
in the sketch of Joseph L. Green on an- 
other page of this volume. By this union 
two sons were born : Eugene W., a real estate 



dealer of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and 
Frank R., now postmaster of Worthington, 
]\Iinnesota. Mrs. Coughran, who is a con- 
sistent member of the Congregational 
church and a most estimable lady, still 
makes her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. 



REV. JOHN HAMILTON RITCHEY, 
D. D. 

Rev. John Hamilton Ritchey, D. D., 
pastor of the Presbyterian church of Port- 
age, Wisconsin, was born in Ganges, Ohio, 
June 26, 1840, a son of Hamilton and Jane 
(McAllen) Ritchey. The Ritchey family is 
of Scotch-Irish lineage, and among its 
representatives have been a number of pro- 
fessional men of prominence. The pater- 
nal grandfather of our subject came to 
this country from County Armagh and set- 
tled in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. There 
the father, Hamilton Ritchey, was born 
and reared, but in November, 1839, re- 
moved to Ganges, Ohio, where he spent the 
greater part of his life as general super- 
intendent of the Columbus & Sandusky 
stage line. He was active in political af- 
fairs, first as a Whig and later as an Abo- 
litionist. The maternal grandfather of our 
subject, John McAllen, was a farmer of 
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. His ancestors 
came from Scotland to the United States 
early in the eighteenth century. Profes- 
sional men were also numerous in this 
family. 

John H. Ritchey, of this review, attend- 
ed Vermillion Institute, of Hayesville, Ohio, 
for two years and then entered the sopho- 
more class of Jefferson College, Canons- 
burg, Pennsylvania, where he completed the 
regular course and was graduated in 1865. 
He then became a student in the W^estern 
Theological Seminary, Allegheny City, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



271 



Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 
1868. In August of the same year he 
took charge of a mission at Cambria, Wis- 
consin, but nine months later was called to 
the Presbyterian church of Portage, where 
he was ordained and installed June i, 1869. 
He remained in charge here until the 4th 
of July, 1874, when, owing to failing health, 
he resigned with the intention of spending 
some time in recuperation. 

On the way to visit his relatives in Ohio, 
Mr. Ritchey preached at Ouincy, Michigan, 
and in response to an invitation from that 
congregation he remained there fifteen 
months. A change of climate proving ben- 
eficial and his health having somewhat im- 
proved, he accepted a call from West- 
minster church, Rockford, Illinois, in Oc- 
tober, 1875, and remained there three years. 
The following year was mainly spent in rus- 
ticating through the west, holding oc- 
casional services. On the 27th of June, 
1880, he assumed pastoral charge of the 
First Presbyterian church of Independence, 
Iowa, one of the leading congregations of 
that state, and continued at that place for 
six and a half years, which was a period 
of transition from the old stationary condi- 
tion to one of active progress and develop- 
ment in spiritual affairs there. In 1886 he 
returned to Portage, where he has since 
been in charge of his original congregation 
and, although there have been many changes 
in the membership, the society has stead- 
ily increased in numbers and strength. A 
new church has been built and was dedicated 
October 15, 1893. It is a model building, 
designed by Volk & Son, Brooklyn, New 
York, and will compare favorably with the 
best churches for all the uses of a modern 
congregation. 

On the 1 8th of May, 1871, Dr. Ritchey 
married Miss Ella L. Moor, a daughter of 
Dr. Peter and Mary M. (Taylor) Moor, 
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and four children 



bless this union: Frederick C, connected 
with the "Chicago Record ;" Romney M., 
now a student in the medical department 
of the University of Iowa; Miriam J.; and 
John H. 

Dr. Ritchey is a man of unusual energy 
and enthusiasm, but his ambition is more 
or less curtailed by his physical frailty. 
Possessing lofty ideals, he is nevertheless 
endowed with unusually fine discernment 
and business ability, and is exceedingly 
practical in all his undertakings. All of 
the congregations over which he has pre- 
sided are conspicuous for the harmony 
which prevails among their members, who 
often speak of the permanent effect of his 
labors and influence. On the ist of June, 
1 89 1, Gale College, Galesville, Wisconsin, 
conferred the degree of D. D. upon him. 
He is trustee of several literary institutions ; 
is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi frater- 
nity of the United States; and is often in- 
vited to deliver addresses and baccalaureate 
sermons for the different colleges. For 
some time he was president of the board 
of trustees of Downer College, and was 
active in securing its consolidation with Mil- 
waukee College, by which its usefulness has 
been greatly increased. He is now vice- 
president of the Milwaukee-Downer Col- 
lege. 



GEORGE VOLNEY BACON, Dece.vsed. 

Spring\'ille township, Adams county, 
had no better representative farmer during 
his life than the gentleman whose name 
heads this personal history, and who was 
one of the early settlers of Wisconsin. His 
estate was conducted with the greatest 
care, and he showed a progressive spirit 
commendable to him, and was respected by 
his entire community. 

Mr. Bacon was born in Livingston 



272 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



county, New York, December 12, 1826, and 
was the son of Nathaniel and Achsah 
(Terry) Bacon. His father was born in Ver- 
mont, but when a young boy his family 
moved to New York, leaving him to the 
care of others. At the age of twenty-two 
years he removed to Livingston county, 
New York, where he married. His death 
occurred December 13, 1878, at Hanover, 
Michigan. 

Of a family of twelve children, six sons 
and six daughters, our subject was the sec- 
ond child. Until about seventeen years of 
age he assisted his father on the farm. His 
eyesight was affected and he could not at- 
tend school, but obtained a fair education. 
In June, 1845, 1''^ went to Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, and was em])loyed in different 
works for about three years, when he re- 
turned to Allegany county, New York, 
and engaged in farming. He located in 
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, in 1850, remaining 
there until 1856, when he went to Spring- 
ville, Adams county. He took government 
land and a few years later purchased a farm 
in the same township, which he occupied un- 
til his death. He was thorough and prac- 
tical and conducted a model farm. In No- 
vember, 1864, he entered the army and was 
away about three months at Madison, but 
was discharged at the end of that time on 
account of defective sight. 

Mr. Bacon wias married November 9, 
1848, to Mary Jane Hay, daughter of Jona- 
than and Julia (Collins) Hay, of Living- 
ston county. New York. Mrs. Bacon's fa- 
ther was of Scotch descent and was born 
in Vermont, where he resided until he 
reached the age of twenty-six years. Five 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bacon, 
as follows : George Mansfield, born June 30, 
1852, died at Springville, June 22, 1873; 
Frances E., born March 21, 1850, married 
J. W. Cummings, of Springville, Novem- 
ber 9, 1872; Helen E., born March 24, 1861, 



married A. D. Billings, of Springville, Oc- 
tober 15, 1884; Charles E., born August 
14, 1863, now residing on the old home- 
stead; and Anna L., born October 29, 1872, 
married A. E. Richardson, of New Lisbon, 
April 13, 1898. Mr. Bacon departed this 
life in Springville township, Adams county, 
Wisconsin. July 5, 1882. He left a loving 
family and a large circle of acquaintances 
and friends to mourn for him. He was 
respected wherever he was known, and lived 
an honest man, ever interested in the wel- 
fare of his associates. He served for sev^ 
eral terms on the town board, and in all 
matters of a public nature gave his support. 
He was a Republican in political faith, but 
did not take an active part in the affairs 
of liis party. He kept posted on important 
public questions, and was keenly awake to 
the needs of the hour. Mrs. Bacon has 
erected a fine residence on the estate of her 
son-in-law, A. D. Billings, near the old 
homestead, where she lives in comfortable 
circumstances. She is a lady of refinement 
and good taste, and her home is a model of 
convenience and neatness. 



LEWIS EDMINSTER. 

Lewis Edminster, a resident of Poynette, 
Columbia county, bears an honorable repu- 
tation, the result of a long and useful life, 
largely spent in this part of Wisconsin, and 
overflowing with a kindly spirit and humane 
impulses. 

Mr. Edminster was born at Big Flats, 
Chemung county, New York, January 16, 
1830, and his parents were Aaron and Mary 
(Davenport) Edminster, both of English 
nativity. They came into New York from 
New Jersey at an early day, when the 
region they sought was on the frontier, and 
dangerously close to the savage and the wild 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



273 



beast. To David Edminster, the grandfa- 
ther, were born four sons : Nathan, Lewis, 
Aaron and William. Aaron Edminster 
silent the greater part of his boyhood at 
Itliaca, New York, and when he became a 
man engaged in farming many years in 
Chemung county. Alwut 1854 he ex- 
changed his eastern lands for a tract of 
as quite desirable farm land in the town 
of Lowville, Columbia county. He moved 
west to occupy it, and after his arrival in 
Wisconsin divided it among his sons. He 
saw them well established, and in the pos- 
session of an ample competence, and then 
went to Hamilton, Missouri, where he spent 
his remaining years and djied March 18, 
1865, at the great age of ninety years and 
over. He was a man of rugged physicjue, 
and an active temperament, a hard working 
and upright citizen of the community. He 
w^as an earnest and enthusiastic adherent of 
the Baptist church, and helped in the erec- 
tion of a house of worship for that denom- 
ination wherever he was living. His widow 
died May 28, 1876, aged eighty-three. She 
was born at Ithaca, New York, and her fa- 
ther, John I. Davenport, was of Dutch extrac- 
tion, and came to Ithaca from Morris coun- 
ty. New York. Aaron Edminster was the 
father of the following children: Rachel, 
Catherine, Cornelius, Horace, Charles, 
Nancy, Lewis and Jackson. 

Lewis Edminster spent his boyhood in 
New York, and in 1853 came to Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, and bought and im- 
proved a fann of one hundred and forty- 
seven acres in Lowville. He put up ample 
farm buildings, brought the place into a 
high state of cultivation, and in 1880 moved 
into Poynette, where for several years he 
was engaged in business as a hardware 
merchant, giving, also, considerable atten- 
tion to agricultural implements, carriages, 
and other goods in demand among a farm- 
ing people. He has bought and sold con- 



siderable real estate and at different times 
has erected several buildings, which seemed 
to be needed in the village. A busy life 
has been his, and throughout he has pre- 
served an enviable reputation as an hon- 
orable and upright man of the strictest in- 
tegrity and the most generous spirit. He 
has been a lifelong Democrat, and has filled 
the different town offices of Lowville to the 
satisfaction of the people with whom he 
came in contact. 

Lewis Edminster and Miss Mary Teeter 
were married October 8, 1853. She is the 
daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Whit- 
lock) Teeter. Jacob Teeter was born in 
Canada, to which country his father re- 
moved during the Revolutionary war. Later 
on he took the side of the liberty party in 
Canada and was obliged to flee to the United 
States, sacrificing much of his property in 
Canada on account of his patriotic princi- 
ples. From New York Jacob Teeter and 
his wife moved to Illinois in 1853, and two 
years later came to Lowville, Columbia 
county, Wisconsin. Later still the family 
went to Blue Earth City, Minnesota, where 
the husband and father died in 1872, aged 
over seventy years. His widow survived 
him a number of years, and died at the age 
of eighty-four. She was of English par- 
entage. To Jacob Teeter and wife were 
born the following children : Eliza, Jesse, 
Lucinda, John, Mary, Reuben, Rebecca, 
Catherine, Christina, Watson and Benijah. 

Mr. and Mrs. Edminster are members 
of the Presbyterian church and are dis- 
tinguished for their kindness to people in 
trouble and distress. Having no children 
of their own they have reared several or- 
phans. Helen Teeter, a niece of Mrs. Ed- 
minster, was an inmate of their home sev- 
eral years, and became the wife of Byron 
Kinnear, now the treasurer of Columbia 
county. She died in August, 1882, when 
only about thirty years of age. Her only 



274 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



surviving child, Lewis Reuben, has been 
reared by the Edminsters, given a hberal 
education, including a course at Wisconsin 
University. He is now an expert account- 
ant and stenographer, and is employed in 
Stroud's bank, Kilbourn City. George 
Kinnear, another foster son, now lives in 
the state of Washington. 



WILLIAM WILSON RATHBUN. 

William Rathbun, deceased, was, for a 
period of over forty years, one of the most 
widely known and respected citizens of the 
town of LaValle, Sauk county, Wisconsin. 
He was a man of unusual energy and per- 
severance, and was enabled to overcome 
obstacles which might have seemed unsur- 
mountable to a person of less character and 
determination. Although almost constant- 
ly occupied in the discharge of extensive 
business operations, he found time to ful- 
fill his duties as a citizen, and exerted a 
powerful influence in the affairs of the town 
and county, and his counsel was frequently 
sought by his associates concerning mat- 
ters of both public and private interest. 

Mr. Rathbun was born in Addison, 
Steuben county. New York, September 29, 
1824, and was a son of Thomas and Nancy 
(Vroman) Rathbun, who became residents 
of Sauk county, Wisconsin, in 1855. The 
father was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and he 
and his descendants have displayed many 
of the sterling characteristics for which the 
people of that lineage have always been dis- 
tinguished. 

At the age of seventeen years our sub- 
ject came to Wisconsin and made his home 
for a time in Madison. For a number of 
years thereafter he was employed on the 
Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers as rafts- 
man, and eventually becoming a competent 



pilot; the transportation of large quantities 
of lumber for the St. Louis markets was in- 
trusted to his care. While thus engaged 
he met with numerous adventures, and also 
gained a w<ide acquaintance and an extensive 
knowledge of business transactions. In 
1855 he came to Sauk county and purchased 
the farm at the mouth of Big creek, which 
was his home throughout the remainder of 
his life. He invested quite extensively in 
timber land along that stream and for a 
nimiber of years did considerable lumbering 
on his own account. He conceived the idea 
of damming the creek near his residence, 
and, in conjunction with his father, built 
a saw-mill, which he continued to operate 
until his death. He was also interested in 
a steam saw-mill in Juneau county, and 
shipped considerable quantities of lumber 
and cord wood. 

On the 23d of May, 1858, Mr. Rath- 
bun married Miss Julia A. Perry, who was 
born in Middletown, Vermont, and in 1852 
came to Wisconsin with her parents, Israel 
and Calista (Mosier) Perry, who located 
first in Whitewater,but in 1857 came to Sauk 
county. Of the four children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Rathbun, two sons, Adelbert and 
James, died in childhood, and the other two, 
William and Julia, reside on the old home- 
stead, the former having succeeded to his 
father's business interests. 

On the 22nd of January, 1899, while 
working in his saw-mill, Mr. Rathbun's 
clothing became caught in the gearing, 
which drew his body upon the saws, pro- 
ducing instantaneous death. This sad ca- 
tastrophe was a severe shock to his many 
friends as well as his immediate family. 
Being a man of decided views on all public 
questions, he was naturally chosen by his 
fellow citizens to execute numerous official 
trusts. For a number of years he served as 
chairman of the township board of supervi- 
sors, and also filled the offices of justice of 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



275 



the peace and postmaster of LaValle. He 
was reared in the Methodist faith, but was 
not identified with any church after coming 
to Sauk county. For a number of years he 
was a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd FeUows. His business integrity was 
unquestioned, and his many excellent quah- 
ties of mind and heart won him the admira- 
tion and respect of all with whom he came 
in contact. To his family he was kind and 
considerate, and he was ever mindful of the 
comfort and well being of his friends and 
associates. 



GUNDER OLSEN UNDERDAHL. 

Gunder Olsen Underdahl, a prominent 
tobacco farmer of the town of Hampden, 
Columbia county, was born June lo, 1851, 
in the town of Otsego, of the same county. 
He is a son of 01e*0. and Ingeborg (Gun- 
derson) Underdahl, both natives of Nor- 
way, who came to this country in 1850. 
The senior Underdahl had served five years 
in the Norwegian army, and was glad to 
pitch his home in a land where military duty 
was not a necessity for the sons of the soil. 
He settled in the town of Otsego after living 
a year and a half in Dane county. He died 
April 24, 1 89 1, after a long and useful life 
at the age of seventy-five. Mrs. Ole O. 
Underdahl is still living, and is the mother 
of seven children, all of whom are living to 
comfort her declining years. They are: 
Hans, Lewis, Ole and Martin, all residents 
of Rice county, Minnesota; Gunder O. is 
the subject of this writing, and Aleck and 
Mary are still under the home roof. 

Mr. Underdahl received his early edu- 
cation in the town of Otsego, and in 1873 
attended the commercial college at Madi- 
son. He began a business career for him- 
self by becoming a bookkeeper for a firm in 



Madison. He held this position until his 
parents called him home, as his older 
brothers had gone to Minnesota. He 
helped his father through the summer's 
work, and then entered the store of Jacob 
Smith at Columbus as a bookkeeper. He 
did not find city life agreeing with him, and 
after a few months he bought a farm of 
one hundred and fifteen acres in the town 
of Hampden. To this he has since added 
fifty acres, and is now the owner of a choice 
farm, and in its cultivation he has attained, 
if not riches, certainly a competency. He 
has given much attention to the raising of 
tobacco, and following this line through the 
years he has made considerable money. He 
uses the most advanced methods, keeps him- 
self informed as to all the new ideas, and 
every year puts by a liberal profit. Two 
years ago he built a fine residence, having 
all the modern improvements, including a 
hot water heating system. He has a fine 
lot of barns, and all the buildings needed, 
both for general and tobacco farming. 

Mr. Underdahl and Miss Emily H. 
Vangsnes were married July 23, 1876. She 
is a daughter of Hans and Annie Vangsnes, 
natives of Norway. She was born Septem- 
ber 14, 185 1, and is the mother of four chil- 
dren: Ida married Frank Bridges and 
lives in the town of Hampden; Henry, 
Clara and George are still under the par- 
ental roof. Mr. Underdahl is a man of 
more than ordinary character, and com- 
mands the confidence and respect of the 
community to an unlimited degree. He is 
a Republican, and at one time or another 
has filled nearly all the town offices, and es- 
pecially been much interested in school mat- 
ters. He is a member of the Otsego Luth- 
eran church, and every effort for the 
improvement of the community finds in him 
a ready helper. He is American through 
and through, and is regarded as one of the 
county's best citizens. 



27G 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



JOHN VON GONTEN. 

John Von Gonten is one of the oldest citi- 
zens of Portage, and long ago won the re- 
spect of his associates by his industrious 
habits and exemplary life. The years have 
only served to strengthen early impressions, 
and by general confession he stands among 
the most upright and honorable members 
of the local, community. He was born near 
Thun, Canton Berne, Switzerland. April 
17, 1824, and is a son of .Jacob and Susan 
(Opliger) Von Gonten. Jacob Von Gon- 
ten was a dealer in lumber, and the proprie- 
tor of a small saw mill. He lived and died 
at Thun, reaching the advanced age of 
ninety-six. He served in the Swiss army, 
and took part in the war of 1847, though too 
old for active duty in the field. He was a 
man of character and influence, and was 
highly regarded. His wife died when over 
seventy years of age, and his father, Nicho- 
las Von Gonten, passed away when he was 
one hundred and two years old. John Von 
Gonten and his sister, Susan, who married 
Ulrich Von Gonten, were the only members 
of their immediate family to come to this 
country. For many centuries the name has. 
been a familiar one in Switzerland, and Can- 
ton Gonten was largely settled by members 
of the family, where they have long re- 
sided. 

John Von Gonten received a very fair 
education in German, and was also in- 
structed in French, which was the prevail- 
ing tongue of his native community. His 
first business venture was in burning lime 
and brick, and about 1850 he removed to 
Neufchatel and dealt in dairy products. Five 
years later he crossed the Atlantic, and found 
employment on the Erie canal for some two 
years. In 1857 he came to Portage and at 
once went into the manufacture of lime and 
brick. He sold wood, and soon developed 
an extensive business. Later he sold this 



out, and dealt in ice for some twent3'-five 
years. In 1877 he opened a cemetery in 
the outskirts of the city_, to which he gave 
his own name. It consists of forty acres, 
and is a handsome and picturesque spot. 
Success has crowned this as it has other 
enterprises of his, and his last years are full 
and running over with honor and comfort. 
In 1897 he built a handsome residence in 
Portage, and is far removed from the finan- 
cial difficulties that attended his entrance 
into the state, when he was so much in debt 
that he had to sell his watch and that of his 
v.ife to pay board bills. 

John Von Gonten and Susan Bichsel 
were married in Switzerland, June 14, 1851. 
Her father, John Bichsel, was a black- 
smith who was born, lived and died in 
Switzerland. She was born in Canton 
Berne, and is the mother of twelve chil- 
dren. Her oldest daughter, Lizzie, is Mrs. 
William Law, and lives at Stillwater, Min- 
nesota. Mary is the wife of the Reverend 
Edward Theel, and lives at Germania, Mar- 
quette county, Wisconsin. John is in the 
service of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railroad at Portage. Fred lives at 
Milwaukee, and is an engineer of the same 
road. Emma married Frank Rusch, and is 
a resident of Portage. Nellie is Mrs. Gus 
Foogman, and has her home in Grafton, 
North Dakota. Clara and Alwina, at home. 
George died when seventeen years old, and 
three other children passed away in infancy. 
Mrs. Von Gonten died May 18, 1900. Mr. 
Von Gonten has twenty-one grandchildren 
living, and five who died in infancy. There 
is also one great-grandchild. The home of 
the family is one of culture and refinement, 
and all the children have had the best social 
and educational advantages that the times 
and the circumstances of the business in 
which the husband and father was engaged 
would permit. Clara, who was educated 
at the Portage high school and the Oshkosh 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



279 



Normal School, has taught in the Portage 
schools for eleven years. They are all as- 
sociated with the German Lutheran church, 
of which Mr. Von Gonten was one of the 
original founders, and is now the only one 
of the first membership living in the city. 
He has been a liberal contributor to its 
funds, and has served from the first as an 
elder. He has been a Republican for many 
years, and has served the city as an alder- 
man. He has, however, had jio political 
aspirations, and has been content to be 
known as an honorable and upright business 
man. 

Portraits of Mr. Von Gonten and his la- 
mented wife are shown elsewhere in this 
volume. 



DANIEL De \MTT CAMPBELL. 

Daniel De Witt Campbell, a farmer re- 
siding in Jackson township, Adams county, 
is a pioneer settler of that region and a rep- 
resentative of one of the influential families 
of central Wisconsin. He is now the owner 
of considerable land in that vicinity, and en- 
gages in general farming. 

Mr. Campbell was born in Binghamton, 
Broome county, New York, January 3, 
1844, and was the son of William and Jane 
(Walker) Campbell His father was of 
Scotch lineage, and was a shoemaker by 
trade. He came to Wisconsin in 1847, 'U' 
eating at Fountain Prairie, Columbia county, 
where he engaged in farming and also 
v.-orked at his trade. He removed to Adams 
county in the fall of 1855, and resided in 
Jackson township until his death about 1885, 
aged over seventy years. He was a pros- 
perous farmer and owned over two hundred 
and sixty acres of land at the time of his 
death. The mother of our subject was born 
in Broome county, New York, and was of 
English and German descent. Her death 



occurred about 1880, aged over fifty years. 
By a former marriage our subject's father 
was the father of seven children, among 
them John Perry, Rhinelander, \\ isconsin ; 
Eunice, now Mrs. Ed. Starling; Olive, now 
Mrs. William Ward, residing in Springville 
township, Adams county; and William De 
Loss, Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Our sub- 
ject was one of seven children as follows : 
Daniel D., our subject; Hiram Eugene, re- 
siding in Jackson township; Alcina, now 
Mrs. J. Stanfler, of Jackson township ; Ed- 
ward, of Missouri; Delia, now Mrs. Joseph 
Tunison, Warren's Mills, Wisconsin ; Ida ; 
and Henry. 

Daniel D. Campbell enlisted in Company 
D, Thirty-eighth Wisconsin Volunteer In- 
fantry, March 15, 1864. He was in the 
Army of the Potomac at the battle of Cold 
Harbor, and from thence went to Petersburg, 
where he was wounded in the left leg by a 
bullet June 17, 1864. He was in the hos- 
pital at Willard's Point, Long Island, five or 
six months, and after his recovery was trans- 
ferred to the Twelfth Regiment, Veteran Re- 
serve Corps, and was discharged July 31, 
1865. He spent the two years following 
traveling through the west, and then located 
in Adams county, since which time he has 
resided on the old homestead farm, of which 
he now owns one hundred and twenty acres, 
and also possesses land adjacent, amounting 
to two hundred and five acres. He has 
erected a comfortable residence and large 
basement barn, and his farm bears every evi- 
dnce of a well improved estate. He gives 
the raising of stock considerable attention, 
and has been successful in all his under- 
takings. 

Mr. Campbell was married July 4, 1866, 
to Elizabeth Lewis, daughter of Admiral 
and Miranda Lewis, of Easton, Wisconsin. 
Mrs. Campbell's father was a blacksmith by 
trade, and followed the same in Portage be- 
fore the war. He served in the Tenth Wis- 



280 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



consin \'oIunteer Infantry, and died from 
injuries received while shoeing mules. )tlrs. 
Campbell's mother is still living. Mrs. 
Campbell ^\■as born in New York and came 
with her parents to Wisconsin in an early 
day. Four children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Campbell, as follows: Miranda 
Maude, now j\lrs. Thomas Webster, of 
Birnamwood, Wisconsin; Gertibella; Rose- 
man Alberta, and Edith Myrtle. Roseman 
and Edith are teachers. They have adopted 
a son of their daughter, Mrs. Webster, 
named Earl. J\Ir. Campbell is a member of 
Oxford Lodge, No. 91, .\. F. & A. .M. He 
has done much to advance educational af- 
fairs and has served as school treasurer for 
the past twenty years, and has gained the 
confidence and esteem of the people among 
whom he has made his home for forty-five 
years. He has been a Republican in politi- 
cal views from his youth, and stands firmly 
for the principles of his party. He is a 
gentleman who keeps abreast of the times, 
and in all matters of importance takes an ac- 
tive interest. 



THEODORE GLOECKLER. 

Theodore Gloeckler, a prosperous farmer 
and skilled dairyman of Fort \\'innebago 
township, well deserves a pronnnent place in 
the annals of thrift and industry of Co- 
lumbia county. In the very prime of life, 
whatever he undertakes is pushed to success, 
and his business tact and general good sense 
aid him to keep his standing securely. 

The Gloecklers are of an ancient German 
family, which was long situated near Ulni, 
Wirrtemberg. There at the little village of 
Neiblingen, Barnard Gloeckler, the father of 
the subject of this sketch, was born July 20, 
1829, and there he remained until 1851. 
That year he entered this country, and for a 
time w^as employed at Pittsburg, Pennsyl- 



vania, by his mother's brother, Bernard 
Straul). He did not long remain in the east, 
and was presently found in this state work- 
ing in a lime kiln at Milwaukee. At this 
time the ^Milwaukee & Portage Railroad 
was under construction, and soon com- 
manded his services. After the comple- 
tion of the road he went into the Heartile 
brewery, and was engaged there for the next 
seven years. He spent a year in Minneapo- 
lis in charge of a brewery, and in 1865 
bought a farm in the town of Fort Winne- 
bago. He devoted himself to its cultiva- 
tion with much enthusiasm, but still followed 
his trade in the winter season. In 1872 he 
bought the brewery now owned by H. Ep- 
stein, and conducted it for three years. He 
was also employed two years in a brewery at 
Austin, Minnesota. 

Bernard Gloeckler was married to Mary 
Nauer, June 22, 1859. She was a daughter 
of Kasper and Veronica (Duer) Nauer, and 
was born at Hohensstadt, Wurtemberg. She 
came to this country in 1850 with her par- 
ents, and settled in the town of Fort Winne- 
bago. Her father bought a farm on section 
30 and lived there until the day of his death, 
July 30, 1885. He was over seventy-five 
and had lived a long and active life. Born 
in Switzerland, he removed to Wurtemberg 
in early life and was long employed in a 
dairy. 

Mrs. Veronica Nauer was born in Ho- 
hensstadt December 12, 1819, and notwith- 
standing her great age is still active and 
vivacious. Her father, Joseph Duer, came 
to this state and died at Fort Winnebago 
when over eighty-five. He was a 
coachman in the old country, and was 
everywhere known as an honest and 
hardworking man. Mrs. Nauer still 
retains possession of all her faculties 
to a remarkable degree, and in the sum- 
mer frequently walks to the city of Portage, 
some two miles away. Through her long 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



281 



and active life she has endeared herself to 
tile entire community by her constant 
thought and care for the sick and the needy. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Gloeckler were 
born nine children, one dying in infancy. 
Thodore is the subject of this writing ; Jose- 
phine married James Miller, and lives in 
Portage; Otto (Adolpb) ; Charles is at Mt. 
Pleasant, Iowa; Elizabeth is Mrs. Herman 
Schiefelbeim, and has her home in Portage; 
Matilda married John LeFleur, and is at 
Beaver Dam, where also her sister fiertrude 
may be found ; Mary is at home. 

Theodore Gloeckler spent his boyhood 
days at Portage, grew up under the parental 
roof, and attended the public schools until 
he was eighteen years of age. Leaving 
school he entered a blacksmith shop to learn 
the trade. In 1881 he removed to Tomah to 
take a position in the shops of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. He held 
a place there for nearly six years. He was 
industrious, careful and frugal, and by the 
expiration of that time had accumulated 
a very comfortable sum of money. With 
this in hand he returned to Columbia county, 
and bought the homestead farm of his grand- 
father, Kasper Nauer, and here he has since 
maintained his residence. The farm con- 
tained one hundred and seventy-one acres, 
and sixty-five are under thorough culti- 
vation. He has greatly enlarged the 
buildings', and improved the place in every 
way, and renamed it "The Hillside Dairy." 
He makes a specialty of the dairy business, 
and gives not a little attention to the breed- 
ing of Jersey and Guernsey cattle, and for 
eight years has supplied milk and other farm 
products to Portage families. 

Mr. Gloeckler and Emma Bahl were mar- 
ried September 27, 1897, ^i^d the union has 
proved an unusually happy one. The lady 
was born at Dodgeville, Iowa county, and is 
a daughter of Peter and Anne Mary (Eul- 
berg) Bahl. She is the mother of three 



bright and promising children, Louis, Clara 
and William. The home is an interesting 
one. gives an unusual contrast of four gen- 
erations dwelling under one roof. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gloeckler are members of the Catholic 
church, and are highly regarded by all who 
know them. He is a Democrat, but has 
not of late taken a \ery active interest in 
political affairs. 



GEORGE GOODRICH. 

Among the better and more prominent 
class of agriculturists, whose pleasant farm 
graces Lavalle township, Sauk county, may 
be placed the name of the gentleman whose 
life history is presented to the readers. He 
has made a success of his vocation, and is 
one of the intelligent and enterprising men of 
his vicinity. His home has been in Wis- 
consin for more than thirty years, and he 
has gathered around him a host of friends, 
who know him as a gentleman of the high- 
est character. His estate is one of the first 
in the community and it is through persever- 
ance, honesty, and industry, his three watch 
words, that he has gained a comfortable 
competence. 

]\Ir. Goodrich was born in Orleans, Jef- 
ferson county. New York, in 1845, ^"d was 
the son of Nelson and Catherine (Snell) 
Goodrich. His father was born in Jeffer- 
son county, New York, in March, 18 16, 
and his mother was born in Manheim town- 
ship, Herkimer county. New York, in 181 6. 
Both reside on the farm which has been their 
home for many years, in Orleans, Jefferson 
county. New York. 

Our subject was afforded liberal educa- 
tional advantages, and made the most of his 
opportunities. He was an apt scholar and 
studious, and received good training. Until 
twenty vears of age he resided at home 



282 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



with his parents, and in December, 1866, 
decided to turn his way westward, and ac- 
cordingly came t<i Wisconsin, and after a 
few years si)ent in travel, located on his 
present farm, which comprises one hundred 
and fifty acres. He worked with a will and 
in the labors of farm life t(.)ok pleasure, 
and is to-day one of the well-to-do men of 
that community. He operates a steam 
thresher in connection with his farm work, 
and all machinery used in lessening labor 
incident to rural life is of modern make. His 
buildings are good, and he is surrounded 
by more than usual comforts. 

Mr. Goodrich was married July 7, 1872, 
to Emmerette Gray, daughter of Samuel 
and Elizabeth Gray. Mrs. Goodrich was 
born in Vernon county, Wisconsin. One 
son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich, 
upon whom they bestow-ed ,the name of 
Nelson, named after his paternal grandfa- 
ther. He was born May 12, 1873, and is 
at pre'sent working on the home farm. 

Our subject is a member of Reedsburg 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is a stanch ad- 
vocate of temperance and the rights of the 
people, and is thoroughly conversant with 
the economic questions of the day. He has 
made a study of public Cjuestions, and is a 
forcible speaker, entertaining, and impresses 
upon his listeners his own convictions. He 
progresses with the world and keeps pace 
with the new discoveries and methods, and is 
a man whose work is in keei)ing with his 
ideas. He is more practical than theoretic 
and adopts new methods only wdien their 
utility is clearly demonstrated. 



JOHN ROBERTSON. 

John Robertson is a well-known citizen 
of Rio, Columbia county, Wisconsin, whose 
inventive genius is so much above the or- 



dinary that it has attracted considerable at- 
tention. Some of his ideas are very radical 
and will lead, so his friends say. to very 
decided impro\'ements in the world of me- 
chanics. He is a scion of one of the most 
conspicuous families of Columbia county, 
and was born in Warren, Monroe county, 
August 6, 1874. His father, David Rob- 
ertson, is the subject of a sketch which ap- 
pears on another page in this work. He 
was about four years old when his parents 
removed their home to Manneville, Mara- 
thon county, and from there to Rio, where 
he completed the public school course of in- 
struction. He was a student at Wayland 
Academy for a short time, and for a year 
at the Milwaukee Spencerian Business Col- 
lege. He studied designing for nine months 
at the Chicago Art Institute, and re- 
turned to Rio to assist his father in his 
limiber business until its sale in 1898. Since 
April, 1899, he has been engaged in the 
manufacture of telephones and the sale of 
telephone supplies. He is developing an ex- 
tensive business, and has ecjuipped telephone 
offices for individuals and corporations in 
all parts of the United States. The Peer- 
less Electric Telephone Company, of which 
he is manager, has introduced a number of 
novelties in this line, and its trade is rapidly 
increasing. Mr. Robertson is almost con- 
stantly engaged in experimenting in im- 
provements in electrical apparatus. He has 
perfected and patented a telephone trans- 
mitter which is considered the finest in the 
world. Mr. Robertson and Miss Nettie 
Thompson were married October 20, 1894. 
She is a daughter of the Honorable Thorn- 
ton Thom|)son, of Rio, and is a lady of most 
charming character. She is the mother of 
three children : Ethelyn L., Carroll D., 
and Esther M. She is a native of Columbia 
county, and considers her home the most 
interesting spot in the state. Mr. Robert- 
son is a Republican, and a most genial gen- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



283 



tleman. He is much interested in fraternal 
societies, and holds membersliip in several. 
He is a Mason, a Modern Woodman, and 
a member of the Equitable Fraternal Aid. 



CHARLES F. XINMAN. 

Charles F. Ninman, who was for sev- 
eral years one of the leading educators in 
this section of the state and is now success- 
fully engaged in journalistic work as editor 
and publisher of the "Wisconsin Workman," 
at Sauk City, was born in Dodge county, 
December 14, 1847. '^'i*' is the fifth in order 
of birth in a family of eight children whose 
parents were Frederick and Dorothea 
(Struck) Xinman. The father, who was a 
farmer by occupaticm, was a native of Ger- 
many and emigrated to America in 1844. 

Until twenty years of age our subject 
spent his life upon a farm and became thor- 
oughly familiar with all the duties which 
fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His pri- 
mary education was acquired in the country 
schools and later he attended higher insti- 
tutions of learning, by his own efforts and 
studious ]ial)its acquiring an excellent edu- 
cation. At the age of twenty he commenced 
teaching, first in the country schools and 
later at W'atertown. Wisconsin, and for a 
quarter of a century he followed that pro- 
fession, meeting with most excellent suc- 
cess as an instructor. For two years he 
was superintendent of the schools at Water- 
town, and in 1884 came to Sauk City to 
accept the position of principal of the high 
school, which he continued to fill for five 
years. 

Desiring a broader field of labi;)r, Mr. 
Ninman abandoned educational work in 
1890 and turned his attention to the news- 
paper business, in which he has al.so met with 
marked success, lie was editor of the "Sauk 



City Presse," a German paper, until 1897, 
and consolidated with it the "Pioneer Wis- 
consin." which he purchased, changing the 
name to the "Sauk City Pioneer Presse." He 
formerly was editorof the "Wisconsin Work- 
man," the official organ of the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, published at Sauk 
City, monthly. He takes an active and 
commendal)le interest in public affairs, is a 
stanch supporter of the Republican party, is 
the present police justice and clerk of Sauk 
City, haxing filled the latter office for three 
years. He also served as assessor three 
years, and has been justice of the peace for 
the past ten years. Socially he is a promi- 
nent member of Eureka Lodge, No. 133, 
F. & A. M. ; Sauk City Lodge, No. 62, A. 
O. U. W. ; and Sauk City Camp, No. 1210, 
M. \\\ A. 

At Watertown, Jefferson county, Wis- 
consin, Mr. Ninman was married, May 10, 
1870, to Miss Sophia Stoevhase, and to 
them have been born four children : Eddie, 
Theodore, Max and Ella, who have all 
learned the printer's trade and are home with 
the exception of the eldest son, who is now 
engaged in the newspaper business in Da- 
kota. 



HH^AM HILAND MASON. 

Hiram Hilancl Mason, the efficient oxer- 
seer of the Adams county poor farm, is a 
native of Rutland, Vermont, where he was 
born September 10, 1836. The Masons 
were of English descent, and the parents 
of our suljject were Boomer and Sarah 
( Ripley) Mason, both natives of Rutland 
county, V'ermont. Boomer Mason's father 
died at an early age. and his wife, Deborah 
(Boomer) Mason, who was born in the 
Isle of Man, died at the age of eighty-seven 
years, in the village of Ira, Vermont. 

Our suliject accompanied his parents to 



284 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Jllinois in 1847, wliere his father fa-rmed 
for six years near Aunira, Kane county. In 
1853 the family moved to Lowville, Colum- 
bia county, Wisconsin, and in 1865 to Adams 
county, locating in the town of Lincoln, 
where the father died, at Big Springs, April 
29, 1889, aged eighty-seven years. The 
mother died in the town of Lincoln in 1886, 
at the age of eighty-four years. Her fam- 
ily were natives of England and settled at 
Tinmouth, Vermont, at an early date. 

Hiram Hiland Mason enlisted July 5, 
1 86 1, in Company D, Tenth Wisconsin 
Volunteers. His regiment was attached to 
the Army of the Cumberland, and he partic- 
ipated in the battle of Stone River. After 
this engagement he was detailed as ambu- 
lance driver at General Thomas' headquar- 
ters, and continued in that capacity during 
the remainder of the service, until dis- 
charged, November 3, 1864. After the war 
he returned to Adams county, where he en- 
gaged in farming. He also worked sev- 
eral years at the car^jenter's trade. Since 
March i, 1894, he has been overseer of the 
Adams county poor farm. This farm con- 
sists of five hundred and fifty acres, and the 
institution cares for an average of fourteen 
inmates. The buildings have been greatly 
improved and conveniences enlarged and ex- 
tended under his management, and as a 
public institution reflects much credit, by its 
able management, both upon the county and 
its efficient superintendent. 

Mr. Mason was married, in 1857, to 
Emeline Bump, a daughter of Moses and 
Phoebe Bump, of Pacific, Adams county, 
Wisconsin. Seven children were born to 
this union, three of whom are living : Her- 
bert L., Cyrus C. and Nellie A. Our sub- 
ject was married to his present wife, who 
was formerly Mrs. Sarah Jane See, in 1876. 
Mrs. Mason is the daughter of Francis and 
Phoebe Mason, and was born in Ohio. Of 
the three children born to this union, but 



one, Nina B., is living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Mason are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church at Big Springs, of which Mr. 
Mason is a trustee. He is a member of the 
J. W. Iversham Post, No. 188, G. A. R., at 
Briggsville, of which he has been adjutant 
and quartermaster at various times. He 
has been a stanch Republican since i860, 
and has always taken an intelligent interest 
in public affairs. He has filled several offices 
in the county, having served as deputy sheriff 
two terms, and was also a constable and a 
justice of the peace at different times. He 
has always merited and held the confidence 
of his fellowmen, and no one enjoys in a 
higher degree the esteem of the entire com- 
munity. 



JAMES MORRIS CROTHERS. 

James Morris Crothers, a prominent and 
influential farmer and stock raiser, of New 
Haven township, Adams county, was born 
in Montreal, Canada, September 14, 1847, 
and was the son of James and Ann (Briggs) 
Crothers. 

Our subject's father was a native of 
Belfast, Ireland, and came to America in 
the spring of 1841. He was a linen 
weaver at Belfast, and upon coming to 
America engaged in farming at Montreal, 
Canada. He settled in Jackson township, 
Adams county, Wisconsin, in 1856, where 
he still resides at the age of eighty-four 
years. He is a successful farmer and re- 
spected citizen, and renowned for physical 
and mental activity far bej-ond most men of 
his age. The mother of our subject was 
born in Isle of Jersey, England, and died in 
Wisconsin October 16, 1890, in the seven- 
tieth year of her age. Her father, Robert 
Briggs, served twenty-seven years iin the 
British army, retiring as a corporal of the 
Royal Artillery. For twenty years he was 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



285 



the strong'est man in iiis battery. His 
death occurred in Ireland. 

Ovu- subject was one of ten children, 
two of whom died in childhood, those who 
grew to maturity being as follows : Mar- 
garet, who married Abner H. Flook, and 
who has now passed away; James M., our 
subject; Robert Briggs, a resident of New 
Haven township; Anna, now Mrs. Henry 
Kabaugh, residing in Jackson township; 
Elizabeth, now Mrs. Edward Wyl'ie, of 
Thorp, Wisconsin; Samuel H., residing in 
Cass county, North Dakota; George, an 
attorney at Neilsville, Wisconsin ; and Will- 
iam A., residing on the homestead in Jack- 
son towjiship. 

James M. Crothers was but a small boy 
when the parents mo\ed to Wisconsin, and 
he attended the district school, and at the 
age of se\enteen years began \vork in a 
saw mill in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, as 
a sawyer. Uixin reaching his majority he 
began farming on his present farm, which 
he then rented, but three years later pur- 
chased the land. He added to his posses- 
sions from time to time, and his present es- 
tate comprises one hundred and sixty acres, 
about one hundred acres of which is tillable, 
and the balance furnishes abundant timber 
and pasture land. He engages principally 
in the raising of live stock and has some 
high grade stock and has made a success in 
that branch of agriculture. For several 
years he dealt in live stock and is a man 
who is well, versed on values. 

Mr. Crothers was married August 15, 
1866, to Julia M. \Vard, daughter of Ira 
C. and Ursula Ward, of New Ha\en town- 
ship. Mrs. Crothers was born in Jefferson 
county, Wisconsin, and her parents were 
among the first settlers of Adams county, 
locating on the farm which is now owned 
by Mr. Crothers. Mr. and IMrs. Ward now 
reside at Big Spring. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Crothers eight children Iiave been born, as 



follows : Herbert Stillman, engaged in the 
banking business in Davenport, North Da- 
kota; Clifford Elarris, produce dealer of 
Kilbourn, \Visconsin ; Bertha \'iola, now 
Mrs. Charles George, of Plainfield, Wis- 
consin ; Nellie Ma)-, now Mrs. F. J. Dur- 
ham, of Alilwaukee, Wisconsin; Asa Eve- 
lyn, now residing in Sjjencer, Iowa ; Cora 
Irene, Ethel and Archie Raymond, the 
last three named residing at home. Mr. 
Crothers has given his children good edu- 
cational advantages, and is interested in edu- 
cational matters. The family attend the Con- 
gational church at Big Springs and Mrs. 
Crothers is a member of the same. Mr. 
Crothers is a gentleman who exerts a marked 
interest in local affairs, and has been a dele- 
gate twice to the state congressional conven- 
tion. He has filled the principal township 
oftices, and always has the welfare of his 
community at heart. He has been a Repub- 
lican in political sentiment since his youth, 
and adheres to the principles of his party. 



GEORGE ACERS. 

George Acers, a well-known and pop- 
ular conductor on the Chicago, IMilwaukee 
& St. Paul Railroad; who has been in the 
employ of that corporation for over thirty 
years, now makes his home in Port- 
age, Wisconsin. He was born in Page- 
ville, Erie county, Pennsylvania, October 
12, 1852, a son of William and Roxa 
(Clark) Acers. also natives of the Keystone 
state. The father was by trade a carpenter, 
but he also engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine and carried on farming in Erie county. 
In 1857 he came to Wisconsin and located 
on a farm in Juneau count}-, where he con- 
tinued to follow the three occupations pre- 
viouslj' mentioned until 1883, when he re- 
moved to Broken Bow, Xeliraska. He died 



286 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



at that place January 9, 1886, at the age of 
seventy-six years. In his pohtical views he 
was always a stanch Democrat, and for many 
years he acceptably served as justice of the 
peace in Juneau county, Wisconsin. His 
wife was a daughter of Jabez Clark, a farmer 
of Erie county, Pennsylvania, who was from 
New England. She died at Lyndon, Wis- 
consin, September 10, 1868, aged fifty-one 
years. 

The suljject of this sketch was educated 
in the public schools of Lyndon, and at the 
age of sixteen years entered the service of 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road Company as brakeman, was afterward 
conductor on a construction train, and since 
1886 has been a conductor on a passenger 
train, making two trips daily between Port- 
age and Aladison. Since 1880 he has made 
his home in Portage with the exception of 
four years spent in Madison, and in the wel- 
fare of the city he takes a deep and com- 
mendable interest. 

Mr. Acers was married, October i, 1877, 
the lady of his choice being Miss Rachel 
Hambleton, a daughter of Stephen D. and 
ALiry A. Hambleton, of Kilbourn, W^iscon- 
sin, where her father was engaged in mer- 
cantile business, also dealt in grain, and 
owned a farm near that place. He died 
in Delton, Sauk county, Wisconsin. To 
Mr. and ]Mrs. Acers were Ijorn three chil- 
dren, namely: Eva Pearl, who died in 
July. 1893, '^t tlie ;ige of fifteen years; 
Paul Duane and Irene, who are still 'living. 
The family attend the Presbyterian church 
and occupy an enviable position in the best 
social circles of the community. Fratern- 
alh' ^Ir. Acers is a member of the Order of 
Railroail Conductors, the Masonic Order, 
and the Knights of Pythias, while politically 
he is a Republican, though reared in the 
Democratic faith. As a business man, his 
long retention in the service of one com- 
pany mainly indicates his fidelity to duty 



and the confidence and trust reposed in him 
by his employers, and as a citizen he is highly 
esteemed by all who have the pleasure of 
his acquaintance. 



HANS A. HANSON. 

Hans A. Hanson is one of the leading 
business men of Rio, and has probalily con- 
tributed as much as any single citizen to the 
general commercial prosperity of this grow- 
ing village. His name is well known 
throughout this part of Columbia county as 
that of an uprigiit and capable business man, 
and he enjoys a wide circle of friends. He 
was born in the town of Otsego, Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, February 12, 1861, and 
is now in the prime of life. He is a son of 
Anon and Emma (Gunderson) Hanson. 
His father was a native of Norway, and 
came to this country when c^uite a young 
man. He spent a few years in Michigan, 
and in Washington county, Wisconsin, and 
then took up a quarter-section of govern- 
ment land in Otsego township. Columbia 
county, a part of which he still owns. Since 
1887 he has ceased acti\-e work, and is liv- 
ing in the village of Rio. Hans Hanson, 
the grandfather of the subject of this writ- 
ing, was a farmer and a school teacher in 
Norway, and he li\ed and died in that coun- 
try. His widow crossed the ocean to spend 
her last days with her son in Rio, and died 
in that village when over seventy years of 
age. Her father, Levi Gunderson, was one 
oi the piniieers of Columbia county, and 
died at the age of sixty-eight. His widow, 
Mrs. Trena Gunderson. li\-ed until 1878. 
Anon Hanson and wife were the parents of 
two sons and three daughters : Hans A. 
and Levi, partners in business in Rio; An- 
nie ; Trena, who is Mrs. Charles Isaacson, 
living at Rio; Christina, Mrs. Ed Isaacson, is 
a: Hazel Run, Minnesota. 

H. A. Hanson received \erv good edu- 




HAHS A. HAHSOH. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



289 



catioual advantages. He attended tlie pulj- 
lic schools and the Monona Academy at 
Madison, where he pursued a business 
course. At the age of twenty-three he left 
the farm, and entered a general store at Rio, 
v.diere he u"as engaged as a clerk for some 
years. In 1892 he went to Hazel Run, Min- 
nesota, and engaged in business for himself 
as a dealer in lumber and agricultural, im- 
plements. He was not very well satisfied 
with the surroundings, and sold out in about 
a year and came back to Rio, where he be- 
came manager of the extensive estate of T. 
W. Thompson, deceased. In 1894 he built 
a large, double, brick, two-story building. In 
this he opened a large department store with 
Thomas Sampson as his partner. He ter- 
minated the partnership two years later by 
buying out all Mr. Sampson's interest, and 
the business was carried on for a time under 
the firm name of Anon Hanson & Sons, his 
father and brother Levi being associated 
with him. September 15, 1900, the firm was 
changed to that of Hanson Bros. & Dun- 
ham. They carry an immense stock of gen- 
eral merchandise, and have one of the most 
complete and perfect establishments of the 
kind in the county. Mr. Hanson has many 
and important investments outside the store, 
one of the most exacting being a considerable 
interest in the Rio State Bank, of which he 
is one of the directors and vice-president. He 
carries two large farms, and gives much at- 
tention to tobacco and potatoes. His mar- 
riage with Miss Mena Thompson occurred 
June 7, 1893. She is a daughter of Thorn- 
ton Thompson, of Rio, and is the mother of 
one child, Evelyn Cornelia. They are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran church of Rio, and the 
family is much respected in all social rela- 
tions. He is a stanch Republican, and has 
represented the village on the county board 
several times. 

A portrait of Mr. Hanson is presented 
on another page in this volume. 



HARRY H. CURTIS. 

Harry H. Curtis, a well-known and 
highly esteemed citizen of Wyocena, Co- 
lumbia county, Wisconsin, represents two 
of the most prominent pioneer families of 
Columbia county. He is a native of that 
county, and was born in the town of Low- 
\ill.e, October 24, 1872, and was a son of 
Elbridge and Mary E. (Bennett) Curtis. 

The grandfather of our subject, John 
C. Curtis, spent most of his life on a farm 
in Broome county. New York, attaining 
the age of eighty-six years. He was a 
cousin of Frederick C. Curtis, of Rocky 
Run, and sprang of the same distinguished 
ancestors, a record of whom may be found 
in the sketch of the life of Frederick C. Cur- 
tis elsewhere in this volume. The father 
of our subject was born in Broome county, 
New York, and came to Wisconsin in 1849. 
He spent about two years lumbering on Lake 
Superior and on the Mississippi river, and 
then entered claim to government land in 
sections seven and eighteen, in Lowville 
township, and there tilled the soil during the 
remainder of hiis life. He became *inter- 
ested in breeding Merino sheep, and made a 
success of his farm work, leaving to his 
heirs a fine farm of one hundred and eighty 
acres. He was a man of prominence and 
was deservedly esteemed and respected. Po- 
litically he was a stanch Republican, and 
during his career filled various offices of 
trust in his township. The mother of our 
subject still resides in Wyocena. She was 
a daughter of Telman N. and Sarah Ann 
(Beardsley) Bennett, and sprang of one of 
the pioneer families of Big Flats, Chemung 
county, New York. Her ancestors came 
from Germany and her grandfather, Abram 
Bennett, represented the third generation of 
the family in America. The maternal 
grandfather of our subject, Telman N. 
Bennett, served as cajitain of the New York 



290 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



militia in early life. About 1852 he traded 
an improved farm of riiuety-six alcres at 
Big Flats for four hundred and forty acres 
of wild land in Lowvilie, and came to his 
new home to reside, never having seen the 
land until he took up his residence thereon. 
About twenty acres of the same had been 
broken and a log cabin, 10x16 feet, had 
been erected. The cabin is still standing 
on the premises. It at one time sheltered 
twenty-six people, some of his neighbors 
sharing his hospitality. The farm became 
valuable, and Mr. Bennett resided there un- 
til his death in 1892, aged eighty-two years. 
He was a devoted member of the Baptist 
church, and enjoyed the highest esteem of 
his associates. His wife was born in New 
Jersey, of Scotch lineage, and reached the 
age of sixty-two years. Our subject was 
one of eight children, four sons and four 
daughters, seven of whom grew to matu- 
rity, and are as follows: Irene, who be- 
came the wife of Harry Cutsforth, of Pa- 
cific township, and is now deceased ; Alma, 
who became Mrs. James F. Robinson, and 
died in Colorado in February, 1891 ; John 
C, residing in Chicago; Telina B., now 
Mrs. Samuel Curtis, of Ft. Pierre, South 
Dakota; Lewis B., of Denver, Colorado; 
Harry H., our subject; and Edgar F., liv- 
ing on the homestead farm in Lowvilie. 

Harry H. Curtis attended high schools 
at Portage and Poynette, and graduated 
from the latter institution at the age of 
twenty years. He then spent four years 
teaching, being successively principal of the 
graded schools of Wyocena and Rio. He 
was appointed United States railway postal 
clerk in May, 1898, and has spent most of 
the time since on the route between Chicago 
and Minneapolis on the Chicago, Milwau- 
kee & St. Paul Railroad. 

Our subject was married September 8, 
1897, to Lillith M. Lawn, a daughter of 
Dr. James and Isabel Lawn, nf Wyocena. 



Mr. Curtis erected a modern residence in 
Wyocena in 1899, and now occupies one of 
the most attractive homes in the village. He 
is a gentleman of much force of character, 
and is a member of the Presbyterian cluvrch. 
In political faith he is a Republican, but 
takes little part in party affairs. He holds 
membership in the National Association of 
Railway Postal Clerks. He is one of the 
administrators of the estate of the late Dr. 
James Lawn, a sketch of whose life appears 
elsewhere in this work. 



JAMES LAWN, M. D. 

James Lawn, M. D., deceased. In the 
death of James Lawn Columbia county lost 
a most worthv citizen and able and conscien- 
tious practitioner. Mr. Lawn had followed 
the practice of medicine for over a cjuarter 
of a century in that locality, and was widely 
known and deeply mourned at his demise. 
He resided in Wyocena, and the family now 
reside in Portage. 

Our subject was born in Utica, New 
York, October 2J, 1850, and was a son of 
Hugh and Jane (Duncan) Lawn, who were 
natives of Scotland. The father lived in 
Ireland during his early life, and about 1848 
came to America, and was employed as 
dyer in a cloth factory at Utica, New York. 
The mother of our subject was employed 
in the same institution as weaver. The 
family removed to Kingston, Wisconsin, 
about 1855, where the father died on his 
farm in his seventy-first year. 

Our subject began the study of medicine 
with Dr. William Meacher, of Portage, and 
he also attended Bennett Medical College, 
Chicago, graduating from that institution 
in 1873. -^^ began the practice of his pro- 
fession in Kingston, and in August, 1875, 
located in Wyocena, where he continued un- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



291 



til his death, with the exception of five years, 
from 1886-91, which he spent in Kingston. 
He built up an extensive practice, and met 
with remarkable success, and was devoted 
to his work, so much so that the constant 
vigil undermined his health and he passed 
away at \V3'ocena. Wisconsin, December 29, 
1898. 

]\Ir. Lawn was married December 30, 
1875, to Miss Isabella Peters, of Kingston, 
a daughter of Joseph and Isabella (Mur- 
phy) Peters. Mrs. Lawn's father was born 
in Connecticut, and her mother was a na- 
tive of Ireland. The family located in Wis- 
consin in 1857 and engaged in farming near 
Kingston. The mother died October 18, 
1898, aged sixty-eight years, and the father 
makes his home in Kingston, and is aged 
seventy-two years. The family was among 
the first members of the Methodist church 
of Kingston. Mrs. Lawn was born in Can- 
andaigua county, New York. Four chil- 
dren were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Lawn, who are named as follows : Lillith 
M., now Mrs. Harry H. Curtis, of Wyo- 
cena ; Ella May, Violet lone and Hugh Ed- 
ward. 

Mr. Lawn was a member of the Colum- 
bia County Medical Society, and was censor 
for three years. He was also a member of 
the State Medical Association. He was 
reared in the Presbyterian faith, and in po- 
litical sentiment was a stanch Republican. 
Mrs. Lawn, in November, 1899, removed 
to Portage so that she might have better 
educational advantages for her children. 



THOMAS W. DONNELLY. 

Prominent among the enterprising and 
successful young farmers who till the fertile 
soil of Sauk county, Wisconsin, is the sub- 
ject of this review, who now owns and 



operates a good farm of eighty acres in 
Dellona township. He is a native of this 
state, born in Valley township, Adams coun- 
ty, February 13, 1874, and is a son of Hugh 
D. and Mary Donnelly, of whom more ex- 
tended mention is made on another page of 
this volume. He received a good common- 
school education which has well-fitted him 
for life's responsible duties, and at the age 
of sixteen he left home and started out to 
make his own way in the world, following 
various occupations for some time. 

On the ist of April, 1897, Mr. Donnelly 
married Miss Elizabeth A. Capron, of Par- 
deeville, Wisconsin, a daughter of Cornelius 
and Elizabeth (Crosby) Capron. She is a 
graduate of the Wausau high school and 
an accomplished musician. They have one 
child, Elizabeth C, born December 29, 1897. 

On the nth of October, 1897, Mr. Don- 
nelly located in Dellona township, Sauk 
county, where he purchased what is known 
as the Pat Howlett farm, and now has sixty 
acres of the eighty-acre tract under a high 
state of cultivation. There is a good 
orchard upon the place, and the neat and 
thrifty appearance of the farm testifies to 
his careful, supervision. He carries on di- 
versified farming, and is also in the employ 
of the McCormick Harvesting Company, as 
an expert, doing business over the western 
part of the state. His faithful service has 
won him promotion at the company's hands. 

Mr. Donnelly is a stanch supporter of the 
Democratic party and its principles, and 
takes quite an active interest in public af- 
fairs, especially educational matters, and 
has been elected chairman of the investiga- 
tion committee for District No. 7, Dellona 
township. He is a prominent member of 
the Woodmen of the World, and is consul 
commander of Tourist Camp at Kilbnurn, 
and also state deputy. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Home Forum, No. 18 13, at Kil- 
bourn, and is orator of the same. 



292 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ALLEN TIMOTHY CORLISS, M. D. 

Allen Timothy Corliss, ]\I. D.. a young 
medical practitioner of Loganville, Sauk 
county, has in a few years firmly established 
himself as a skilled physician among the 
fraternity of his profession. Not only do 
the members of the medical world accord 
him prominence, but the citizens of the en- 
tire community in which he has chosen to 
make his home readily give him worthy 
praise for his efforts and success. He is 
thoroughly practical and conscientious and 
enjoys an ever increasing patronage. 

Our subject was born in Sutton, Cale- 
donia county, Vermont, December 17, 1868. 
and was the son of Jewett and x^melia 
(Wheeler) Corliss. His father was a na- 
tive of Sutton, Vermont, and was a con- 
tractor and builder at St. Johnsbury, Ver- 
mont, for some years, and is now residing in 
California. The mother of our subject was 
born in Brownington, Vermont, and was a 
daughter of Silas Wheeler, a farmer by oc- 
cupation, wdio removed to Illinois about 
1890. and now resides at La Grange, Cook 
county, aged nearly eighty years. Her 
grandfather came from England and settled 
in Massachusetts. 

Allen T. Corliss attended the public 
schools and later St. Johnsbury Academy, 
and at the age of eighteen years went to La 
Grange, Illinois, where he was employed in 
a grocery store. He entered Rush Medical 
College in the fall of 1891, working in the 
store during his vacations to obtain means 
to continue his studies, and graduated from 
that college in 1894. He established him- 
self in Sioux City, Iowa, and after one year 
located in Loganville, Wisconsin, where he 
has since pursued a general practice. 

Our subject was married June 20, 1894, 
to Miss Eva Gregory, daughter of John and 
Armena (Smith) Gregory, of La Grange, 
Illinois. Mrs. Corliss' father was a native 



of Ohio, and was an early settler of Sauk 
county, Wisconsin. He lived on a farm in 
\\'infield township for several years, and 
was a mason by trade. He erected the 
original Sauk County Poor House, and 
many of the first brick buildings in Reeds- 
burg. His death occurred at Denver, Colo- 
rado, in 1883. The mother of Mrs. Corliss 
was born in Pennsylvania, and was a daugh- 
ter of Charles Smith, who lived in Sauk 
county for a number of years and died in 
Loganville. Two children have been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Corliss, as follows: Mar- 
guerite F. and Allen G. Mr. and Mis. Cor- 
liss embrace the Baptist faith and are held 
in the highest regard by their acquaintances. 
Mr. Corliss is a member of Hillside Camp, 
Modern Woodmen of America, at Logan- 
ville, and is medical examiner for the camp. 
He also holds membership in Forest Lodge, 
No. 116, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, at Lime Ridge. He is connected with 
the Central Wisconsin Medical Society, and 
the State Medical Society of Wisconsin. He 
is a man of intelligence and true worth and 
his prosperity is assured. 



MRS. HARRIET THOMPSON. 

Mrs. Harriet Thompson, whose home is 
on section 31, Lincoln township, Adams 
county, Wisconsin, has spent almost her en- 
tire life on the frontier, and has witnessed 
the entire growth and development of this 
section of the Union. She was born at 
Mackinac, Michigan, September 18, 1828, 
when this region was an unbroken wilder- 
ness inhabited only by the red men, and 
abounding in wild game of all kinds. She 
early became familiar with all the hardships 
and privations of pioneer life, but with the 
advancing white man all the comforts of 
civilized life have been brought to her door. 

\\^illiam Svlvester, the father of our sub- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



293 



ject, was born in Hanover, Massachusetts, 
October 28, 1793, and for twenty- four years 
was employed as blacksmith by the Ameri- 
can Fur Company at Mackinac, Michigan. In 
1835 he removed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, 
where he followed farming for about thir- 
teen years, and was then appointed by the 
government as blacksmith for the Indians 
at Point Bois, Wood county. He was 
granted a permit to build on the Indian 
lands, and in 1845 erected the first house in 
Adams county, it being known as the Marsh 
house, into which the family moved that 
fall. After the land came into market, he 
entered one hundred and sixty acres, and 
rented his house to our subject, while he 
moved to Portage in 1848, and served as 
the first mayor of that city. He also con- 
ducted a grocery store at that place, which 
he afterward sold. He returned to the 
Marsh house, Adams county, making his 
home there for a number of years. He 
then sold the Marsh house farm to Silas C. 
Fletcher and then moved to Ripon, Wis- 
consin, where he spent the remainder of his 
life. He was one of the minute men from 
Massachusetts in the war of 181 2, and was 
the first postmaster in Adams county, Wis- 
consin. On the 3d of May, 1820, he mar- 
ried Miss Nancy J. Alien, who was born in 
Detroit, Michigan, March 17, 1805, and 
died at the Marsh house January 12, 1848. 
Eleven children were born of that marriage : 
Edwin J., William, Charles, Harriet, Clar- 
issa A., Amanda F., Nancy Jane, Mary M., 
Delia S., Eliza P. and Emma A., all born in 
Mackinac except the three youngest. For 
his second wife he married a Mrs. Bates, of 
Rockford, Illinois, who died some years later, 
and afterward he married Harriet Westcott, 
of Sheboygan, who still survives him. By 
his last marriage two children were born at 
the Marsh, named as follows : Lillian and 
Willis. 

On the 1 2th of May, 1848, Miss Har- 



riet Sylvester gave her hand in marriage to 
Sila^ C. Fletcher, who after living in Adams 
county, Wisconsin, for a few years, moved 
to California, where they made their home 
for about thirteen years. On their return 
to Adams county Mr. Fletcher purchased his 
father-in-law's farm, which he successfully 
operated until his death, June 2, 1890. Mrs. 
Fletcher was again married May 28, 1899, 
her second union being with Charles R. 
Thompson, who came to this state in the 
spring of 1845, ^"^ ^^'st settled in Dodge 
county, where he continued to reside until 
1 89 1. In 1892 he came to Adams county, 
which has since been his home. For one 
year he served as a soldier in the Union 
army during the Civil war, enlisting as a 
private in Company I, Forty-eighth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, but on the 24th 
of March, 1865, he was promoted to cor- 
poral. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are 
highly respected and esteemed by all who 
know them, and ha\'e many warm friends 
throughout Adams county. George W. 
Fletcher, the only child born to Silas C. 
and Mrs. Fletcher, was born March 16, 
1849. He is the present owner of the 
Marsh House and farms about two hun- 
dred acres of land in Adams county. He 
was married, October 6, 1868, to Miss Mary 
A. Crane, a nati\-e of Fond du Lac, Wis- 
consin. They were the parents of six chil- 
dren ; those living are Minnie May, Silas C. 
and Mabel R. Mrs. Fletcher died Novem- 
ber 12, 1881, aged thirty. Mr. Fletcher 
was married, October 3, 1882, to Clara 
Jones, born April 9, 1861, at Cambria, Wis- 
consin. They have five children: Hazel I., 
Jane, Edwin W., Hattie L. and Ella M. 



ALBERT W. NEHLS. 

No better illustration of the character- 
istic energy and enterprise of the typical 
German-American citizen can be found than 



294 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



tliat afforded by the career of this mercliant 
tailor, now a well-known resident of Kil- 
bourn City, Wisconsin. Coming to this 
country with no capital except his abilities, 
he has made his way to success through 
wisely directed effort and he can now look 
back with satisfaction upon past struggles. 

A native of Germany, Mr. Nehls was 
born in FreienWalde, Pomerania, December 
12, 1859, and is a son of Ferdinand and 
Fredericka (Knappt) Nehls, natives of the 
same place; the father was born in 1824, 
the mother in 1830. There the father died 
in 1872, but the mother is still living and 
now makes her home in Milwaukee, Wis- 
consin. 

Our subject attended both public and 
private schools in his native land, and after 
coming to this country took up the study of 
bookkeeping. At the age of eighteen he 
learned the tailor's trade, and at the age of 
twenty entered the German army, where he 
served for three years. On the 15th of 
April, 1885, he sailed for America, and 
landed in this country thirteen days later. 
He first located in Wausau, Wisconsin, 
where he was engaged in the tailoring busi- 
ness until December 2, 1890, and then came 
to Kilbourn City, where he has since suc- 
cessfully carried on operations along the 
same line. In May, 1896, he bought a lot 
in block No. 47, on Broadway, where he 
now conducts his business, and where he also 
carries a good stock of ready made clothing. 

Mr. Nehls was married, January 13, 
1891, to Miss Minnie Wanderer, who was 
born January 11, 1866, in Portage, Wis- 
consin, a daughter of Joseph W. and Maggie 
Wanderer, natives of Germany. Mr. Nehls 
belongs to the Catholic church and is high- 
ly respected by all who know him. He is 
a man of exceptional business ability, is 
strictly honorable in all his dealings, and 
through his 6wn unaided efforts has achieved 
success. 



EDWARD CLINTON GOTTRY. 

Edward Clinton Gottry, a popular and 
successful attorney of Reedsburgj Wiscon- 
sin, was born June 29, 1864, at Hamilton, 
Canada, a son of Anthony S. and Eliza- 
beth (Kilgour) Gottry. The father was 
born in Haganeau, Lorraine, then a province 
of France, but now a part of Germany. 
His ancestors doubtless went there from 
the south of Scotland during Cromwell's 
invasion. About 1827, when a lad of ten 
years, Anthony S. Gottry came with his par- 
ents to the United States and settled in 
Utica, New York, where his father carried 
on the trade of a stone mason. After 
reaching manhood he conducted a hotel in 
Hamilton, Canada, for a time, and about 
1854 came to Wisconsin, being engaged in 
the same business at Stevens Point for a 
number of years. Subsequently he spent the 
greater part of two years in Canada for his 
health, and on his return to Stevens Point, 
in 1866, he engaged in merchandising for 
a time. In 1893 he removed to Pine City, 
Minnesota, where he is now living retired, 
at the age of seventy-two years. His wife 
was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and was 
eight years old when she came with her par- 
ents to the new world, locating first in 
Providence, Rhode Island. Later the fam- 
ily removed to Hamilton, Canada. Her fa- 
ther, William Kilgour, had held a position 
in the police department at Glasgow. His 
two sons, J. and R. Kilgour, became manu- 
facturers and importers of pianos and mu- 
sical merchandise at Hamilton, Canada. 

Edward C. Gottry, of this review, was 
educated in the public schools of Stevens 
Point, Wisconsin, and at the age of sixteen 
years began learning the printer's trade in 
the office of the "Stevens Point Journal," 
of which he later became foreman. In 1 884 
he went to Cloquet, Minnesota, where, as a 
member of the firm of Page & Gottry, he 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



295 



edited and published the "Pine Knot," the 
first issue appearing July 12, 1884. The 
following spring he bought and consolidated 
with it the "Carlton County Press," and in 
October of that year started the "Pine 
County Pioneer," of which he was active 
manager until the spring of 189 1. He still 
owns the paper, but it is now in charge of 
his brother, W. P. Gottry. 

In June, 1889, Mr. Gottry was appointed 
register of the United States land office at 
Taylor's Falls, Minnesota, by President Har- 
rison, which position he retained until the 
office was consolidated with the St. Cloud 
land office in January, 1894. In the mean- 
time he purchased the "Rush City Post," 
which he edited through the campaign of 
1890. In the fall of 1887 he bought the 
"Pine Tree," at Hinckley, Minnesota, which 
he consolidated with the "Pine County Pio- 
neer." He entered the law department of 
Minnesota University in 1892, and on com- 
pleting the course in 1894 was graduated 
with high honors. On the 8th of June, of 
that year, he was admitted to the bar and 
began practice at Taylor's Falls, Minnesota. 
The following fall he was elected county 
attorney of Chisago county and also city 
attorney. The latter position he held un- 
til November, 1898. While county attor- 
ney he prosecuted the celebrated "Wyoming 
murder cases," and secured the conviction 
of George Kelly, who was executed March 
23, 1897. Another important case was the 
"McMillen trial" for an attempted murder 
of his wife. Mr. Gottry conducted several 
cases before the secretary of the interior at 
Washington, D. C, one of which was the 
"Pat Fox case," involving the title to a 
tract of valuable pine land on the Mille 
Lacs Indian reservation, and he was suc- 
cessful in securing the title for his client, 
Mr. Fox. In December, 1898, he came to 
Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and has already suc- 
ceeded in building up a good general prac- 



tice. He is thoroughly versed in the law, 
is a man of deep research and careful in- 
vestigation and his mind is analytical, log- 
ical and inductive. 

On the 26th of May, 1891, Mr. Gottry 
married Miss Cosette Barlow, a native of 
Barre Mills, La Crosse county, Wisconsin, 
and a daughter of Oliver S. and Mary L. 
Barlow. Her father was a miller and en- 
gaged in milling for many years, after which 
he served as county treasurer of La Crosse 
county. Our subject and wife have one 
child. Amy Cosette, born in 1897. 

Mr. Gottry is a ready and versatile 
writer and has contributed some very in- 
teresting articles to the "Northwest Mag- 
azine." While on a trip through Idaho a few 
years since, he spent some time among the 
Nez Perces Indians and gleaned some in- 
teresting information concerning the tra- 
ditions, customs and character of that tribe. 
He was reared in the Methodist church, 
but his wife holds membership in the Bap- 
tist church. Socially he is a member of 
the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of 
Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of Ameri- 
ca and the Phi Delta Phi, a college frater- 
nity. His political support has always been 
given the men and measures of the Republi- 
can party. He has always taken an active 
and prominent part in the campaigns of his 
party. In 1888, 1892, 1894 and 1896, 
during his residence in Minnesota, he 
"stumped" the state as a speaker for the 
state central committee for the candidates 
of his party. 



JAMES HATTON. 

James Hatton, a prominent farmer of 
the town of Fountain Prairie, has his home 
not far from the village of Fall River, and 
has been for many years prominent among 
the most 'successful farmers of Columbia 



296 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



county. He is a son of Joseph and Mary 
( Robertsaw ) Hatton, and was born January 
19. 1830, in their home in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land. His parents came to this country in 
1849, Sid located on a quarter-section of 
choice land in the village of Fountain 
Prairie, which remained in the family name' 
for many years. Here Mr. Joseph Hatton 
died in 1850, and the management of the 
farm passed into the hands of our subject. 
He had two brothers, but they both died 
early and he became the sole reliance of his 
widowed mother. She made her home with 
him for many years and died at the venerable 
age of eighty-three. 

Mr. Hatton disposed of the family 
homestead in 1887 and bought two hun- 
dred and forty acres in section 17 of the 
same township, and here he still resides, 
keeping the acti\'e charge of everything in 
his own hands. He was married in April, 
1866, to Miss Anna Waterworth, a daugh- 
ter~of Thomas and Sarah Waterworth, both 
English born and bred. They both lived to 
pass the age of eighty years^ and came of 
a hardy stock. Some of her kindred bear- 
ing the family name are now residents of 
P'ountain Prairie, and are among the most 
influential people of the community. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Hatton have come three chil- 
dren, all of whom are now living at home. 
Joseph, the oldest son, assists his father in 
the management of the large farm; Nettie 
lends a hand to the domestic cares, and 
Harry is still in school. They live in an 
admirable farm house, adapted in every way 
to the situation. It crowns a small eleva- 
tion, and is fronted by a beautiful grassy 
lawn, and backed by noble shade trees. Mr. 
Hatton takes a great interest in the welfare 
of his adopted country, and thinking the 
Republican party nearly right, gives it a 
warm support. He is a firm believer in 
the cause of popular education, and has often 
been called to serve as a member of the 



school board. He has been a farmer of 
more than the usual abilit}-, and is an honest, 
deserving citizen universally liked and re- 
spected by all who know him. 



ALBERT FUHRMANN. 

Albert Fuhrmann, the well-known pro- 
prietor of the Reedsburg Brewery, a view 
of which forms one of the illustrations on 
another page of this volume, and an influen- 
tial citizen of Reedsburg, was born on the 
9th of February, 1853, at Grupenhagen, 
Pommerania, Germany, and is the only male 
representative of the family in America. His 
parents were Ferdinand and Christina 
(Platk) Fuhrmann. The father was a 
dealer in eggs and other produce, which he 
shipped to Berlin, and he served for three 
years in the German army. He died at 
Baversdorf, Pommerania, in 1873, at the 
age of forty-four years, but his father, a 
farmer by occupation, reached the advanced 
age of ninety. After the death of her hus- 
band, the mother of our subject came to the 
United States, and died at Oshkosh, Wis- 
consin, February 17, 1899, aged seventy 
years. 

In his native land Albert Fuhrmann 
learned the brewing business, beginning at 
the age of nineteen years in a brewery at 
Schlawe, Pommerania, where he continued 
to work until his emigration to America in 
1882. He first located in Neenah, Wiscon- 
sin, where he was employed in a brewery 
for six months, and then went to Oshkosh. 
In 1896 he came to Reedsburg and purchased 
the brewery of Geffert & Paul, which he has 
since conducted with marked success. The 
capacity of the plant is three thousand bar- 
rels per year, most of which is marketed at 
Reedsburg, and in the manufacture of the 
beer a large (|uantity of the barley grown in 
this vicinity is consumed. 




K 
M 

a! c5 

« D 

1-1 CQ 

m 
m 

Q 

W 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



299 



In 1875 was celebrated tlie marriage of 
j\lr. Fulirmann and Miss Carolina Jenrich. 
of Carwitz, Germany, and to them have 
been born five children, namely: Al- 
bert, Otto, William, l-lsther and Char- 
lie. The family are identified with the 
Evangelical Lutheran chnrch. of Reeds- 
burg, of which ^Ir. Fuhrmann is a 
trustee. He takes little interest in political 
.agitation, but is active in many other public 
affairs, being a stockholder in the Reeils- 
burg Agricultural Society and a contributor 
ti the Public Library. He is widely and 
favorajjly known, and receives and merits 
the respect of his fellow citizens. 



NEWEL CARPENTER, Sr. 

iMewel Carpenter, a prominent agricult- 
urist and millwright, residing on section 
thirty-five, in White Creek township, Adams 
county, has been a member of the farming 
community since 1850, and has been a po- 
tent factor in its upbuilding. He has a 
pleasant estate, and is engaged in general 
farming and raises some stock. 

Mr. Carpenter was born in Sutton, ]\las- 
sachusetts, January 24, 1S23, and was the 
.son of John and Abigail (Healey) Carpen- 
ter. The family resided in Massachusetts 
many years, and the father of our subject 
was the fourth in a family of five children, 
and was a wheelwright by trade. 

Until eighteen years of age Newel Car- 
penter resided at home, attending school 
and assisting his father, and was then ap- 
prenticed to V. C. Hooker, of Sutton, to 
learn the trade of millwright. He received 
for the first year's work forty dollars in 
money and three months' schooling, and the 
contract was for three years. However, his 
employer accepted a contract in Mexico 
and gave our subject his time and set of 



tools, most of which he still has in his 
possession. Pie was apt and showed such 
competency after one year's work, that the 
well know'n contractor and millwright of 
Sutton, Jonathan Dudley, engaged him as 
overseer of his workmen. He continued 
tluis three years, and then, at the age of 
twentv-two \-ears, worked for himself, and 
was engaged on mill work for the woolen 
and cotton mills in Worcester, Massachu- 
setts, and was also engaged in the car shops 
of the railway company at that place. He 
v.-ent t<.i Skowhegan Falls, Maine, at the age 
of thirty years, and was employed in a 
numlier of factories, and was proprietor of 
a sash and blind factory in that city, and was 
the Ijuilder of several starch factories. \ -He 
also emploved a number of hands in- the 
manufacture of pill boxes, and Brown 
1 homson, of Boston, bought their entire out- 
put. In the spring of 1850 Mr. Carpenter 
went to A\'hite Creek, Adams county, Wis- 
consin, and took land on section thirty-five, 
where he has since resided. He has a good 
residence on the estate, and modern conven- 
iences and good barns. He built a saw-mill 
on the farm in 1862, which he operated 
continuously until the present year, when in 
Februarv the mill burned, and was a total 
loss, including planing mill, shingle machine 
and feed mill. He contemplates erecting an- 
other sawmill at once. He removed to 
Ableman, Sauk county, in 1893, where he 
built a flour and grist-mill, which he owned 
for four years, and afterward returned to 
White Creek. He has built a number of 
nulls around the country, including those 
at Povnette, Elroy, Sumner, and Easton. 
Pie is a lo\-er of horses, and for many years 
had a horse which could shake the dust into 
all comers' eyes, and has had great fun at 
the county fairs. Mr. Carpenter is pos- 
sessed of much mechanical ingenuity, and 
for a number of years has done the work 
i:)f the country, from repairing watches to 



300 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



guns and sulkies. He has two patent 
rights, one a hop press, and the other a con- 
veyor for a hearse, the latter bearing patents 
under date of December 28, 1897, in the 
United States and Canada. 

Mr. Carpenter was married, January 15, 
1845, to Charlotte T. Arnold, daughter of 
Nathan Arnold, of Sutton, Massachusetts. 
Mrs. Carpenter died November 12, 1845, 
leaving one child, Charlotte A., born No- 
vember II, 1845, now residing in \\'orces- 
ter, Massachusetts. Mr. Carpenter married 
Mary Elizabeth Maxfield, daughter uf 
James Maxfield, of Mount Vernon, Kenne- 
bec county, Ma'ine, February ji, 1847. 
Five children have been born to Mr. and 
Rfrs. Carpenter, as follows: Abner, born 
July 13, 1858, engineer of Chicago & North- 
western Railway; Frank, born September 
18, 1854, milhyright, residing at Reeds- 
burg; Alice, born October 25, i860, residing 
at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Newel, b(_n-n July 
12, 1868, residing at home; Leonard, born 
November 12, 1872, employed on the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railwa_\-. Mr. Car- 
penter is a genial, cle\-er man. and much 
respected in his community. He is a stanch 
Democrat in political sentiment, Ijut does 
not seek public favor. He is interested in 
the welfare of his township and aids in 
e\-ery public enterprise. 



HON. DAVID BARNES FIULBURT. 

Hon. David Barnes Hulburt, of Logan- 
ville, Sauk county, \\'isconsin, is widely 
known throughout the central part of the 
state as a man of unusual character and 
commanding ability. He was born at 
Portland, Chautauqua county. New York, 
December 8, 1829, and is a son of James 
Harvey and Lydia (Peters) Flulburt, whose 
familv included nine children. The elder 



Hulburt was a native of Vermont and was 
reared to agricultural ptirsuits. While a 
boy he accompanied his parents to Pennsyl- 
vania, and from there to Portland, New 
York, where his life was spent. He died 
when over eighty-two years of age. Rev. 
L^avid Hulburt, the grandfather of the gen- 
tleman whose naiue introduces this article, 
was a Baptist clergyman of far more than 
ordinary endowanents. He filled promi- 
nent pulpits in Pennsylvania, New York, 
and other states, and died at Portland, New 
York, when ox-er ninety-six. After he was 
se\'entv-fi\'e he retired from actixe pastoral 
work, Ijut ciintinuetl to preach from time to 
time for many years thereafter. His wife, 
Elizalieth Barnes, died when o\er seventy- 
five. 1 hey reared a family of thirteen chil- 
dren, whose average age at death was over 
seventy-five years. Mrs. Lydia H. Hulbtirt 
was a daughter of Joseph Phelps Peters. 
wh(.) was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
army and who ser\-ed his country several 
\-ears in that great struggle. 

Da\'itl B. Hulburt left his boyhcjod home 
in 1857, and came to Loganville, Wiscon- 
sin, and settletl on a farm, which is now in 
part the site of the village. Much of his 
original investment he still retains, though 
many acres ha\'e been subdi\ided and dis- 
posed of to actual settlers. He studied 
civil engineering and navigation at Fredonia 
Academy, the old and famous educational 
institution that has immortalized the little 
New York village of that name, and after 
graduating from the normal ilepartment of 
the -Vcademy, engaged in teaching. He 
taught several seasons in New York, and 
was a teacher in this state for a number of 
v'ears. On coming to the state of Wiscon- 
sin he engaged in surveying, and has al- 
ways done considerable business in that 
line, his most important labor in this di- 
rection being the establishment of the con- 
templated Loganville & Narrows Prairie 



COMTENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



801 



Railroad. In i860 he was elected county 
sur\eyor, and for twenty years or more 
he served the people in that capacity. 

It was in the assembly, however, that 
Mr. Hulburt won his most distinguished 
honors. In 1874 he was elected to the as- 
sembly, and was honored with two re-elec- 
tions in succession, and served in the ses- 
sions of 1875, 1876 and 1877. In 1884 
lie was chosen senator, and for four years 
served his constituents in the upper house 
of the Wisconsin legislature. He was 
chairman of the committee on education 
and introduced several important measures 
which became laws and are still <in the stat- 
ute books. Among other measures was the 
famous "one mill-tax" for school purposes, 
which helped increase the school attendance 
of the state over ten per cent, in addition 
to the natural increase. He also worked 
diligently in behalf of the biennial sessions 
amendment to the state constitution. In 
local matters he has served his community 
well, for he filled the office of justice of the 
peace seventeen years, and was chairman of 
the township board for se\"eral }-ears. For 
many years he was engaged in mercantile 
pursuits at Loganville, and in 1871 was ap- 
pointed postmaster by President Grant. He 
held this position a full term, and retired 
from it in 1875 to the general regret of the 
community, whose interests he had carefully 
served. 

ilr. Hulburt was married, in February, 
1856, to Josephine M., daughter of Thomas 
and Abigail (Jones) Van Scoter, of Chau- 
tauqua county, New York. Mrs. Hulburt 
,was born in Steuben county, New York, 
where her father was a practicing physician. 
He was of Holland descent, and died at 
F'redonia. Mrs. Hulburt is the mother of 
eight children: Alice M. (Mrs. H. Z. 
Westonhaver, Madison, Wisconsin) ; Frank 
D., a practicing physician at Reedsburg; Jo- 
sephine M. (Mrs. August Luherson, died 



July 9, 1892, in her twenty-sixth year) ; 
Hettie (Mrs. C. \V. Constantine, of Madi- 
son) ; Arthur D., dead; Lena B. (died June 
23, 1888, at the age of nineteen) ; Harvey 
L., a graduate in pharmacy; and Jessie 
(Mrs. Albert Williams, Loganvihe). There 
are ten grandchildren in the family, and in 
their old age Mr. and Mrs. Hulliurt feel 
th.eir lines have been cast in pleasant places. 



WARREN I. COLBY. 

The pleasant estate on which this gen- 
tleman now makes his home is the old home- 
stead farm of his father, whom he assisted, 
and became thoroughly acquainted with the 
best methods to be pursued in that calling. 
The management of the estate has now^ fallen 
to his lot and he has taken up the w'ork and 
is displaying those dominant traits of char- 
acter which are destined to bring the best 
results. He is a man of much worth to his 
community and is interested in the general 
v/elfare of Adams county. His entire life 
has been spent in Easton township, and his 
home surroundings are of the most comfort- 
able nature. Modern machinery is used for 
gathering and taking care of the grain 
products, and his stock is well provided with 
shelter. 

Mr. Colby was born at Easton, Adams 
county, Wisconsin, July 17, 1855, and was 
the son of Jonathan C. and Sarah A. ( Petti- 
grove) Colby, a sketch of whose lives will 
appear under the Ijiography of Thomas P. 
Colby, elsewhere in this volume. 

Our subject attended school until about 
fourteen years of age, and received a good 
education. He resided at home and after 
the death of his parents came into possession 
of the homestead, on which he still resides. 
He has alxnit one hundred and seventy acres 
of land, one hundred acres of which is und: r 



30i 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



cultivation. He enoages in general farm- 
ing and has been successful. 

Mr. Giliiy was married, June 21, 1892, 
to Jennie M. Halstead, daughter of Isaac 
F. aiid Lydia Halstead, of Easton township. 
Three children have been born to bless the 
home I if Mr. and Mrs. Colby, as follovys: 
Irene F., born March 30, 1893; Floyd, born 
September 4. 1895, and Dorothy Ruth, born 
August 18, 1899. 

Mr. Colliy has been called upon to serve 
in various offxial positions in his township, 
and is at present chairman of the township 
board. He is non-partisan in politics and 
casts his vote for the man which in his opin- 
ion will serve his community best. He is 
public-spirited, and in every possible way 
lends his influence for the advancement of 
his community, and enjoys the respect of his 
fellow men. 



JOSEPH HENRY RIDDLE. 

Joseph Henry Riddle, a leading farmer 
and stock breeder in the town of Lodi, Co- 
lumbia county, Wisconsin, long ago took a 
prominent place among those devoted to ag- 
riculture in tlr's comjnunity and this is easily 
his standing at the present time. He has 
always been an industrious worker; he has 
maintained a high character for honesty and 
unswerving integrity; and his business abil- 
ity is attested by his manifest success in the 
enterprises to which he has set his hands. 

Mr. Riddle was born in the city of New 
York June 24, 1839, and is a son of Robert 
S. and Mary (Dunning) Riddle. The fa- 
ther was a native of Delaware county. New 
\'ork, and the grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch was a native of Ireland. He 
came to New York while still a young man 
au-d located on a farm in Djclaware coifnty. 
There he lixcd to lie almost one hundred 
years old. His wife reached an extreme 



old age. R. S. Riddle learned the carpenter 
trade in his native state, and followed it for 
a number of years in the city of New York, 
where he bail many im]3ortant contracts. 
He came to Wisconsin in 1851, and took up 
government land in Dane county, not far 
from Lodi, and devoted himself mainlj' to 
farming the rest of his life. He did some 
wiirk at his trade, howe\'er, in the }ears 
that ini;ne<liately followed his arrival in the 
state, and had some (|uite extensi\'e con- 
tracts. He dietl at the age of eighty-three. 
Mrs. Mary Riddle sur\-ived her husband 
se\'eral years and lived to reach the age of 
eighty-one. She was born in New Jersey, 
and became the mother of seven children, 
two of whom died in early childhood : 
Mary Jane died in Dane county, Wisconsin, 
arid Frank at Los Angeles, California; Ed- 
win enlisted in Company H, Twenty-third 
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and died at 
New Orleans while in the service; George 
is li\'ing in the town of Lodi. 

Josei)h Henry Riddle has li\'ed in the 
vicinity of Lodi since he was twelve years 
old. \'\'hen he was twenty-five he bought 
a farm in Dane county and three years later 
moved into the town of Dodi. Here he 
is now the proprietor of a magnificent rural 
estate of three hundred and forty-eight 
acres, eighty acres of it being in Dane coun- 
ty. It affords a variety of soil and is well 
supplied with timber. There are several 
large li\ing springs upon it, and it is tra- 
versed by Spring creek. For more than 
thirty years Mr. Riddle has made a specialty 
of dairying, and at the present time has 
turned his cattle very largely into thor- 
oughbred or high-grade Jerseys. He has 
an extensi\'e milk route in the village of 
Lodi, where he finds a ready market for his 
milk, crc;fm and Imtter. Mr. Riddle is also 
deeply interested in fine driving stock, and 
at the present time has over twenty horses 
and colts on his place, some of which have 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



303 



developed noteworthy speed. He has a 
fine herd of Sliropshire sheep. jMnch of his 
stock lias heen on exhibition at (hft'ercnt 
fairs and h'\'e stock shows, and wherever 
e.xhiliited it lias repeatedly taken premiums. 
He is a Mason, and a lifelong Democrat. 

]\[r. Riildle and Miss, Cornelia Amerette 
Simons were married in March, 1864. She 
is a daughter of Frederick Hawley and 
Roxana (Hickox) Simons, and was born 
at Canandaigua, Ontario county. New York. 
Her parents came to Wisconsin at an early 
day, and were the first settlers in the tmvn 
of Springfield, their nearest neighbor being 
nine miles away. Her father died in 1846, 
and her mother remarried and li\ed in 
Springfield township many years. One of 
her sisters, Mrs. IMicliael Durand, is still 
living in Canandaigua, New York, at the 
age of ninety-four. Captain George tlickox, 
the father of Roxana referred to above, 
won his title in the war of 1812. He came 
from New England to New York and lived 
to be ninety-four. His father, Levi Hickox, 
served in the Continental army under Gen- 
eral Washington, and was at the battle of 
Trenton. 

To ^Ir. and IMrs. Riddle five children 
have been born. Their living children have 
received excellent educational advantages, 
and the home of the family is one of Ik^s- 
pitality and refinement. Their children are: 
Arthur Henry, at present assistant manager 
of the farm at home; Ernest Hawley is a 
graduate of the Northwestern Business Col- 
lege at Madison. He has a marked me- 
chanical ability, and has executed some very 
complicated scroll work pieces, a noteworthy 
production being an antique clock represent- 
ing a feudal castle. He is interested with 
his father in l)reeding and training Idooded 
horses, and he seems to have a natural gift 
for handling horses, even the most fractious 
responding readily to his contr(jl. I'earlie 
died June 16, 1876, at the age of eleven 



months and seventeen days. Cora Eliza- 
1;eth is a graduate of the Northwestern Busi- 
ness College in stenography, and has fol- 
lowed that work several years. .\ll)erta De 
Estes is a graduate of the Lodi high school, 
and is now a student at the Whitewater 
Normal. 



LYMAN STRONG SCOON. 

Lyman Strong Scoon, a leading farmer 
of Reedsburg township. Sauk county, and a 
worth}' representati\-e of one of the promi- 
nent pioneer families of this section (d" the 
state, was born in Loganville, Wisconsin, 
Jnlv 2Ti. 1859, a son of Alfred Freeman and 
Emilv E. (Strong") Scoon. 'I he mother, 
who was a consistent member of the Meth- 
odist church of Loganville, died in March, 
1865, at the age of thirty-three years. She 
was born in Cattaraugus county. New York, 
and was a daughter of John Merrill Strong, 
a fanner, who died in Grand Detour, Illi- 
nois. 

Alfred F. Scoon. the father cd' our sub- 
ject, was born in the town of Greenwich, 
\\'ashington countw New York, Julv 4, 
1829. His father, who was born near Dum- 
fries. Scotland, started for the United States 
during the war of 1812 on board an .Vmeri- 
can \'essel, but was ca])tured and pressed 
into the Piritish na\al service. After two 
years he managed to escape by concealing 
liimself in a coil of ro|)e in New York har- 
bor, where he remained for tw;) days with 
onlv one sea biscuit to eat. Li the mean- 
time his wife, who had been left in Scot- 
land, remarried. su])posing him dead. He 
settled in Washington county, New York, 
and there married Nancy Pratt, by whom 
he had ten children. Alfred F. Scoon, the 
youngest of this i'amily, left home at the 
death of his fatlicr, when he was fourteen 
vears old and worked in the woods of Can- 



304 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ada until 1847, when lie went to Grand De- 
tour, Illinois, where he married the mdlher 
of our subject. For several years he was 
employed as a salesman for the John Deere 
Plow Company of that place, and in 1856 
came to Loganville, Wisconsin, where he 
worked at the cooper's trade until after the 
breaking out of the Civil war. In Decem- 
ber, 1863. he enlisted in Company B, 
Twelfth Wisconsin \'olunteer Infantry, and 
was mustered out in July, 1865, after a 
year and a half of arduous service. He was 
with Sherman all through the Atlanta cam- 
paign and on the march to the sea. Hav- 
ing contracted heart disease and other 
troubles, he was in a hospital at Indianapolis, 
Indiana, for some time, and was then trans- 
ferred to the \"eteran Reserve Corps, in 
which he served with the rank of sergeant 
until the war was over. During his resi- 
dence in Loganville and later in Reedsburg 
township he filled the office of justice of 
the peace in a most acceptable manner. On 
the 15th of April, 1863, he took possession 
of a farm on section 31, that township, 
upon which few improvements had been 
made, and to its further development and 
cultivation devoted his energies until the 
spring of 1895, since which time he has lived 
retired in New London, Wisconsin. He 
was one of the few men who made money 
during the "hop crash" of 1S68, and he was 
a successful dealer in that and other prod- 
ucts, and also in real estate to some ex- 
tent. He is a well-read man of decided 
views, who has always taken an active in- 
terest in political affairs and was a Demo- 
crat in early life, but since 1880 has sup- 
ported the Republican party. He served as 
assessor of Westfield township, Sauk coun- 
ty, for two j^ears. By his first wife he had 
eightchildren,of whom three died in infancy. 
The others are: Frances F., now the wife 
of Albert W^ager, of Reedsburg township; 
Frederick, who died in 1874, at the age 



of twenty-one years; Lyman S., our subject; 
Darwin W'., a resident of W^est Superior, 
Wisconsin, and ex-sheriff of Douglas coun- 
ty; and Emma, wife of William E. Carter, 
of New London. For his second wife, Mr. 
Scoon married Louise C. Seamans. who died 
in January, 1891, when nearly si.\ty-t\vo 
years of age. All of the three children born 
of this union died in infancy. Thev had an 
adopted son, John Duane. now a resident of 
West Superior. 

Lyman S. Scoon, of this review, attend- 
ed school at Loganville and elsewhere until 
sixteen years of age, since which time he 
has devoted his entire attention to agricult- 
ural pursuits, and with the exception of 
th.ree years has spent his entire life on the 
home farm. In ^lay. 1886, he went to 
Faulk county. South Dakota, where he took 
a pre-emption claim, but two years later re- 
turned to Sauk county and has since carried 
on the old homestead, which comprises one 
hundred and fift}' acres of land, one hundred 
acres of which are under a high state of 
cultivation and well improved. In connec- 
tion with general farming, he gives con- 
siilerable attention to the raising of Shrop- 
shire sheep and hogs; has speculated more 
or less in live stock and for some years con- 
ducted an extensive dairy. 

On the 28th of September, 1881, Mr. 
Scoon married Miss Anna B. Cribben. a na- 
tive of Walworth county, Wisconsin, and 
a daughter of Thomas and Isabel (Troy) 
Cribben, of Sauk county. The father was 
born near Dublin, Ireland, and came to 
America in 1847. I" W'alworth county, 
Wisconsin, he married Isabel Troy, also a 
native of the Emerald Isle, and in the spring 
of 1868 removed to Sauk county, their home 
at present being in Lavalle. ^Ir. and Mrs. 
Scoon have two children living, namely: 
Alfred Thomas, born in July, 1885: and 
Frankie Belle, Ijorn in May, 1890. 

Socially Mr. Scoon is a prominent mem- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



305 



ber of Hillside Camp. Xo. J374, M. W. A., 
at Loganville, in which he has filled the 
chair of venerable consul : and for some 
years he was a memlier of the Independent 
Order of Good Templars, until the lodg-e at 
Loganville was disbanded. Roth he and 
his wife belong to Arbutus Camp, No. 47, 
Royal Neighbors, and are held in high re- 
gard l)y a large circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances. Since casting his first presi- 
dential vote for James A. Garfield in 1880, 
he has supported the Republican party on 
national issues and he has filled the office 
of constable for one year each in Reedsburg 
and \\'estfield towuiship, and has most cred- 
itably and satisfactorily served as justice of 
the peace since the spring of 1895. 



LEMUEL S. \\'RIGHT. 

Lemuel S. Wright, a venerable farmer 
and long a resident of the town of Fountain 
Prairie, Columbia county, is .still met on the 
streets of Fall River, bearing himself jaunt- 
ily and well despite the burden of years. 
He has done much in making Columbia 
county a garden spot, ant! is of the opinion 
that search through the world as }ou will 
it will be difficult to find a more charming 
farming region than the beautiful land on 
which he has pitched his home. Air. Wright 
is a son of Asa and Eunice Wright, and 
was born in St. Lawrence county. New York, 
November 7, 1825. His jjcople were [ire- 
viously of X'ermont, but are supposed to be 
descendants of the Norse who entered Eng- 
land in the early centuries. Asa Wright 
died about 1830, ami his widnw thirtv years 
later. They were the parents of twelve 
children: Parkis died in Ohio; Abigail, de- 
ceased ; Sarah is Mrs. Baldwin ; IMinerva is 
Mrs. Erwin and lives in Belvidere, Illinois: 
Pha-be niarried i'Jichmond Danfurd, and is 



dead; Asa, deceased; Riley, deceased; Ab- 
ner, deceased ; Cornelia, deceased ; Lemuel 
is the subject of this writing: and Lucy, 
who married Hiram Clark, and is now 
dead. 

Mr. Wright remained on his farm in 
New York and worked as a carpenter until 
1850, when he came to Beaver IJam, in this 
state. Caught up by the gold fever in 1852 
he went to California for the purpose of 
engaging in mining. The far west did not 
pro\-e an attractive proposition and he soon 
came back to Wisconsin, and settled upon a 
farm of two hundred and fifty acres in the 
townshiiJ of Fountain Prairie. To the culti- 
vation and development of this beautiful tract 
lie has devoted his life and still makes his 
home here, though he has given up the 
actual w^cirk of its cultivation to other hands. 
Mrs. Lemuel Wright was formerly Sarah 
Ann Waterlnu-y. and was a native of Con- 
necticut. Three Ijrothers came from Eng- 
land and. settled in Connecticut, and one of 
them was her ancestor. She was one of the 
following family : Darrell, who died in Azta- 
lan, Wisconsin: Rebekah married Sylvester 
Hall and died in Minnesota ; Andrew died in 
Lake Mills, \\'isconsin: INlaria married 
Jehiel Stone : Levi died in New Ym'k : Lou- 
isa married Alexander Earl and died in 
Aztalan. Jefferson county, Wisconsin ; Sarah 
is the wife of our subject; Parks died in 
Jefferson. Wisconsin ; Henry died at Au- 
gusta, Wisconsin ; Scofield is a resident of 
Nashua. Iowa ; Electa married Smith Red- 
dington. and died at Aztalan : Elwin died in 
Alinneapolis; Sarah Ne\ada married Ben- 
jamin Basham and has her home in Mitchell, 
South Dakota. The children of ^^Ir. and 
Mrs. L. S. Wright are: Charles, who 
married Martha Kellar antl lives on the 
home farm, and has a family of seven 
bright children — Leslie, Charles Parkis, 
Lyndon. Anna. Sidney and Lulu ; Lot- 
tie, a milliner of West Superior; Cora, 



806 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the wife of Cliarles Radabaugli; and Willie, 
who was accidental!}' shot when but thirteen 
3^ears of as^-e. Mr. and ?^Irs. Writ^iit arc 
irembers of the Methodist church, and have 
been devoted and faithful workers for many 
years. They have a hne farm, a comfort- 
able home and are well situated in e\ crv re- 
spect. He holds the respect of the c im- 
munit}-. and is reg-arded as a model citizen. 



HON. ANDREW J. TURNER. 

Hon. Andrew Jackson Turner has been a 
resident of Portage for more than two-score 
of years, and during the greater part of that 
time has been prominently identified with the 
public affairs of that city. He is acknowl- 
edged to be the liest informed man in Co- 
lumbia county on matters of ],ocal history, 
as well as one of the ablest historians in the 
state of Wisconsin. 

Mr. Turner was born at Schu\-]er I'alls, 
New York, Septemlier 24, 1832, to Abel and 
Alary Turner. Abel Turner was a nati\-e of 
Huntington, N'ermont. His ancestors came 
from England in the latter part of the seven- 
teenth century, settling at Guilford, Con- 
necticut. Thence by a series of migrations 
members of the family moved up the Con- 
necticut valley to Vermont. Among the 
early representatives of the family were a 
numlier of soldiers who took part in the 
Revolutionary conflict and the war of 1812, 
as well as numerous public ofiicials in dif- 
ferent localities. 

While a young man Abel Turner went 
to Clinton county, New York, \vhere the 
balance of his life was spent upon a farm. 
He passed away at the age of sixty-eight 
years, but his wife reached the great age of 
ninety-three years. She was a third cousin 
of her husband, and the first female white 
child born in that part of I"'lattsburg smce 



known as Schuyler Falls, her father, Ezra 
Turner, having been the first settler at that 
place. The last named was born at Zoar. 
near North Adams, Alassachusetts, and upon 
removing to Schuyler Falls built and oper- 
ated a saw mill there. 

A. J. Turner, the subject of this article, 
spent his boyhi.Hid upon the home farm) and 
in 1S55 went to Crand Rapids, Michigan, 
where he worked in a printing office. Two 
}'cars later he came to Wisconsin and se- 
ciu'ed employment in the office of the Port- 
age .Independent. He spent the next few 
}'ears in the offices of different papers at 
thiat place, Friendship and Madison, de- 
veloping marked ability in the field of jour- 
nalism as well as in the mechanical work 
of the profession. In conjunction with S. 
S. Brannan, he founded the \A'iscdns:in 
State Register at Portage in i860, and 
they continued to publish the same for 
seventeen years, making it one of the lead- 
ing local papers of the state, as it has ever 
since Iteen. 

]\Ir. Turner was barely established in 
business at Portage wlien he began to be 
called upon bv the citizens ior the discharge 
of important public duties. In i860 he was 
elected clerk of the circuit court for Colum- 
bia county, and he represented th;. Portage 
tlistrict in the Wisconsin assembly in 1862, 
1863, 1865, and again in 1868. The ac- 
quaintar.ce and knowledge of parliamentary 
affairs which he gained in the discharge of 
these duties amplv fitted him for the office 
of chief clerk of the senate, to which he was 
elected in 1876. He filled that position un- 
til 1878, when he resigned it to accept the 
ap])ointment of Governor Smith to the office 
of state railroad commissioner, in wdiich ca- 
pacity he ser\-ed for four years. In 1881 
he was elected mayor of the city of Portage, 
and was twice re-elected. He has taken 
an acti\e part in the most important councils 
of the Republican part}-, ha\-ing been four 




HOH. AHDRBW" J, TURHER. 



'Jt.-Wt^t'^A £_ »»- U^. 



r^mEBg T^>g^ «a<T^ ^2£ gasdi <)£ ^ie 



A. X'"fft- ■ ~3Q^t_ jJH. 



HIO 



(■(),i//'/;'.\7'/r.i/ ('/•' /.■/{)(;a'. 1/7/1'. 



laul.i, ;iinl liM iliri'i' mmilli^ \\,i'. in llu' vers 
luiil'.l 1. 1 ilir wHi k. inihl ilif cipliii r d \l 
I. ml, I. Ill' .u'ioui|i,iiiicil Slu'i 111,111 on liis 

111, lull 111 llu' MM, .111(1 W.IS willl llini lllliMliMl 

all his cnnii.ii'.nis. IK' v\,is lnn'^l^•l^■ll nut 
<i|' llu' srivui' lnl\ 1(1. iSd;,. al I niusx illr, 
l\i'iilihk\. ( >ii liilv ' ', iS(i|. Ill' snlU'ii'il 
Minsiinkc wliiK' .il ilir li.iliU' .i| \lknil.i, ,iiul 

W.IS C.ilirilU'il 111 llu' 111 i'.|ill.ll. 

Ml, W.ilu'ili \\,i'. m.niu'il \i i\ I'liilu'i .'u. 
iSdS, 111 iK'lii'.lii \, ,'<rliiiir. ikiii-liU'i 111 
Jissi' W , ,111.1 M,ii \ ( I'H'oin.iii) S.-liiilT. 1"! 
Sl)rili;;\ illr li i\\ ii'-lii|i, wlin i,iiiii' limii Si, 
I awu'iuo ii'iiiiis, W'w Nmk, in llu' I, ill ol 

lSli|, Mis \\ .llu'lll''. I.lllu'l ilu'.l XllLMlsl 

.';■, iSdi , .niil lu'i ninilu'i ilu'il \|iiil(i, i S;- 1 , 
I'lulli iiasM'il ,i\\,i\ 111 .S|M iiil;\ ilK' low n.-^liip, 
aiiil wi'ii' limioil 111 \\ liiU' I. 'u'ok I'omoU'iN . 
Xiiu' I'hililion. six (i| wliiim .in- li\ Ini;. lia\i" 
lii-ni Imiii 111 Ml, .uiil .Mis, W.ilu'lli, as I'ol 
lows: joliii II,. Imrn ,M,iv i, iSr.s. now 
rosiiliiis^ on ,i l.imi in .Spi in;;\ ilU' lownsliip; 
K'ssif M,. Iioiii l'\'liru,ir\ -'s. 1 1^;' 1 . now 
Mis, I'', I'l. I''islu'i ; Kitlio, horn J,iiui.ir\ i_^, 
iS,-,^ now Mis, .■>;, Ilowaiil, ol' W liito 
(,'ri'ck; \ ornio A,, liom Juno 17, iS~o, 10 
siiK's at lioino; ,\,i^iu's H., hmii ,\l.irch is, 
iSS^, also ii'siili's al homo; ami i.',il\in J., 
horn Oi'iolnT o, iSS,-, li\os al homo. .M r 
aiiil Mrs, W.iholh ailoiuoil oiio i^iil, M.nv 
K.nki I illov, iho vl.m-htor ol ,\lis, W ,il 
lolh's sish'i, aiul sho li.is m,iilo hov homo 
with ihoiii siiu'o iSS|. ,\li, \\ .ilioth is 
luuoli iutovoslotl in oduoalional manors, and 
lias j^ivon hi.s ohilihou o\ory oduoational ad 
vaiita.ij'o. and ilio\ h,i\o hooomo inlolli,ij'cut 
mciuhoi's ol ihoii oouummiiv. llis daiiijli- 
lors ha\o all hoon toaoho\s, and l\a\o al 
taiuod a hij;h dotjroo ol' soliolarshiii. 

,Mr, \\ alroth is a inoiiil>or of l'"uuis Koovl 
I'osi. No. .-00. c;, .\. K,, of Whito (.rook, 
and is iho prosoni ooinmaiuloi of iho posl. 
llo is also a monihor of the Masonic frater- 
nity and tlio (."onijrofiatiinial ohnroh at 
Whito (."rook. In politio.d faith ho is a Ko 



IMihlio.ni. llo li.is lillod \,iriiins loojil olTioos 
111' Iriisl failhlnlU and woll, htil duos not 
•,00k pnlilio pioloi iiioiil. w ishiiiL; r.ilhor |o 
sri \ o his I'l immninlx in ullior w,i\s, li is ;i 
lilo,isnro 111 moot a man of his oharaoloris- 
lirs .md ,iliilil\ , 



I > Will I'd' I in I'OI I'M \\. 

M,miol I'liiild ( nloiiKin. iiiosi l'.i\ : ii'.ihK' 
known ,is .1 iilloi 111 iho soil, .iiid .is ,in hmi 
osi and 111001111^1 ihlo man. is a rosidoiil '>\ 
h'.ill Ki\oi. I'olnmhi.i ooimh. and llio ow nor 
ol a f.nni jiisi noiih of ilio \iI1.il;o limits. 
I lo is a son oi liislin.i .md Mi .ihoili ( Ihidd") 
I'olom.m, .ind w.is lioni al llooloi. \'ow 
^olk. .\jiiil 1 J, iS_'3. llis |i,ironis woio 
nalixos oi .\ow Joisoy, and his L;i.md 
mullior was a dan.i^hlor i^\ I'lilonol Ihidd i'\ 
l\o\ olnl ionar\ f, 11110. llio I'lulds wi-io of 
l''ioiioli dosoonl. wliilo llio (.'oloni.ins oanio 
from h'ns^land, I'lioio is in llio famil\ a 
j;'onoalo!L;y wliioli .i^oos hark to iimo. and 
shows a woll ostahlisliod olaim to royal hlnod 
in iho f.iniiK. Josluri (. 'olom.m diod Jimo 
5 iS|.'. lull his wifo sur\i\od uulil 1 SSo 
ihoN woro iho paronts of nino ohildron. ol 
whom oiiK two aro now lixin^;. mir suhjool, 
and (.'haiios (,'olomaii. a losidoni oi (.'a\- 
wood. Now Nork. 

Maniol (."olomaii oamo wosi in iS|_^. and 
spoilt iho summoi- in K.ioino, W isooiisin. 
Iho iio\i \oai ho mo\ od lo hodi^o ooniity, 
and rom.iiiiod ihoro until iSSS. w hou ho 
oamo to hall Ki\or. takiui; up his homo in 
tlio \ ilkii^o. 1 lo still luaiutains his residence 
here, and as he is \ery ooml\M-tal>ly tixed 
expeots no farther elianj^e during; the re- 
mainder oi his life. Mr, C'oloman and Miss 
h'li.-a W , r>ond were united iu marriage \o- 
\emher _;. iS|,~. She was a dans;liler of 
Poaoon Hoiul. and died l'"ehruary _'S, 181)5. 
She was tlie niotlior oi iwo ohildron : John, 
who was horn January j~. 1840. ai\d died 
laiui.ir\ I.'. 1S80; ,iud Sarah In-okv. who 



(OMI'h.NlilllM <)/■ I'.Kii.l'.'.ll'IIV. 



V,\ I 



vv.'is liorii .Vl;iiili I.',, \''''-\i. Mr. ( 'i'|r-iii;iii 
was married a m-imijiI iimi' \'> Mi'.'i Sarali l'„ 
Rcyii'ildH, a daiii^lilcr of Ahraiii and Alhiiia 
('Siiiillij Reynolds. MrH. Coleinaii vva'i Iiorn 
in IvHscx, New York, July 2'), iK.|/(, Her 
inollier died Mareli ii, 1S54, and lier fa- 
lliir married a^ain and lived nnlil Seplem- 
licr I'l, iKK,;. jiy jiin (irHl marria^'<! lie lie- 
came llie fallier of live cliildren, anfj liy liiH 
secoiul a, many more: I hey are; Sarali 
IC. ; Alhertiiie, the wife of William r.i^felovv, 
fjf VVillsi)oron).(h, New York; William, Uiil 
land, Vermoiil ; Henry, l''nllcrtoii, Nehran- 
ka; Mary, who is Mrs. Anson Smith; l.iii- 
rohi and Stewart, all live al. ICssex, New 
Y(yrk; Amy is married aiul lives at Wills- 
boronj.fh; Lonisa married Charles Under- 
wood, aiul lives at ICssex, Mr, f'olemaii 
has always voted the Ue|)nl)licaii ticket, and 
was a .soldirr in ilie Union nrniy. He en- 
listed al Lowell, Wiseoiishi, I'Vhniary 27, 
iHf)5, ill ('om|iaiiy Ii, hifly third Wiseoii- 
soii Volnnleer Infantry. He was , taken 
with pleurisy almost immediately after liiH 
enlistment, and was ,seiit to the hospital at 
Madison. He was so severely ill that he 
was once ((iven up for dead, hut jii.st as he 
was hcin(.{ prepared for the dead house some 
faint sij(iis of life were discovered and he 
was taken hack to his hed. He was dis- 
char).;ed June 6, 1S65, He is a memher of 
the (irand Army of the Ucpnhlic, and ha? 
heeii commander of the fjerjrge J[. Uraylon 
I'ost, He is a (.(oofi citizen and an lionor- 
ahlc and iiprij(ht man who staixis well in 
his own eommniiily. 



Mi:XZO WINNIR. 

,Mcnzo Winnie, deceased, wh'> was for 
many years one of the most successful and 
i'rfinential farmers of Sauk county, was hf>rn 
\u Schoharie contilv. New York, N'ovetti- 



licr I), I'^l'), ;iiid dii'l ii|ii.ij \w. I;iiiii iie;ir 
l>Iced'.l)m|',, l'<-l>iii;iiy 1 |, i^''>.', Iioiioied and 
rcsp(rcled hy all who knew liiiii, His par- 
ents, f^orneliiis W. and Mary CJire; Win- 
nie, were alv* natives of lin- Imii|iiii- l.ile, 
and the former spraii),; from an old Hol- 
land family. At an early day lliey came 
to Wisconsin, and after a few years spent 
in Walworth cotinly, look ii|) their residence 
ne.'ir Keedshiir^f, in Sank comity. The fa- 
ther 'iclecied ;i ( laim on ihe pre'ieiil site of 
Keed-.l)iii')< and walked lo llie land ollice at 
Miiiend Toiiil lo eiilei il, only lo liiid that 
it had heeii l;d<eii ,-i '.hort lime hefore hy 
oilier parlie,. He then secured another 
plar'e oil ( 'opper creek, ahoiil two miles east 
of the cily, improved the same and lived 
thereon until his death, which occurred diir- 
iii).( the Civil war. His wife is still liviiij^ 
at Ihe r,ld home near Ueedshiir^^, al the a(<e 
of ninelythrce years, and is still very active 
in mind and kwps well posted on ciirreiit 
news, ,Slie |)osscsscs a retentive memory, 
and well rememhcrs the war of (S12, tlion(,^li 
it inTwrvi'A when she was a mere child, her 
home at thai time heinjf near Stamford, 
Delaware county, New York, Wi^v father 
was a soldier in that strn><(<le, 

Menzo Winnie was a small hoy when lie 
catne with his parents to Sank county and 
here j^rew to manhood amirl pif;ncer scenes. 
He manffested his patriotism and love of 
country hy enlisting; in the fall of (S6), in 
t'ompany A, ■.Vineleenth Wisconsin Volun- 
teer Infanlrv, and after two years of ardu- 
ous and faithful service was honorahly din 
charjifed on account of illness early in \H(i/\. 
After hi", return home he continued to live 
n|)on the farm with his mother for ahout 
four years, and then purchased a farm near 
il, coinprisinjif one hundred and sixty acren 
in fCxcclsior townnliip, to the improvement 
and cultivation of which he devotcfl his en- 
erj^ies for a niimher of years. I le (^ave 
some attention to stock raisiuj,(, and also- 



312 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



bouglit and shijipecl consi(leral)le live stock. 
He was an entlnisiastic horseman, a very 
successful farmer, and an upright and con- 
scientious citizen. From Excelsior town- 
ship he removed to the old Gardner farm in. 
Reedsburg to\\-nship. on which he built a 
brick residence, and made man\- (ither im- 
provements which atlded greatly to its value 
and attracti\e appearance: in fact, it was 
supplied with e\-er\- con\-enience found upon 
a model farm ol the present centurv. It 
"vvas upon this place he spent his last davs. 

On the 2Sth of March, 1S67, Mr. \A'in- 
nie married Miss Percis M. Gardner, a na- 
tive of Erie county. New York, and a daugh- 
ter of Henry and Maria (Green) Gardner. 
During her infancy she was brought by her 
parents to \\'isconsin, but the family after- 
ward lived in Stephenson countv, Illinois, 
and it was not until 1856 that they came to 
Sauk county, thougli the father had located 
a fanu near Reedsburg the previous sum- 
mer. Later he \\ent to Fort Scott, Kan- 
sas, where he died February 24, 1893, aged 
eighty years, and liis wife passed away at 
the same place, June 12, 1894, aged seventy- 
eight. To our suliject and his wife were 
born two children: Alma E., who was suc- 
cessfully engaged in teaching in the Reeds- 
burg high school for three years : and Ernest 
G., who is engaged in farming near Reeds- 
burg. 

Air. \\'innie was always in touch with 
the latest develo]inicnt and improvement in 
agricultural methods, and w^as well in- 
formed on general subjects. He spent more 
or less time in tra\-el. had "washed his 
hands" in both the Atlantic and Pacific 
oceans, and gained an excellent knowledge 
of men and affairs which only tra\-el can 
bring. On his numerous trips he was ac- 
companied by his estim.able wife. Fie was 
always actively interested in public affairs; 
and was an early member of the Reedsburg 
Grange, P. of H., of wlrich he was secre- 



tary for some vears ; also aided in the or- 
ganizati(in i.f H. A. Tator Post. G. A. R., 
of Reedsburg; and was interested in Reeds- 
burg Old Settlers' Association, of which he 
\\as an active and prominent member. 
Though not identified with anv religious 
organization, he attended and supported the 
Methodist church, and he always endeav- 
ored to live up to the golden rule. Politi- 
cally he supported the principles of the Re- 
publican party, and was a member of the 
Reedsburg tnwnshiu board of super\'isors 
fijr a number (if years. He commanded 
the respect and esteem of all his associates, 
and it is safe to say that no citizen of Sauk 
count}^ had more friends or was held in 
higher regard than Alenzo Winnie. 



^ JOHN JEROME. 

In the \'i;icatii)n which this gentleman 
has chosen lies many of the pleasant features 
of life. He was possessed of much sound 
judgment when he chose farming for his 
life work, and bis present estate in Dell 
Prairie township, Adams county, bears evi- 
dence of the interest he takes in the devel- 
opment of the farming lands of that region. 
He came to his farm when the country had 
not been cleared for cultiN'ation, and by dint 
of earnest efforts has transformed his farm 
inti) one of tlie best in the township. He 
has met with the usual discouragements of 
the pioneer, but surmounted every obstacle, 
and can n(n\- review his work with a sense 
of satisfaction. Skillful management and 
ir.dustry were sure of good results, and he 
never wa\'ercd from his purpose. 

Mr. Jerome was born October 16, 1847, 
near Portage, Columbia county, \\'isconsin, 
and was the son of Daniel and Elizabeth 
(Roberts) Jerome. His parents came from 
Dansville, Livingston county. New York, 
iri 1846, and took up land in Columbia coun- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



aig; 



ty, Wisconsin, on which they resided the re- 
mainder of their Hves. Mis father (hed 
April 28. 1892, aged ninety-two years, and 
tlie mother died in Decenilier of the same 
year, aged eighty-four years, and hoth were 
buried at Marcellon, CoUinihia county, \\'is- 
consin. 

Of a family of ten children mir sul)ject 
\Yas the eighth in order of birth. He re- 
mained at home until sixteen years of age, 
and attended school and received a good 
education, but preferred farming to study, 
and at the age of sixteen took land on sliares 
in Columljia county, following that occupa- 
tion three rears. He tlien went into the 
pineries near Xecedah, Juneau count}', 
where he worked in the mills, and for the 
next ten years was rafting on the Wisconsin 
and Mississippi rivers, going as far as St. 
Louis, and at other times as far as Dubuque. 
After leaving that work in 1881 he pur- 
chased a farm in Dell Prairie township, 
Adams county, which Has since been his 
home. It consists of four hundred acres, 
and he has cleared for cultivation two hun- 
dred and fifty acres. He is one of the sub- 
stantial men of his township, and has suc- 
ceeded with his work. 

Mr. Jerome was married January 4, 
1867, to Annie Mallon, daughter of Peter 
and Sarah Mallon, of Marcellon, Columbia 
county, who were among the early settlers 
of that county, coming from Ireland about 
1849. Seven children have been born to 
]\Ir. and Mrs. Jerome, as follows : Sarah 
A., born in November, 1868, now Mrs. E. 
Morse, of Dell Prairie; Mary E., born in 
May, 1870, now residing at Marcellon, Co- 
lumbia county; GeorgCj^ born November, 
1872, now at home; John, born November, 
1874, now employed by a railroad company 
in Wyoming; Daniel, born June, 1875, now 
living at Portage; Charles, born July, 1877, 
now at home; and Robert, born ^lay, 1879, 
now at home. 



Mr. Jerome is a member of no political 
party, and casts his ballot for the candidate- 
which in his o])inion is the best man for the 
interests of liis country. He has ser\'ed 
as treasurer of his townslii]), and various 
oiher li_)cal oflices, but does not seek public 
fa\or, and is one of the true citizens of his 
C('mnuuiit\', and held in tlic highest esteem 
l)y his associates. 



WILLI. \M HENRY ROBBIXS. 

William Henrv Robbins, a retired farm- 
er living at Pardee\ille, has led a quiet and 
exemplarv life, uK.ist of wliich has been 
passed in Columbia county, and well merits 
the regard and esteem in which he is held 
by those among whom he has .spent so many 
years. He was born near Sacket Harbor, 
JefTerson county, New York, February 4, 
1827, and was a son of Harmon and Deb- 
orah (Coon) Rol)liins, l)oth of whom were 
nati\'es of Jefferson ct.iunty. New York. 

Our suljject's father was engaged in the 
war of 181 2, and liis Ijrother was general 
in the arm\'. He took part in the engage- 
ment at Sacket Harbor. The father reached 
the age of seventy-eight years in Jefferson 
county. The -grandfather of our subject, 
Solomon Robbins, was a farmer in Jefferson 
count)'. Our subject's mother died in 1849. 
She was a daughter of James Coon, a farmer 
of JefTerson count}'. 

William II. R(jl)l)ins sjK'nt liis Ijoyhood in 
Jefferson county on a farm, except a short 
time in a shi]) yard at Sacket Harbor. He 
went to ?\]ar1)lelicad, Massachusetts, in 1848, 
and spent four and a half months in the cod 
fisheries, where his health was much ini- 
pro\'ed. In 1850 he moved to Illinois, and 
there drove a stage between Peru and Dixon 
on the famous Frink and Walker line. He 
later returned to New York, and in 1853 



S14 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



started o\'erlan(;I for California via Salt Lake 
■City. He reached California in the fall and 
spent three years in the mines with fair suc- 
cess. He returned via Nicaragua in 1857, 
but on the trip from the latter port a gale 
disabled the \-essel and they were forced to 
make a landing at Norfolk, Virginia. They 
reached New York almost exhausted on ac- 
count of lack of Drovisions. After a visit 
in Jefferson county in the fall of 1857, Mr. 
Robbins came to Wisconsin. He bought a 
farm near Fall River, Columbia count\% but 
soon after sold that tract and purchased a 
farm near the village of Otsego, upon which 
he lived for oxer thirty years. The farm 
comprises one hundred acres, only twelve 
acres of which was broken when he pur- 
cliased it. He improved the place and made 
huuself a comfortable home and good in- 
come there, but, in 1892, he disposed of his 
interests and removed to the village of Par- 
deeville, where he has since resided retired 
from active pursuits. He now owns a farm 
of one hundred acres near the village. In 
1900 he gave to his son, Truman, se\-enty- 
six acres which adjoin the one hundred acres 
owned by Mr. Robbins. 

Our subject was married November 24, 
i857> to Josephine Edwards, daughter of 
Abiatha and Lucy (McKnight) Edwards. 
Mrs. Robbins was born in Chautauqua coun- 
ty, New York, and her father was a dealer 
in live stock, and also conducted a tin shop 
and meat market at Ripley, New York. He 
died at the latter place, aged eighty-three 
years. His mother reached the age of ninety 
years. Mrs. Robbins' mother was born in 
Ripley, and her parents lived there for many 
years. The following children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Robbins : Viola, born 
in 1859, died at the age of four months; 
Eva, born in i860, now the widow of John 
Leatherman, of Pardeeville; Truman, born 
in 1866, residing in Pardeeville; and Burr, 
born in 1872, now residing in Woodstock, 



Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins have three 
grandchildren. Mrs. Robbins and daugh- 
ter are members of the Christian church at 
Pardeeville. Mr. Rolibins is prominent in 
liis community, and has been called upon to 
serve in various local othces of trust in Ot- 
sego township. He is a stanch Republican, 
but voted for Taylor in 1848. 



SAVILIAN FULLER SMITH. 

For over thirty-five years the name of 
this gentleman has been familiar to the citi- 
zens of Reedsburg, where he formerly was 
engaged in the hardware business. Since 
1872 he has lived in retirement in his com- 
fortable home in that city, but his career as 
a prominent worker for the advancement 
of his community did not cease with his 
abandoning active business life. He is a 
man of broad mind and true worth, and is 
held in the highest esteem throughout the 
state of Wisconsin. 

Mr. Smith was born in Knuxville, Onei- 
da county, New York, May 31, 1831. His 
father, Timothv Smith, was a native of 
Plartford, Connecticut, and ^vas descended 
from an old New England family. He was 
a shoemaker and currier by trade, and con- 
ducted a tannery at Knoxville, and later built 
a hotel there and was engaged in hotel keep- 
ing until his death. The building still 
stands, and is a familiar landmark. He was 
an industrious man, and successful in busi- 
ness, accumulating a fortune from a limited 
start in his business career. His death oc- 
curred in Watertown, New York, August 
20, 1873, aged eighty-one years, nine months 
and three days. The mother of our sub- 
ject, Lucy (Avery) Smith, was descended 
from the Avery family, of Groton, Connect- 
icut, one of the oldest colonial families. Her 
father, David Avery, removed to New 
York, and located near Hamilton. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



815 



Our subject removed with his parents to 
Munnsville, New ^'ork, when he was six 
years of age, and there he gained liis edu- 
cation, attending the academy. At the age 
of fifteen years he Ijegan to learn the tin- 
ner's trade, and in 1851 went to Muscatine. 
Iowa. He located at Newport, on the Wis- 
consin river, two years later, where he en- 
gaged in the hardware business, being a 
member of the firm of Star, Smith & Lewis. 
The firm dissolved partnership when the 
tuwn was abandoned, and our subject went 
to Delton about i860, where he continued 
in business two years. He m(j\ed from 
thence to Reedsbure", where he established 
in the hardware business, which he con- 
ducted until 1872. He then disposed of 
his business to Hagenaugh & Gifford, since 
which time he has lived in retirement. 

The store building which he occupied 
was erected by him in 1868, and in 1870 
his present residence was constructed. It is 
a fine piece of property, and his home is one 
of the pleasant homes of that city. j\Ir. 
Smith is a brother of Perry H. Smith, who 
was a prominent man in railroad circles, and 
for a number of vears was vice-president of 
the Northwestern Railroad. He died in 
1886. 

Our subject was married in 1856 to Dor- 
othy Smith, daughter of Milo Smith, of 
Reedsburg. The union proved an unhappy 
one, and a separation was granted in 1865. 
Two children were born of this union, Perry 
A. and Charles S., lioth of whom are promi- 
nent business men of Reedsburg. Mr. 
Smith married Nellie E. Eggleston, May 4, 
1869. Mrs. Smith was born in Waukesha, 
Wisconsin, December 27, 1844, and was a 
daughter of Thomas and Deborah Eggles- 
ton, of Fox Lake, Wisconsin. Her parents 
came from Chipnerwolton, England, and 
Mr. Eggleston was a baker by trade, and af- 
terward followed the business of architect. 
He designed and erected the state capitol at 



Madison, Wisconsin, and many of the pub- 
lic buildings of other places, including Fox 
Lake and Beaver Dam. One daughter has 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, upon 
whom they have bestowed the name of Bird 
Lucy. The family attend the Presbyterian 
church, and Mr. Smith is a Lhiiversalist in 
belief, but not connected with any si^ciety. 
He is prominent in secret society circles, 
and is one of the oldest members of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, being initiated into that or- 
der October 21, i8i;6. He was exalted to 
the Royal Arch June 10, 1876, and created 
a Knight Templar October 9, 1878, and took 
the Wisconsin Consistory Scottish Rite de- 
gree February 9. 1881. His wife, daugh- 
ter and he are members of the Queen of 
Sheba Chapter, Order Eastern Star, at 
Reedsburg. Air. Smith joined the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows in 1866, and is a 
member of Baraboo Lodge, and Germania 
Encampment. He first joined the North- 
western Encampment, No. 20, at Reedsburg, 
and has filled all the chairs in both organi- 
zations. He is a member of Alliance Can- 
ton, Patriarchs Militant, at Baraboo, and 
Birch Lodge, Daughters of Rebekah. He 
has held inunerous offices in all of the above 
orders, and is also connected with the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen. His li- 
brary includes many volumes pertaining to 
fraternal societies, with which he is identi- 
fied, and is one of the most complete Ma- 
sonic and Odd Fellows' libraries in the state 
of Wisconsin. It includes proceedings of ' 
the Masonic Grand Lodge, from its organi- 
zation in 1843 to the present date, the pro- 
ceedings of the Grand Chapter organized in 
1S50, the First Grand Council in 1857. First 
Grand Commandery, Knights Templar, in 
1859, First Supreme Council in i860. First 
Supreme Council, A. A. S. R., for the Ju- 
risdiction of the United States in 1859; also 
proceedings of First Sovereign Grand Lodge 
of Wisconsin, Independent Order of Odd 



816 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Fellows, in 1821, and all subsequent pro- 
ceedings to date; First Grand Encampment 
in 1852. Mr. Smith is a man of exemplary 
character, and does not seek public fa\'or, 
preferring- the quiet of private life. lie 
has been a lifelong Democrat in political 
sentiment, and cast his first vote for Frank- 
lin F'ierce frir president. 



CHAUXCEY FEN ROBERTS. 

Chauncey Fen Rolierts, after a long' and 
useful life, mostly devoted to agricultural 
pursuits, is now li\ing retired at his pleas- 
ant home in Portage, Wisconsin, surrounded 
l)y the comforts gained by former toil. He 
was Ijorn in the town of Springwater, Liv- 
ingston county. New York, March 21, 1831, 
a son of William and Phylecta (Dow'd) 
Roberts, also natives of that county. There 
the paternal grandfather, John Roberts, 
followed farming for some }-ears, but 
finally removed to Indiana, and later to 
Three Rivers, ^Michigan, where he died at 
an advanced age. In 1840 \Villiam Rob- 
erts, our subject's father, went to Indiana 
and settled on a farm near South Bend, but 
returned to New York two or three years 
later. In 1845 ^^^ came to Wisconsin, locat- 
ing first in Walworth county. He brought his 
family and household goods by water from 
Buffalo, New York, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, 
and on his arri\al in Walworth ciiunty had 
Init .$11.50 Avith which to begin life in the 
west. After tA\o years spent in that county, 
he came to Columbia county, and settled in 
Scott township, where he bought one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land at one dollar 
and a quarter per acre, and on the borrowed 
money with which he paid for it he had to 
give fifty ]jer cent, interest. He continued 
to make his Ikmiic upon that place until called 
from this life in 1866, at the age of seventy- 



four years. He was a devout member of the 
Free Will Baptist church, and a deacon in 
the Scott church, which he assisted in organ- 
izing. His w'ife also took an active part in 
church work and both were highly esteemed 
by all who knew them. She survi^■ed her 
husband only a }-ear or two, dying at the 
age of se\'enty-three years. 

The boyhood and youth of Chauncey F. 
Roberts were mainly passed upon the home 
farm in Columbia county, and though his 
literary education was limited, his training 
at farm work was not meager and he early 
became a thorough and skillful agriculturist. 
Fie assisted his father in the improvement 
and culti\ation of the farm until the latter's 
death, antl continued to carr_\- it on until 
188], since which time his son has had 
charge of it. In that year he purchased a 
tract of 180 acres of land in the old Fort 
Winnebago reservation and improved and 
operated that farm for several years. He 
has always been industrious, enterprising and 
energetic, and for a number of years, in ad- 
dition to cultivating his land during the sum- 
mer, he operated a threshing machine m the 
fall and worked in the pineries with his team 
through the winter. He is a good horseman 
and has bred some very fine animals. Since 
1895 he has been living retired in Portage, 
where he owns several lots and buildings,, 
from which he derives a good income. 

On the 30th of April, 1853, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Roberts and Miss 
Alma S. Barker, a native of Byron, Genesee 
county. New Yoik, and a daughter of Hugh 
and Mary ( Guthrie j Barker, also natives of 
the Empire state, who in 1884 came to \Vis- 
consin, and after li\'ing in Sugar Creek town- 
ship, Walworth county, for about five years 
came to Columbia county, settling in the 
town of Marcellon. The father, who was 
born in Cayuga county. New York, died in 
Packwaukee, Wisconsin, in i860, at the age 
sixty-six years. His wife had previously 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



819 



passed away October i8, 1854, at the age 
of sixty-two. Mrs. Roberts' paternal grand- 
father, Joseph Barker, with a nnnil)er of his 
neighbors, was captured liy the Indians (hn-- 
ing the Revolutionary war, and at the same 
time his house was burned and all of his 
property destroyed. Fortunately he made 
his escape from the red men the second night 
after his capture. His wife was not taken. 
Prior to her marriage JMrs. Rolicrts success- 
fully engaged in teaching se\-eral terms of 
school in Columbia county. She is the 
mother of two children : Alary, now Mrs. 
John Jar\-is, of Pacific, Columbia county; 
and Mark W'., a [jroniinent farmer of 
Scott township. Air. and Mrs. Roberts also 
have eight grandchildren and one g'reat- 
grandchild, and all constitute an intelligent 
and cultured family, wdiich is cjuite prom- 
inent socially. Our subject and his wife 
have always attended the Baptist church, and 
he belongs to the American Protective Asso- 
ciation. Politically he has been a life long 
Republican, for two years served as asses- 
sor of Scott townshij), and has always 
taken considerable interest in public afifairs. 
He has also taken an active interest in the 
Columbia County Fair; has attended its ex- 
hibitions every year but one since the society 
was organized in 185 1; has generally been 
a contributor to the same; and has frecpiently 
held office in the society. Pie is well known 
throughout the county for his sterling char- 
acter and worth and has a host of warm 
friends, all of whom will be pleased to find 
portraits of Mr. Roberts and his estimable 
wife on another page of this work. 



ADOXIRAM JUDSOX HODGES. 

Adoniram Judson Hodges, a veteran of 
the Civil war, now residing in \\'voccna, is 
nnc nf a family which has distinguished it- 



self for patriotism on manv occasions. He 
was born in Camliridgc. Washington county, 
X'ew York, October 11, 1835, and was a 
sen of Aliel and Hannah (Sliter) Hodges, 
\\lio were nati\es of Rensselaer county, Xew 
Vurk. The name is also written "Hodge." 

Abel Hodges, the first of his name in 
America, came from Ireland and settled in 
Connecticut. His sun, Abel, the grand- 
father of our subject, enlisted in the Conti- 
nental army from Hartford, and assisted 
in the defense of Xorwich, when that place 
was attacked 1>\' the British. The father 
of our suljject, Abel HI., ser\-ed in the war 
of 181 J at the battle of Plattslnu-g. He was 
born in Rensselaer count}', but lived and 
died on a farm in Washington county. New 
^'ork, antl reached the age of sixty-nine 
}-ears. The grandfather of our subject lived 
t>j the advanced age of nearly ninety-three 
}'ears. Our subject's mother died at Cam- 
bridge when he was but two years of age. 
His maternal grandfather, John Sliter, came 
from the M(jhawk \alley, and was over six 
years in the Revolutionary army, and died 
in Lewis county. New York. 

A. J. Hodges spent his boyhood in X"ew 
York, and September 22, 1857, came to 
\\"isconsin and settled in the town of Wyo- 
cena. He later spent some years at carpen- 
ter work, Ijut since 1885 has resided on his 
present farm. This consists of forty acres 
and is a pleasant and well cultivated estate. 
ITe enlisted February 10, 1864, in the United 
States army at Madison, Wisconsin, and 
was assigned to Battery A, Fourth United 
States Artillery. He was discharged Au- 
gust 9, 1865. He spent nine months at Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania, being detailed as musi- 
cian in the Third Division Band under Ma- 
jor Sawyer, Camp Stoneman. Previous to 
entering the service, he was a member of a 
band at Wyocena, which went with the 
Eighth Wisconsin Infantry — the "Eagle 
Regiment." After leaving Carlisle he was 



320 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



stationed at Camp Barry, and organized a 
post band of sixteen members, and led the 
same until he was sent to the hospital a short 
time before his discharge from the service. 
He is a member of William Pa_vne Post, G. 
A. R., at Pardeeville. 

Our subject was married December 23, 
1855, to Mary Ann Wait, a daughter of Lee 
Warner and Lydia (Stearns) Wait, of Paw- 
let, Vermont, where Mrs. Hodges was born. 
Mrs. Hodges is a granddaughter of Dei- 
dama (Warner) Wait, a sister of Colonel 
Seth Warner of Revolutionary fame. Nine 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Hodges, who are as follows : Anna, now 
Mrs. Leon Pope, of Wyocena; Emma, de- 
ceased; Hattie, deceased; May, deceased; 
Edwin T., of \\'yocena ; Maude, who mar- 
ried John Price, and is deceased ; lulna died 
in childhood ; Charles, deceased ; and Bes- 
sie, residing at home. Mr. and Mrs. Hodges 
have six grandchildren. The family at- 
tend the Congregational churcli, and are 
held in the highest esteem in the commu- 
nity in which they have their home. Mr. 
Hodges voted for Eremont, and has since 
been a Republican politically, and the 6th 
of November, 1900, voted for INIcIvinley. 



FRITZ DrrTBENDER. 

Eritz Dittbender, a prominent stock 
raiser of Quincy township, Adams county, 
residing on section nineteen, who, with his 
sons, owns about seven hundred acres of 
land, is one of the early settlers of that re- 
gion. He was born in Berlin, Germany, 
May 27, 183 1, and was the son of John 
and Louisa (Ealk) Dittbender, of Berlin. 
His father was a farmer by occupation. 

Of four children our subject was the 
youngest, and attended school imtil four- 
teen years of age, after which, until twenty- 



seven years of age, he worked on a farm, 
and then served in the German army for 
tliree years. He came to America in 1S58, 
locating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in 
i860 purchased one hundred acres of land 
ii, Quincy township, Adams county. He 
made section 19 his home, and has erected 
a comfortable dwelling and barns. He and 
his sons make a specialty of stock raising, 
and for a number of years have marketed 
large numbers annually, and at present have 
aljout se\-enty head. They cultivate about 
two hundred acres of land to rye, corn and 
potatoes, and have met with success, both in 
grain and stock raising. 

Mr. Dittbender was married in July, 
1858, to Johanna Dittman, daughter of 
Nicholas and Anna Dittman, of Quincy. 
Mrs. Dittbender died in 1862, leaving two 
cliildren, as follows: August, nuw farm- 
ing in Quincy township; and ^lary, now 
Mrs. Roskouskie, of Chicago. Mr. Ditt- 
bender married Lena Stevens, daughter of 
Lduie and I'anny Stevens, of Jackson town- 
shij), Adams county, January 24, 1863. 
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Dittbender, as follows : Louie, born Octo- 
ber 2y, 1864; Eanny, born October 15, 1866, 
now Mrs. C. Ganther, of Necedah ; Minnie, 
born May 5, 1868, now Mrs. J. Lobenstein, 
of Germantown; Ered, born August 11, 
1871, farming in Quincy township; Charles, 
born June 11, 1880, now residing at home; 
William, born August 3, 1882; and Henry, 
born October 5, 1884. 

Louie Dittbender was aflforded good edu- 
cational advantages, and at the age of 
seventeen* went into the pineries of Wood 
and other counties, and worked for fourteen 
winters. He was on the drive on the Yel- 
low river and the Tomahawk river. At the 
age of thirty-one years he went to farming 
on his land in sections 18 and 19, in Quincy 
township, Adams count}', and has a well- 
improved tract comprising three hundred 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



321 



and sixty acres. He also assists his father 
with the work on the home farm, and the 
father and son are counted as among the 
foremost men of their caHing. 

Fritz Dittbender is a member of the 
Lutheran church of Quincy, and is a gen- 
tleman of the highest character. He does 
not advocate the principles of any one party, 
but lends his influence for the best govern- 
ment, and does not take an active interest 
in political affairs. He has witnessed the de- 
velopment of Adams county, and has been 
a potent factor in its advancement. He is 
thorough and practical in his business, and 
has gained a competence through honest ef- 
forts. The community where he has made 
his home lor so many years are well ac- 
quainted with his characteristics, and he oc- 
cupies a high place in the minds of his as- 
sociates. 



JAMES W. COAPMAN. 

James W. Coapman was born in Halls- 
ville, Montgomery county, New York, Sep- 
tember 29, 1839, and resided there upon 
his father's farm, with the exception of 
about two years, 1852-53, spent as clerk in 
a drug, book and variety store at Little Falls, 
Herkimer county, New York, kept by his 
uncle, James W. Cronkhite, and Samuel F. 
Bennett, co-partners. His father, John 
Coapman, married Hannah Cronkhite, of 
the town of Minden, Montgomery county. 
New York. Three brothers, Norman, An- 
son and Abram D., and one sister, Mary 
E., were born on the old homestead, as was 
also the father. His ancestors were among 
the first settlers of the Mohawk valley in 
New York, and the farm on which he and 
the other children were born was in posses- 
sion of the Coapman family for over one hun- 
dred years. His great-grandfather, Abram 
■Coapman, held a major's commission under 



General Stark in the Revolutionary war, 
and his grandfather, Jacob Coapman, held 
a captain's commission in the war of 181 2. 
His father, John Coapman, was a militia 
captain in Montgomery county. New York. 
In March, 1855, his father having disposed 
of the homestead, the eldest son, Xnrman, 
and his wife and their infant daughter, 
Alice L, and James \V. came to Wiscon- 
sin, the father having about a year ])efore 
visited the state and made extensix'e pur- 
chases of land in the township of Pacific. 
They were on the first passenger train that 
crossed the suspension bridge at Niagara 
Falls en route. The other members of the 
fanfily, with the exception of the mother, 
who died April 22, 1845, c'ame on within 
a year or two. What is known as the Ellis 
farm, east of \Vyocena about two nfiles, 
was rented by the 'ather for one year, to 
which place Norman and wife, infant daugh- 
ter, Alice I., and James W. removed soon 
after arrival in the state. One year there- 
after they removed to Wyocena. The 
mother having died, leaving five children 
cjuite young, they together with the father 
made it their home with the eldest brother, 
Norman, and wife. His sister, Mary, 
however, who resided with an uncle and 
aunt mostly since the death of the niuther, 
never resided very long in the state. 
The subject of this sketch attended school 
diligently for two years after coming 
to Wisconsin, and in 1857 entered the 
law office of Hill & Emery at Port- 
age, and pursued the study of that profes- 
sion until March 19, i860, at which time 
he was adnutted to the bar at Portage. 
Harlow S. Orton was at that time judge 
of the Ninth judicial circuit, which includ- 
ed Columbia county. After admission to 
the bar Mr. Coapman did not immediately 
enter into the practice of law extensively, 
but followed other pursuits until at length, 
when the demand of the government for a". 



d-22 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



available men to enlist and go to the front 
vas made, he considered the call personal to 
himself and enlisted in the General Mount- 
ed Service of the U. S. A., at Madison, 
Wisconsin. January 26, 1864, and served 
three years. Being in the regular army his 
discharge cculd not be obtained until the 
full expiration of his term of service. He 
was taken iirisoner at Hagerstown. ^lary- 
land. in the spring of 1864, together with 
others, whu were doing picket duty at 
Funkstown. General McClausland, of Gen- 
eral Early's command, intercepted them 
when returning from picket and completely 
cut them off from returning to their head- 
quarters. He, with other comrades, were 
ultimately taken to Andersonville, where 
they remained six months and were then 
transferred to Savannah, Georgia, at \\-hich 
latter place he with some others escaped and 
remained concealed until Sherman's army 
released them, December, 1864. ^Ir. Coap- 
man wrote up the reminiscences of his prison 
life, several years ago and they were pub- 
lished in a serial in the "Daily and Weekly 
Democrat." of Portage, occupying about 
fourteen ordinary newspaper columns. 

At the expiration of his war service 
ilr. Coapman settled in Kewaunee, Wiscon- 
sin, and engaged in the practice of law. 
He was elected to the office of district at- 
torne}- of Kewaunee county in 1878 and 
lield that office one term. He was also ap- 
pointed United States court commissioner 
for the eastern district of \\'isconsin about 
this time. For some time after leaving 
Kewaunee .Mr. Coapman followed other 
business and did not engage activeh- in the 
practice of h.is profession. He is now, how- 
ever, located at Portage and is in active 
practice. He is court commissioner of the 
countv. having received the appointment 
from judge R. G. Siebecker. In politics 
IMr. C. has always been a Republican. 
He is a member of the G. A. R., Rousseau 



Post, Xo. 14, of Portage. Of the members 
of the family his father and brothers, Nor- 
man and Anson, died in Wisconsin. His 
father died at Wyocena, January 25, 1873. 
Xorman, the eldest brother, died at the 
same place April 6, 1878, leaving his wife 
and four children surviving, viz : Mrs. Alice 
I. Todd, of Albert Lea, Minnesota; Mrs. Ida 
M. Farrington. of Arcadia, \\'isconsin; W. 
J. Coapman, of Xeedles. California, and 
Lynn X. Coapman. of Wyocena. who was 
for many years railroad agent of that place, 
but who is now a partner of the firm of 
Coapman & Irwin, doing a general mercan- 
tile, grain and stock business at Wyocena. 
Anson Coapman, the second son, died at 
his home in Pacific, January 10, 1896, leav- 
ing surviving his wife and two children,, 
viz : Mrs. Florence G. Older, of Portage, 
and Fred J. Coapman, who, with his son, 
Verne, resides upon the homestead in Pa- 
cific. Mrs. Anson Coapman also resides 
there. Abram D. Coapman is railroad agent 
at Columbus, \\'isconsin. He has been con- 
tinuously in the service of the St. Paul 
Company as agent for upwards of thirty- 
five years. He has three children. His 
eldest son, Burt, is trainmaster of a division 
of the Illinois Central Railroad. The sec- 
ond son, Frank, is dispatcher at West Pull- 
man, Chicago. The third son, Wallie, still 
a boy, is at home with his father and mother. 
The only sister of the family, ]\Irs. !Mary 
E. Easton, and her husband reside at Rich- 
field Springs, Otsego county, X"ew York. 
The\' ha\-e two children, both of whom are 
married. Fred Easton is a physician in 
practice at S3"racuse, X'ew York. Their 
daughter, ^Irs. \Mnifred ^laud Dodd, and 
her husband, Dallas Dodd, reside in Utica, 
Xew York. 

'Sir. C. was twice married. His first 
wife was Miss Anna E. Teed, of Port 
Washington, Ozaukee count}^ \^'^isconsin. 
Two children were born to them, ^label, 



COMPnNDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



323 



who died in infancy, and Eloise May, who 
resides with her mother at Wauwatosa, Wis- 
consin. His second wife was Miss Eva 
J. Spicer. of Pardeeville. No children were 
born of this marriage. 



L.\FAYETTE MORTTER KELLEY. 

Among the brave men wiio devoted the 
opening years of their maniiood to tlie de- 
fense of our country from tiie internal foes 
who sought lier dismemberment, was tlie 
subject of this review, now a prominent 
farmer of W'infield townsliip, Sank county, 
Wisconsin. He was burn in Meredith. Bel- 
knap county, Xew Hampshire, February 4, 
1847, and is a worthy representative cjf an 
old and very patriotic family of New Eng- 
land, his parents being Charles R. and Eliza 
J. (Dearborn) Kelley. His ancestors were 
from Ireland, and on account of Cromwell's 
edicts came to America in 163J and were 
among the first settlers of Dover. New 
Hampshire. Their descendants participated 
in the early Indian wars and the paternal 
great-grandfather of our suliject ser\-e(l with 
distinction as a major in a New \'ork regi- 
ment of the Continental army during the 
Revolution, while the grandfather, 'i'imothy 
Kelle\', was a soldier of the war nf 181J 
and took part in the battle of Plattsl)urg. 
Unfortunately the records of the famil}^ 
were destroyed in the Boston fire of 1872. 

Charles R. Kelley, our subject's father, 
was a native of Sanbornton, New Hamp- 
shire, and for some time was a militiaman 
in that state. His com])any \\as called out 
during the war with Mexico, but being a 
strong Abolitionist and opposed to war, he 
resigned. He was one of the promoters 
of the "underground railroad," and assisted 
fugitive slaves escaping from New (3rleans 
boats at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 
their wav to Canada. Bv trade he was a 



tanner and currier and operated a tannery 
at Meredith village for many years. In 
1854 he sold his interests in the east and 
came to Wisconsin, spending one year at 
Baraboo, and then locating on a farm on 
section 14, W'infield township, Sauk county, 
where he died July 4. 1889, at the age of 
seventy-fiiur years. He was a man highly 
respected by all wlm knew li'm and had 
manv warm friends in this cnmty. His 
wife, who is now in her eightieth year, was 
born at Fort Ann, Washington county. New 
York, and is a daughter of George and Mar- 
tha (Demerit) Dearborn. Her father was 
a native of Ossijiee, New Hampshire, 
whence he went to Fort Ann. He was of 
English descent and a cousin of General 
Dearborn, who won fame in the war of 1812. 
He was also in the conflict and participated 
in the battle of Plattsburg. Hs wife was 
born in Canada of French lineage, and her 
mother was a sister of the grandmother of 
the famous "Long Ji.ihn Wentworth," of 
Chicago. 

Since a small boy La Fayette M. Kelley 
has made his home in Sauk county, and has 
borne his part in her upbuilding and de- 
velopment. In response to the president's 
call for more troops to aid in putting down 
the Rebellion, he enlisted. Deciiviber 20, 
1863. in Comi)any ]]. Twelfth Wisconsin 
\'olunteer Infantr_\-, and served under Gen- 
eral Sherman through the Atlanta cam- 
paign until July 28, 1864, when he was 
wounded at Ezra Chapel, near Atlanta, and 
was then confined in different h{)spitals un- 
til honorably discharged July 15. 18.55. ^^ 
shell struck his right side, caus'ng a severe 
wound and leaving a terrible scar. He had 
two brothers who were also in th.e service, 
Charles E. being a member of Company F, 
Fifty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
and George W., a member of Company F, 
'i liird Wisconsin Cavalry. A few years 
after the .war Mr. Kellcv became interested 



824 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



in farming on his own account in Winfield 
township, where he now owns a well im- 
proved and highly cultivated farm of one 
hundred acres on section i6. 

On the 6th of November, 1867, was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kelley and 
Miss Mary E. Wener, a native of Burling- 
ton, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Charles 
and Dorothea (Kiber) Wener, of Reedsburg. 
Her father, who was a native of Bavaria, 
Germany, and a blacksmith by occupation, 
died in Burlington. Her mother afterward 
married Peter Enser, who came to Reeds- 
burg in 1852. He enlisted March 4, 1862, 
in Company A, Nineteenth Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Infantry, was captured at Fair Oaks, 
Virginia, and confined in Libby prison for 
gix months. He was mustered out June 
21, 1865, and died at Reedsburg, in Febru- 
ary, 1897, at the age of seventy-three years. 
Mrs. Kelley's mother died at the same place 
in March, 1888, at the age of seventy- four. 
The children born to our subject and his 
wife are as follows: James H., an engineer 
residing in Winfield township; Mary M., 
wife of C. Lindkugel, of Spencer, South 
Dakota ; Iva, a resident of Janesville, Wis- 
consin; Mabel H., a teacher of Spencer, 
South Dakota ; Charles R. ; Inez ; Ida ; 
Walter R. ; La Fayette M. ; Ella M. ; and 
Florence E. All have received good educa- 
tional advantages. 

Mr. Kelley assisted in organizing H. A. 
I'ator Post, G. A. R., at Reedsburg, and has 
since been one of its most prominent and 
active members, serving as adjutant three 
terms, as senior vice commander and as 
commander two terms, being the present in- 
cumbent in the last named office. For many 
years he affiliated with the Republican party, 
but is now an advocate of the free coinage 
of silver at a ratio of sixteen to one, and he 
has most capably and satisfactorily served 
as assessor, treasurer and justice of the 
peace in ^^'infieId tuwnship. 



AMOS BROWN. 

Amos Brown, residing on section 23, in 
Easton township, Adams county, is a pio- 
neer settler of that region. He was born 
in Scott, Cortland county, New York, No- 
vember 9, 1828, and was the son of Sidney 
and Lovina (Salisbury) Brown. 

The father of our subject came to Adams 
county and settled in Easton township in 
1854, taking one hundred and sixty acres 
of government land, and engaged in farm- 
ing. The house now occupied by his sons 
stands on that tract. The father died in 
November, 1869, and the mother died in 
October, 1873, and both rest in Easton cem- 
etery. 

Amos Brown attended school until eight- 
een years of age, after which he worked at 
the carpenter's trade during the summer 
months, and in the winter chopped stove 
wood, which was sold at Homer, a village 
in his native county. He came with his 
parents to Adams county when aliout twen- 
ty-five years of aee, traveling by rail to 
Chicago, thence by water to Milwaukee, 
and the rest of the journey by rail to White- 
water. He remained in Lake Mills, Jef- 
ferson county, one summer and in the fall 
of 1854, on September 15, arrived at White 
Creek. He worked at the carpenter's trade 
one summer and returned to Lake Mills, 
\\here he married. He resided in .\dams 
county until 1856, and then went to Eau 
Claire count)-, where he took one (juarter- 
stction of land and engaged in farming fur 
one year and eight months, and then traded 
the land for his farm in Adams county. 
Since that lime he has made his residence 
on section 23, in Easton townshii), having 
disposed of his farm to his son, who is en- 
gaged in mixed farming, and raises sheep 
and other stuck. 

Mr. Brown enlisted in Company K, 
Thirty-eiciith Wisconsin Volunteer Infan- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



325 



try, October 27, 1864, and was assigned to 
the Army of the Potomac in front of Peters- 
burg. He was there until the close of the 
war, and was discharged in June, 1865. 

Our subject was married, September 6, 
1855, to Jane D. Young, daughter of Will- 
iam and Philena (Bass) Young, of Oak- 
land, Jefferson county, Wisconsin. Mrs. 
Brown -died March 21, 1897, and was 
buried in Easton cemetery. Eleven chil- 
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, 
only two of whom are living, as follows: 
Lorana E., now Mrs. Eddy, of Easton; and 
Edwin A., now in charge of the home farm. 
Edwin A. Brown was married September 
24, 1893, to Maggie Buchanan, daughter 
of Harry and Mary (McKinley) Buchanan, 
cf Lincoln, Adams county, Wisconsin. Two 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Brown, as follows: Ernest .V., burn ^larch 
22, 1896; and Edith A., born April 9, 1898. 

Amos Brown is a member of Eunis 
Reed Post, No. 209, G. A. R., and has been 
commander of the local post, and is promi- 
nent in G. .\. R. matters. He has lieen 
chairman of the township board for two 
years, and takes an active interest in the 
welfare of his conmumity. In political 
sentiment he is a Democrat, but does not 
seek public office. He is loyal to his coun- 
try, and is held in the highest esteem by his 
large circle of acquaintances. Both he and 
his son are well known as prosperous and 
progressive agriculturists, and well merit 
success. 



JOHN HENDERSON HOUSTON. 

John Henderson Houston, one of the 
most progressive citizens of Randolph town- 
ship, Columbia county, Wisconsin, is pro- 
prietor of an elegant estate and commands 
the highest esteem of liis associates. 

Our subject was born in Edinburg. 



Scotland, April 6, 1837, and was a son of 
Peter and Margaret (Henderson) Houston. 
The name was originally written Houstoun 
and the family was founded by a Roman in 
Britain and the last titled member of the 
family was Sir John Houston. The father 
of our subject was born near Auchterarder, 
Perthshire, Scotland, July 6, 1806, and died 
in Columbia county, Wisconsin, July 21, 
1882. He became a building contractor at 
the age of twenty-two years and conducted 
an extensive business. He employed about 
two hundred mechanics and was his own 
draftsman. He erected many buildings in 
Edinburg, Glasgow and other cities, among 
them some of the principal churches, resi- 
dences and business places. He met with 
linancial reverses and about 1843 came to 
America and spent about three years in 
New York City and Albany, New York, 
thence to Milwaukee, and in November, 
1847, settled in the town of Scott, Columbia 
county, where he resided until his death. 
Pie took two hundred acres of government 
land anil became a successful farmer. In 
common with many other public-spirited 
men he mortgaged his farm to promote the 
construction of the Milwaukee & La- 
Crosse Railroad through Columbia county, 
suffering heavy losses in consequence. He 
was a member of the Board of Commission- 
ers of Wisconsin Railroad Farm Mortgage 
Land Company, appointed by the governor 
of ^Visconsin to dispose of certain lands 
forfeited by the railroad company, and ap- 
portion the proceeds among the sufferers. 
He devoted considerable time to the per- 
fi'rmance of this duty, which consumed a 
luunljer of years, and tlie business was not 
ei:tirely closed at his death. He filled numer- 
ous positions in the county, and ran far 
ahead of his ticket for state senator, hav- 
ing been nominated by the Greenback party 
and endorsed by the Democratic party. 
He was a man of liberal views on relio-ion 



!i"Jt> 



co^frnxnn'^f oi' nioaR.iriiv. 



aiul oihor suhjocis a\u\ was a luiiaiian in 
sciuiinoul. riio graiul lather of ovir svihiooi, 
IVior llousioii. was a tenant fanner near 
.\nchterariler. Pertlisltire, and was a son of 
Amlrew llonston. of Tnllyhardine. He 
was n\aTried to Mary Sl\iart. a represetua- 
tive of the Seolel* family of that name. The 
n\otl\er of onr snl\iect, Marj^aret t lleniler- 
son^l I lvn>ston, was horn in h\Unhnrj;~h, 
Scotland, where she veoeiveil excellent edn- 
calional advatttajjx^s. She was a danjjhier of 
John Hetulersoti. who was the architect 
of a lar^ij;X" distillerv in that city anvl speiu liis 
hfc as an architei-t. He nuvrrietl (.lark 
Ross, of a Uijihlatid family anil a Uuly of nvre 
attainments, who rcanxl a family of fonr or 
tue chiKhxMi in a nuxsi exenxplary manner. 
The tnother of our suhject ilie^l (.Vtoher t4, 
t8o7v agxxl eighty-tne years, IVter and 
Mars'tuTl Houston wore the ivxreuts of tlux^e 
cliiKlivn mwv living; ami three who dieil in in- 
faticy. The surviving chiKh-en are as Ul- 
lows ; Peter, residing- in Randolph township. 
Columbia o^nnuy ; John H,. our subject ; and 
Pax id HeudersvMi. The latter jvsides near 
Hunter, North Hakota. and is a j^rosiK^Tous 
farmer a?>d rancher. He eng;iges in seeil 
gnwving auvl is alsi^ an exjiert photographer 
and has gxxineil a gvxxl cv^mx^tence tnnu vari- 
tnts ^Kitenie^l appliances and principles v 
plnnv^giaphy. his chief devise being the Ki>- 
d;.k canwra. He is a registerevl |>atent at- 
tv^ruey and six^uvls nnich of his time iu Wash- 
ir:glv>n. and in hkx> visiteil the l^jris Kxix>- 
sitii>n, l-'or full biography of this so»i see 
Historj- of North Hakotn, publisheil in locv^, 
Johtx Henderson Houston has residcvl 
i- (.Vr.;r.bia cvntniv. \Viscx>ns;n, .since he 
\\,~.< so\on \x\irs of agw and he enjovetl the 
best advtuuasx-^s atYor\leil by the district 
sch<>^l. I le sixMit.oue winter in the Business 
<- , ■.'e5jx> at Milwaukee, and aK^ut 1800 
Kn»ght his prx^ent tanu iu sections Ji) and 
30 in RanvK^ljxli K>\^^^sh^|v He has ilis- 
jx\seil of sonw of his acreage', but still re- 



runs ;»i>om iwo hundred acres. His home 
farm is ei|uipped with tirst class buildings 
and all modern improvements and his house 
i> .surrounded by a tine grove of evergreens 
and other trees, forming a beautiful p:\rk. 
while the apixnntments of the home evidence 
culture and rermement. He has a care- 
fully .selected library and choice collection of 
portraits and engravings, some of which are 
treasured family heirlooms. In the late "(x^s 
he was larg-ely interested in hop culture, 
Inu after the collap.se in the market in that 
product he turned his atteiuion tv> other spe- 
cialties. He has made a business of introduc- 
ing and growitig tine varieties of grains 
and .seevls, and he ships .seetl grain to all 
parts of the I'uitevl States, and has fur- 
nished grain to the agTicnltural de\>artuient 
ui W'a.shiugtou, He has made a sjiecialty 
of breeilittg tine horses for some years past, 
raising Ixith draft ami carriag^e horses, and 
has also given attention to Durham cattle. 
Mr. Houston is a metnber of the Ma- 
.sonic fraternity, Cambria Lcxlg-e, Xo. 15.?, 
A. F. & .\. M. ; Fort W'innebagv Chapter, 
aiul Fort Winuekigv^ Commandery, Knights 
Templar, and has b.eld all the honors with- 
\ in the gift of the local Kxlg-e. He is a free 
! thinker and is a Republican pi>litjcally. He 
: diMy; not seek public office, but has filleil uu- 
j inerous local jxvsitions of trust and eiii \s 
' the cvMjtideuce of his fellows. 



1: n\\ ARD J. FISHER. 

Among the most attractive rural homes 

of Spring-\ille townisliip. Adams county, 

Wi.sconsin, is that of Air. Fisher, a view of 

i which is shown on another i>age in this 

' volume, the culture and artistic taste 

of its owner being reflected in its appoint- 

< ments;, wjiile a gracious hospitality adds to 

its material comforts. He is one of i!ie 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



329 



most progressive and successful agriculttu'- 
ists of the community, and takes special de- 
light in his home, sparing no pains or ex- 
pense in making it attractive. 

John E. Fisher, father of our subject, 
was b(_irn in Berlin, German}', April 17, 
1832, and was a civil engineer by profession. 
At the age of twenty he went to Denmark, 
where he married Teressa Rafen. In 1883 
the}^ came to America and located in Gray- 
Img, Michigan, where they still reside. In 
tJieir family were seven children, namelv : 
Minnie C., born February 19, 1852, is the 
wife of John Otson, of Denver, Colo. ; 
Hattie M., born July 3, 1855, married 
Rasmus Rasmussen antl died May 25, 1899; 
C. William, born April 26, 1858, married 
Marie Jorgenson and lives in Grayling, 
Michigan; ]\Iarie C., born April 10, 1864, 
is the wife of Nels P. Olson, of Grayling; 
Annie C., born November 12, 1866, is the 
wife of Chris Larson, of Grayling; and 
Amelia, born May 10, 1872, is the wife of 
Edward Sorrenson, of the same place. 

Edward J. Fisher, the lifth of this fam- 
ily, was born in Tuggeler, Denmark. iVpril 
17, 1861, and was educated in a Lutheran 
college of his native land. He came to 
America, in 1881, the year before his parents, 
and located in Sioux City, Iowa, where he 
remained a short time and then went 10 
Grayling, ^lichigan. In 1884 he removed 
to ililwaukee, and after eighteen months 
spent in that city he came to Springville 
township, Adams county, Wisconsin, where 
he at first purchased eighty acres of land on 
section 22. and later another eighty acres 
on section 15, Springville township, to 
which he added another eighty on section 22 
and forty acres on section 15. In 1886 he 
returned to ^lilwaukee and engaged in busi- 
ness there until 1894, when he again took up 
liis residence upon his farm in Adams 
county. When he first located thereon not 
a tree had been cut or an inipro\ement made. 



but soon acre after acre was placed under 
the plow and he now has one hundred a;id 
live acres under a high state of culti\ation. 
His fine residence is surrounded by good 
outbuildings, and the place is supplied with 
all modern machinery needed by the pro- 
gressive farmer of the present day. 

On the 29th of December, 1891, was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Fisher and 
Carrie Nelson, who was born in Kolding, 
Denmark, November 20, 1859, and came to 
America in 1883, locating first in New York. 
Later she lived for a time in Port Amboy, 
New Jersey, and Denver, Colorado, and 
finally settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
where she became accjuainted with Mr. 
Fisher. They have one daughter, living at 
home, Anna Peterson Fisher. Mr. Fisher 
is a member in good standing of the IModern 
Woodmen of America, and is highly re- 
spected by all who know him. He is a 
shrewd, reliable business man, who has won 
success in life by his own industry, enter- 
prise and good management, and as an en- 
terjirising and progressive citizen he gives 
his support to every enterprise which he be- 
lie\'es will result in pulilic good. 



JOSEPH TEAL. 

Joseph Teal, one of the oldest and most 
respected pioneer citizens of Sauk county, 
Wisconsin, has been for many }'ears an in- 
fiuential citizen of Fairfield township. He 
was born in the township of Wilmot, ]Mer- 
rimack county. New Hampshire, Xo\-em- 
ber 22, 1827, and is a son of Benjamin and 
Thede (Morrill) Teal, both natives of the 
Granite state. The senior Teal was born 
in Concord and his ancestors settled at 
Boston at an early day, wdiere Aaron Teal, ' 
the grandfather of our subject, carried on a 
Initcher sliop. Two of his brothers served 



830 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



in the Revolutionary army. One of these, 
Samuel Teal, was an officer and was present 
at the battle of Lexington. Removing to 
New Hampshire, Aaron Teal engaged in 
farming at Wilmot, where he lived to at- 
tain the age of ninety-five years and six 
montlfs. His wife, Rebecca, lived to be one 
hundred and one years old. She was of 
Scotch-Irish descent, and reared a family 
of four sons and five daughters to maturity, 
and of these Benjamin was the oldest son. 
He removed from New Hampshire in 1855 
and located in Essex county, New York, 
where he engaged in lumbering. He was 
a farmer later on in St. Lawrence county, 
of the same state, and in 1844 he came to 
Illinois, and liveil a year at Crystal Falls. 
He came by the lakes from Ogdensburg to 
Chicago, and was eighteen days on the 
route. About a year later he drove two 
yoke of oxen through to Sauk county, Wis- 
consin, where a government survey had 
been made the previous season and the land 
thrown open to settlement. He and his 
sons took up three hundred and twenty 
acres of land in sections 7 and 8, Fairfield 
township. They broke a few acres that 
summer and spent the following winter on 
Webster Prairie. In the spring of 1846 
he took possession of his Fairfield land and 
applied himself earnestly to its improvement. 
He built a log house and lived an industrious 
and useful life. He was born with the cen- 
tury, and died in 1884, having enjoyed 
good health until almost eighty years. His 
wife died in 1869. She was a native of 
Wilmot, New Hampshire, where her father 
was a carpenter, and .spent his life. She 
was the mother of seven children : Hannah 
is the widow of P. J. Pershall, and has her 
home in Fairfield township; Joseph is the 
subject of this article; Lucy married Benja- 
min Clark and is now deceased ; Rebecca 
married James Butler, and is now deceased 
^her second husband was AVyman Getch- 



ell; Aaron lives in Fairfield; Susan is the" 
widow of Porter Buck, and has her home in 
Baraboo; Almina is Mrs. Joseph Hackett, 
of Fairfield. 

Joseph Teal came into Sauk county with 
his parents and in 1862 went to Carroll 
county, Missouri, where he spent two years. 
At the expiration of this time he came back 
to Wisconsin, and in 1866 settled in Valley 
Junction, Monroe county, Wisconsin, where 
he spent six years on a farm, at the same 
time becoming somewhat interested in cran- 
berry culture. He was quite prominent in 
local aft'airs at that time, and was township 
assessor for three years, and chairman of 
the town board for one year. He was on a 
farm near Wilson, St. Croix county, Wis- 
consin, for six years, but for many years 
past has been a resident of Sauk county, 
occupying the -land which he "claimed" in 
1845, although not old enough to make his 
title good until three years later. He now 
owns a hundred acres of good land, on 
which he long ago placed very substantial 
improvements. Generally throughout his life 
he has been a Democrat, but he votetl for 
Abraham Lincoln during the Civil war. 
He is now an enthusiastic supporter of \\'ill- 
iam Jennings Bryan. 

Mr. Teal is a member of the Sauk coun- 
ty old settlers' society, and with his br(_)ther, 
Aaron, is the oldest sur\-iving pioneer of 
Fairfield tijwnshii). When they came there 
two families named Anderson, a Norwegian, 
and Brunson living in the townslvip. The 
r.earest grist-mill was at Dekorra, and for 
some timetheTeals and their neighbors lived 
on meal ground in a coft'ee mill. The first 
grist-mill built in Sauk county was a crude 
afl^air and put up on Leech creek in Fair- 
field township, l)y Mr. Brunson. His first 
and only customer was a man who lirought 
some corn from, a considerable distance, who 
finding that its reduction to meal was likely 
to be a long and tedious process, went home 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



331 



lo wait several days. When he came back 
expecting- to find his grist ready, he was 
surprised to be informed that there was 
none, the Brunsons having consumed it 
as fast as ground. That rate of toll 
did not prove liberal enough to at- 
tract any more custom. Mr. Teal has 
always been a vigorous man. When he 
lived on Webster Prairie he walked four 
miles daily to feed the cattle that had been 
left on the Fairfield farm. He walked once 
to Crystal Lake, Illinois, and spent four 
days on the journey, and paid out one dol- 
lar as expenses. He was always a success- 
ful hunter; he shot many deer while Sauk 
county was new, and says that he used to 
see as many as twenty in a drove passing his 
house. 

Joseph Teal and jMary Frances Getchell, 
the latter a native of Sebec, Maine, were 
married in Delton, Wisconsin, October 19, 
1852. She was a daughter of Mace Getchell, 
a shoemaker, who came into" Sauk county in 
1850. Here he engaged in farming in 
^airfield township, and was elected as the 
first justice of the peace in the town. Mrs. 
Mary Teal died in October, 1896. She was 
the mother of nine children, four of wIkjiu 
are li\ing: Albert; Arthur died when seven 
years (jjd ; Llurr was burn May ,^0, 1859, 
and is living near Salem, Oregon; Curtis 
H. was born March 28, 1861, and died April 
22, 1883; Carrie F. was born April 5, 1866, 
and is now Mrs. Abel Parker, of St. Croix 
county, Wisconsin ; Minnie C. was born 
April 12, 1868, and is now Mrs. John 
Sneller, of Baraboo. 

A special paragraph may well be given 
to Albert Teal. He was born December 2y, 
1854, and grew to manhood under the pa- 
rental roof. When he was twenty-five 
years old he went to St. Croix county, Wis- 
consin, and spent seven years in farm work, 
at the same time devoting considerable at- 
tention to the studv of agriculture. Since 



1890 he has lived on the homestead farm 
^nd applied himself to its cultivation. He 
was married March 18, 1897, to Louisa 
Roser, a daughter of Christian and Louisa 
Roser, of the town of Baraboo. Mrs. Teal 
is the mother of two children, Mary and Ar- 
thur. Mr. and Mrs. Teal are highly com- 
mended by their neighbors as excellent peo- 
ple who are both industrious and accommo- 
dating, of strong moral character and frugal 
habits. 



JEREMIAH MERRILL SCHOFF. 

Jeremiah Merrill Schofi^, one of Adams 
county's most respected citizens, is a resi- 
dent of Easton township, where he is known 
a,^ a model farmer and thorough-going busi- 
nelss man. 

Mr. Schofi:' was Iiorn at Brasher, St. 
Lawrence county. New York, December 8, 
1826, son of Jeremiah and Sophia (Wood- 
bury) Schoff, who came from Vermont and 
settled in St. Lawrence county about the 
year 1816, and engaged in farming. Jere- 
miah SchofT died in i860 and the mother 
in 1858. Both are buried in Franklin coun- 
ty. New York. Their family consisted of 
nine children, of whom our subject was the 
seventh in order of birth. 

Jeremiah Merrill Schoff was reared to 
manhood in his native state, working at home 
during the summer months and attending 
school in winter. He learned the cooper's 
trade at the age of twenty years, and worked 
two or three years in Boston, Massachusetts. 
In 1848 he went to California, going from 
Boston by water, via Cape Horn, and the 
trip to San Francisco consumed a period of 
one hundred and ninety-four days. Fie went 
to El Dorado county, where he worked in 
the mines for about two years, meeting with 
fair success in his adxcnlures. However, 
l"iis health failed him, and he returned to 



88i 



COMPnXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Boston, l)y way of the Istlimus of Panama, 
and the \-essel was seventy days from San 
Francisco to Panama. He worked about 
one year in Bostdn, and then returned tii 
Brasher, Xew Ytirk, purchased fifty acres 
of land and l)uih upon it a residence and 
barn, and thorough!)^ impro\ed his farm. 
He conducted tliis farm al:)out ten years, 
tlieu sohl it and came to Easton, Adams 
county, W'iscMusiu, arri\-ing tiiere in 1864. 
He purchased eighty acres of hmd, most of 
wliich was in a state of nature, and this he 
lias ctdti\ated and inii)rii\ed, erecting a nice 
residence, good barns and outbuildings, and 
■making such modern impmvements as are of 
practical utility in the process of agriculture. 
He is now the t)wner of eighty acres of ex- 
cellent land. 

Air. Sciioff was married June 12, 1S54. 
to Arabella, daughter df Roderick and Isa- 
bella (McKenzie) Grant. The family came 
from Stratlimore, Scotland, about the year 
1832, and settled in Pictou, Nova Scotia, 
where representatives of the family still 
live. Roderick Cjrant dietl January 30, 
1887, and his wife January 5, 1888, the 
former at the age of ninety years and the 
latter at the age of eighty-seven. ]\Ir. and 
Mrs. Schoff have four children, named as 
follows: Emma, born May S, 1855, now 
Mrs. B. Dunn, of La Crosse ; Abbie, born 
September 19, 1857, now Mrs. \\'. Irwin, 
ot Adams; Dana M., born August 8, 1862, 
now a farmer of Easton. Wisconsin ; and 
Nettie, born September 11, 1864, now Mrs. 
C. Lamphere, of Chicago. 

Air. Schoff is a Rei)ublican in political 
faith, and takes much interest in public mat- 
ters. He has served his township in the 
cajiacity of treasurer for a number of _\-ears, 
and his faithfulness to his duties has won 
him the confidence of all with<iut i)arty dis- 
tinction. He is regarded as a man of more 
than average business ability and judg- 
ment, and he has been an important factor 



in the development of his town and coun- 
ty, and has helped to bring to Adams coun- 
ty much of the credit and rank it claims 
among its sister counties. At the World's 
Columbian Exposition at Chicago he was 
awarded a medal for the best sam])le of 
\' lieat for milling purposes, in competition 
with grain from all over the world. This 
v.heat was grown on his homestead fru'm, 
and is proof of the superior (pialitv of 
Adams count\' products when properlv culti- 
vated. 



CRIFEITH RODERICK RICE. 

Griffith Roderick Rice, one of the most 
intelligent and pi'ogressive farmers of Cal- 
edonia township, Columbia county, Wis- 
consin, was born in Portage, December 30, 
1865, and is a son of Rev. Thomas J. and 
Ann (Owen) Rice. Plis maternal g'rand- 
parents were John and Alargaret (Edwards) 
Owen, notice of whom may be found else- 
where in this volume. The father was born 
in Cardiganshire, Wales, and in 1846 came 
to the new world with his parents, Roderick 
and Mary (Griffiths) Rice, who settled in 
the town (jf Delafield, Wisconsin, where 
Mrs. Mary Rice is still living. Her hus- 
band resided ujion a farm in \Wiukesha 
county until called from this life in the 
sjiring of 1888, at the age of over eighty 
years. 

Rev. Thomas J. Rice, father of oiu" sub- 
ject, was educated at Carroll College, Wau- 
kesha, and before twenty years of age en- 
tered the ministry of the Welsh Calvinistic 
Methodist church, but was not ordained un- 
til 1869. He served as ])astor of the church 
of that denomination at Waukesha, after 
which he spent six 3'ears in mercantile busi- 
ness at Milwaukee, and later was in the 
same business at Portage for a nnmljcr of 
}'ears. During all of this time he preached 



COMPllNDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



388: 



every Sunday in the city or country. About 
1870 lie went to Bangor, La C'msse coun- 
ty, where he engaged in farming, and while 
there his house was struck by lightning 
July 5, 1872, and with its contents, includ- 
ing a fine library, was destroyed. He and 
his wife were rendcretl unconscious by the 
shock, and ha\e never recovered from the 
effects of the same. Returning to dilumbia 
county, in 1873, they located on a farm in 
Caledonia township, and in connection with 
his farming operations, Air. Rice served as 
pastor of his church there until 1895. Since 
1896 he has spent most of his time at Lake 
Forest, Illinois, where his children have at- 
tended school. He has delivered many lec- 
tures on temperance, but is not a party I'ro- 
hibitionist, his support being gi\"en the Re- 
publican party. Of his six children, one 
died in infancy. Those still li\ing are Ed- 
ward, who is employed in the United States 
land ofiice at Aberdeen, South Dakota ; 
Griffith R., our subject; Jijhn LI., who is 
taking a post-graduate course at Lake 
Forest' University; George T., a grocer and 
town collector of Lake Forest; and William 
J., now at Cornell College. 

Griffith R. Rice attended the district 
schools near his boyhood home and also the 
Portage high school for a few years. He 
learned the trade of a mechanical engineer, 
to which he devoted six years in Milwaukee, 
being empIo}'ed in an electric light plant. 
He also taught school in Columbia count}' 
for five years, at the same time working on 
the farm during the summer months, and 
until the spring of 1900 devoted his entire 
time and attention to the cultivation of the 
home farm, which consists of two hundred 
and eighty acres under a high stale of culti- 
vation and well improved. In April, 1900, 
2\lr. Rice removed to the city of Portage, 
where, under the firm name of Rice & Jones, 
he is engaged in the agricultural imi)lement 
business. 



In ]March, 1896, i\Ir. Rice was united 
ii, marriage with ^liss Mary J. Jones, a na- 
tive of Caledonia tnwnship, and a daugh- 
ter of Robert H. and Catherine (Ellis) 
Jones. Her father was born in Merioneth- 
shire, Wales, and. emigrated to America in 
1851. After spending four years in Rock 
countv, Wisconsin, he came to Columljia 
C(junty, where he died .Septemlier 27, 1894. 
aged sixty-four years. His wife died in 
Novemlser, 1887, aged forty-five years. She 
was b(irn near LUica, New York, in July, 
1842, and was a daughter i>f Roliert Ellis, 
a native of Wales and an early settler of 
Ci:ilumbia county, Wisconsin. Our sul)- 
jtct and his wife ha\'e three children: Anna 
M., Catherine and Roderick. Mr. and Mrs. 
Rice are members of the Presbyterian 
church at Portage, and the family is one of 
culture and refinement. Mr. Rice afiiliates, 
with the Re]niblican party, keeps well in- 
formed on the leading questions and issues 
(!! the day, and has served as justice of the 
peace one year, and town clerk from the 
spring of 1896 to that of 1900. 



JOHN OWEX, Dece.\sed. 

John Owen, deceased, founder of "The 
Welsh settlement" in the town of Caledonia, 
Columbia county, was one of the representa- 
ti\'e pioneers of Wisconsin and a \'i_ilumc 
de\oted to the purpose of this work would 
be incomplete without a suitable tribute to 
his memory. To him and his descendants 
is due much of the prosperity which that 
town has enjoyed and they have exerted a 
marked influence in shaping the moral and 
ir.tellectual equalities, for which the people 
of that town anil county are justly famed. 

Mr. Owen was a native of Llanelltyd, 
Merionethshire, Wales, and the history of 
his life illustrates many of the sterling char- 



334 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



acteristics for which the people of his race 
have always been distinguished. In his na- 
tive land he followed the pursuit of agricult- 
ure and also dealt in coal to some extent, 
earning a comfortable living for his growing 
family in that manner until 1846, when he 
came with them to the United States. A 
few months were spent in Racine county, 
\Msconsin, Avhence, in September of the 
same year, the migration was continued as 
far as Columbia county. This part of the 
journey was accomplished with ox teams, 
the family with all its effects being trans- 
ported in one wagon. Crossing the ^^'is- 
consin ri\er at Portage they started to as- 
cend the Baraboo valley, encamping for the 
night on section 21, township 12, range 8, 
and, owing to the persuasion of his wife, 
who had become heartily tired of travel, 
^Ir. Owen finally decided to make his home 
on that spot. He and his family lived in 
their covered wagon until a log cabin could 
be erected, in which they spent the winter. 
Finding that this location offered a de- 
sirable combination of timber, meadow and 
Avater, he and his sons set themselves in- 
dustriously about the improvement of the 
premises and eventually became the owners 
of a number of fine farms, including several 
thousand acres, with extensive flocks and 
herds. At first their only neighbors w'ere 
a band of Winnebago Indians, with whom 
they sustained the most friendly relations 
and from whom they obtained more or less 
of the winter's provisions. Half a century 
later there remained but one representative 
of this tribe in the town of Caledonia. 

In 1847 the Owens were joined b}' two 
or three families of their countrymen and 
this little settlement became the nucleus of 
an extensive colony, which included a num- 
ber of the most thrifty and influential peo- 
ple of the county. This colony has always 
been a center of moral and intellectual 
culture and the homes of which it is com- 



posed are uniformly noted for the prevalence 
of hospitality and good cheer. 

Mr. Owen died in 1866, at the age of 
sixty-two years. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Margaret Edwards, survived him 
until January, 1872, passing away at the 
age of sevent)^-two years, her birth having 
occurred very near the beginning of the 
nineteenth century. This worthy couple 
were the parents of seven sons and two 
daughters, named as follows: Laura (Mrs. 
William Williams), Wilham, David, Owen 
J., Aim (Mrs. Thomas Rice), Griffith, John, 
Edward and Richard. Edward died of a 
fever contracted while in the United States 
army during the Civil war. ' Owen J. died 
of the same -complaint the next day. Ann 
and Richard are now the only survivors. 
In 1896, fifty-two )'ears after their arrival 
in Columbia county, the posterity of John 
and Margaret Owen had increased to the 
number of ninety-two persons, seventy-four 
of whom were then living. 

Mr. and Mrs. Owen were conspicuous 
for habits of industry and strict integrity, 
as well as their unbounded hospitality. 
They were adherents of the Calvinistic 
Methodist faith and alwa3'^s observed its 
teachings with conscientious devotion. Dur- 
ing the journey to this county religious 
services were held regularly in the 
wagon, which constituted their temporary 
home, and this custom was continued after 
their arrival. When other \\^elsh families 
began to settle near them they were invited 
to join in these services and at the earliest 
opportunit}' a church was built near their 
home, in which ser\-ices are still conducted 
ill the Welsh language, their descendants 
forming a good share of the congregation. 
Some member of the family has always 
served as chorister and the art of music has 
received considerable attention from many 
of the number. 

Mr. Owen's religious sentiments were 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



385 



doubtless inheritt ruts, 

Owen Pugfa and ; - -ere 

among the first people of their iocaiity to 
embrace Christianity. Tbey were accos- 
tomed to ride on horseback to attend serv- 
ices, carr}4ng a bag of meal to disguise 
their errand on account of the fanaticism 
of their neighbors. Owen Pugfa is r 
posed to have belonged to the line of ' 
GI;."iidv.-r. v. ho won some 
leader of his pejjie in resi^ _ 
pressi(Hi early in the fifteenth cenniry. 



iL\RTIX FRAXCIS FOLEY. 

Martin Francis F<dey. one of the most 

e: --T -- and succeisful young business 

•: coontA". is now president and 

ger.er:^. :: .imager of the Great Xorthem 
Xurserv Gz-rnpanv. of Baraboo. He has 



citizens, 

: _„ ^ pro^»erit>-. 

also add to the gaieral welfare and success. 
A native of Dayton. Ohio, he was bom 
April 27, 1867, and is a son of Timothy and 
Margaret > Kf'deay) Foley. His mfaer, a 
rav.ve cf cv:~r\- Clare. Ireland, came v 



ilartin F. Foley was an infant xdaea his 
parents came to Sauk cotrrrt:-. H-'s prelim- 
inary- education was : : by a 
coarse in the Baraboo . ^ which 
he completed when seventeen years of age. 
He then entered the sers-ice of the Chicago 
& Northwestern Raii>'Qe4 Company, with 
' T was connected some time. At 
of his brother James be returned 
•: charge of his father's farm, 
ued for a number of years, 
iie iiiea became agent for the Jewell Nur- 
sery Cornra--- f Lake Citj-, iEmiesota, 
rejMresei:- :ri for several years. He 
was oat - iTiccessfai salesmen, and 
had the soperintendency of a number of 
men. He afterward dealt extensivdy in 
nursery stock on his own account, makin g 
his headquarters in Reedsburg and empioy- 
ing a number of traveling representatives 
~ -red and 
nge for 
:^-.re esten- 



- ' IJXC CX£CA^ |rK &^<C 



r- In the 5f»ing -^f i^t he came 
to Baraboo and organiz-e North- 

CTn Nurser>- Company, <-.- ~ presi- 

dent and general manager. The cafMtal 
stock of the corporation is twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars, and its grounds in the city of 



lev ha? 



T«i of being" onecoalled 



r_g in the railr.jad machine shops there 
... :864, when he came to Sank county, 
\\'!5c:r.5:n. locating on a isrm in Ac town 
: ■ \\ ;-.-;e:d. Since 1898 he has lived re- 
tired :r. Baraboo. and is now 5e\-entv-nine 



.About twenty-five travehng salesmen are 

employed in introducing theL" goods into 

\-ari0u5 sections of the country, and the 

bu^ness now extends into a dozen or more 

states. Its sales are very extensive and the 

" rs rank among the leading 

tms in Sauk county. 

On Uie 4ih of September, 1889. ilr. Fo- 



33G 



COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHY. 



ley was united in marriasre to Miss Katie 
Timlin, daughter nf 'i'lmmas and i\Iar_\' Ann 
(Hayes) Timlin, of Sauk county. Thev 
now have two children, Eva and Laurine. 
'Sh. Foley has erected one of the best resi- 
dences in the city of Baraboo, supplied with 
all modern conveniences, its furnishings in- 
dicating the cultured taste of the occupants. 
The household is celeljrated for its gracious 
hospitality, which is enjoyed by the large cir- 
cle of their friends. He is a valued member 
of several fraternal organizations, belong- 
ing to Maple Leaf Camp, No. 470, M. W. 
A., of Reedsburg; to Castle Hall Lodge, No. 
142, K. P., also of Reedsburg, and is deputy 
grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias 
fraternity, for Sauk county. For many 
years he gave his political support to the 
Democracy, and took an active part in po- 
litical affairs, but is now an advocate of the 
gold standard. His business career has 
been an honorable and ui)right one, and the 
reputation which he bears in commercial cir- 
cles is unassailable. Steadily has he worked 
liis \vay upward by determined purpose, un- 
llagging industry and keen discernment, and 
his success is therefore well merited. 



DEXTER S. HIvVTH. 

Dexter S. Lleath, one of the most suc- 
cessful farmers of Columbia county, is liv- 
ing retired from actix'e pursuits in a com- 
fortable home in Pardeeville, and is honored 
and esteemed by his fellowmen. He began 
life in humble surroundings and has la- 
bored honestly and earnestly to acquire a 
goodly proportion of property and has been 
rewarded for his labor. He was born in 
Cabot. \'ermont, September 30, 1831, and is 
a son of John and Ruth (Carr) Lleath, both 
of vi'hom were natives of Vermont. 

Our subject's father was a farmer in 



\"ermont and came to Wisconsin in 1S51, 
and settled in Marcellon township, Colum- 
bia county. He died there December 3;, 
1876, aged eighty-five years. He was vig- 
orous for one of his years, and was a con- 
sistent member of the Methodist church. 
Our subject's mother was torn in Massachu- 
setts, but moved to \'ermont when she was 
a young girl. She died September 20, 
1872, aged eighty years. Eleven children 
were born to this worthy couple, w!io were 
named as follows: Levi, William, Elizabeth,. 
Sarah, Martha, Rodolphus, Phineas C, Dex- 
ter S., Quincy, Rosetta and Susan. Our 
subject and three brothers are the only sur- 
vivors of the family. William and i'iodol- 
phus reside in Iowa, and Quincy resides in 
Otter Tail county, Minnesota. 

Dexter S. Heath spent his boyhood on 
the farm in X'ermont, and in J 852 came with 
his parents to Wisconsin, wliere he lived ou 
the homestead farm for many years. He 
later owned 255 acres of land, \\-hich he 
brought to a high state of cultivation and in 
1890 gave the farm to his sons and purchased 
another tract of 200 acres in Marcellon 
township, which he later gave to another son. 
He later bought a farm of 250 acres iii 
Springvalc, upon which he resided about 
two years and then gave it to a third son. 
Since 1895 he has resided in the village of 
Pardeeville, where he has erected a comfort- 
able and commodious residence, and enjoys 
a well-earned rest. Li early days he butcj^i- 
ered live stock and marketed it in the piner- 
ies. He hauled the lumber for his first 
house from Little Wolf river, a distance of 
about eighty miles. Each of his farms he 
has equipped with first class buildings, and 
he met with remarkable success in the pur- 
suit of agriculture. 

Our subject was married September 18, 
1864, to Mrs. Mariette Langdon, widow of 
Asa Langdon, and daughter of Hugh and 
Mary (Ciulhery) Barker. Mrs. Heatli was 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



339 



born in the town of Byron, Genesee county, 
New York, and came to Wisconsin in 1844. 
Her father came there about three years later 
and settled in Marcellon township. He 
died in Packwaukee, Wisconsin, in October, 
1857, aged sixty- four years, about four 
years after the death of his wife. Mr. and 
Mrs. Heath are the parents of three sons, who 
are as follows: Allen D., born September 
JO, 1866, now residing on the homestead 
farm; Julius S., born January 29, 1869; and 
George A., born July 17, 1873. Mr. and 
Mrs. Heath have nine grandchildren. Mrs. 
Heath is a member of the ^lethodist Episco- 
pal church of Pardeeville, and the famih- are 
highly esteemed in their communit%\ Our 
subject is a man of firm convictions and has 
filled various local ofiices of trust, but does 
not take an active part in political affairs; 
he is a Republican in sentiment. Portraits 
of both !Mr. and Mrs. Heath will be found 
on other pages in this volume. 



WILLIAM ERIGFREUXD AX.\CKER. 

William Erigfreund Anacker is ong of 
the leading and representative agriculturists 
of Fort ^\'innebago township, Columbia 
county, \\'isconsin. and has been actively 
identified with the development of this sec- 
tion of the state. Though Bom on the 
other side of the Atlantic, he is thoroughly 
American in thought and feeling, and that 
he is patriotic and sincere in his love for the 
stars and stripes was manifest b)- his service 
in the Civil war. 

Mr. Anacker was bom in Herrenbrei tun- 
gen, near Schmalkaklen, Hesse Cassel, Ger- 
man}-, June I, 1840, and is a son of George 
Ludwig and .Amelia ( Kleimenhagen ) 
Anacker, who lived and died on a farm in 
tliat village. The father was a man of con- 
siderable prominence and influence, and 



served as alderman of the village for many 
years. His father, Henry .\nacker, was a 
man of education and culture, of whom more 
e.xtended mention is made in the sketch of 
Bernhardt Anacker on another page of this 
volume. Andrew Anacker, a brother of 
Henry, was a soldier in the Hessian army, 
and was sent to this countrj- among the 
troops hired by England during the Revo- 
Intionarj- war. He never returned to his 
native land. Our subject has in his posses- 
sion some silverware which once belonged 
to his maternal great-grandfather, Henry 
Kleimenhagen, who ser\ed as schultze, or 
mayor, of Herrenbreitungen for manv }-ears. 
He had four sons, one of whom was ]\Ioritz 
Kleimenhagen, our subject's grandfather, 
who was a farmer by occupation and an offi- 
cial in the Calvinistic church. Our subject 
is the oldest in a large family of children, of 
whom one died in childhood. The others 
are: Dorothea and Rosalie, who remained 
m Geraiany; Bernhardt W., a resident of 
Lewiston township, Columbia county, ^^'is- 
consin; Clemandina, wife of H. Hermann, 
of Portage, \\isconsin; Maria, wife of Ed. 
Shermer, of Caledonia township, Columbia 
coimty; Richard, of La Crosse, ^^'isconsin; 
Otto P., of St. Paul, Minnesota; Caroline, 
who remained in Germany; Amelia, widow 
of John Geymann, and a resident of Port- 
age, ^^'isconsin; and \\'illiam Henr\-, now 
in Alaska. 

\\illiam E. .Vnacker, of this review, re- 
ceived a good practical education in public 
and private schools of his native land, and 
remained there until twenty Aears of age, 
when he emigrated to .\merica, making the 
voj-age from Bremen to New York in' twen- 
ty-one days — the quickest passage ever 
made by a sailing ^"essel up to that date. He 
came direct to Columbia count}-, \\'iscon- 
sin, where he has since made his home. 

On the 2 1st of August. 1862, he entered 
the service of his adopted country, enlisting 



340 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



in Company C, Twenty-third Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry. He took part in the 
first attack on Vicksburg in December, 1862 ; 
was in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Ar- 
kansas Post, Port Gibson, Champion H 
Black River bridge, siege of Vicksburg, bat- 
tle of Jackson, Mississippi ; Grand Coteau, 
Louisiana ; Sabine Cross Roads, Cane River, 
Jackson, Louisiana ; Spanish Fort, Alabama ; 
Fort Blakely ; and some minor engagements. 
At Grand Coteau his cap was shot from his 
head, and his hair was grazed while being 
pursued by Confederate cavalry, but he es- 
caped b}' jumjiing across a creek and con- 
cealing himself in a grove. Only sixtv- 
seven out of his regiment were neither killed 
nor captured, and at the disastrous battle of 
Sabine Cross Roads he only escaped by run- 
ning through a cornlield. He was ap^. • 
corporal July i, 1864, and was honorably 
discharged from the service July 4, 1865. 

After the war Mr. Anacker was em- 
i:)loyed in a gristmill and brewery for a 
time. Li April, 1867, he bought one hun- 
dred and fifty-two acres of land in Fort Win- 
nebago township, to which he has since add- 
ed another tract of one hundred acres, 
only twenty-five acres of the entire amount 
having previously been cleared, but now one 
hundred acres have been placed under cul- 
tivation, and good substantial buildings have 
been erected thereon. A log house was the 
only building when he took up his residence 
there. In connection with general farming 
he gives some attention to the raising of 
small fruit. His farm is watered by fine 
springs, and there is a trout pond upon the 
premises, where he has caught rainbow trout 
weighing over five pounds and brook trout 
as large as three and a half pounds. This 
pond he stocked about six years ago with 
forty thousand fry from the state fish 
hatchery at Madison. 

Mr. Anacker was married. May 6, 1866, 
to Miss Dorothea Weidemann, a native of 



Iversplaben, Saxe Weimar, Germany, and 
a daughter of Nicholas and Catherine Wei- 
demann, who brought their family to Amer- 
ica in 1855 and settled in Lewiston town- 
ship, Columbia county, Wisconsin, one year 
later. Mrs. Anacker died December 2, 
1889, aged forty-five years, two months and 
eight days, and of the eight children born 
to them four died in infancy. The others 
are Ottilie, wife of Albert Eberlein, of Blue 
Earth City, Minnesota; Charles O., at home; 
Louise A., wife of C. Selbach, of Portage, 
Wisconsin ; and Georee W., at home. Our 
subject also has four grandchildren: Frid- 
rich, Clarance, Artliur Eberlein, and Do- 
rothea Selbach. 

Mr. Anacker is a member of Trinity 
church, of Portage, and for a number of 
years past has been a member of the Colum- 
bia County Agricultural Society, and Rous- 
seau Post, No. 14, G. A. R., of Portage. Po- 
litically he is identified with the Republican 
party. Although he never attended an 
English school, he has through his own ef- 
forts become conversant with the language, 
having learned to read English while in the 
army. The majority of his townsmen hold 
opposite political views from his, but rec- 
ognizing his worth and ability, they have 
called vipon him to fill many principal town- 
ship and school offices, and he commands the 
confidence and respect of his associates. 



CHRIST FRITZ. 

Christ Fritz, one of the most extensive 
stock raisers of Adams county, residing in 
the town of Ouincy, is well known as a 
gentleman who has aided in the transforma- 
tion of that country into one of the brightest 
spots in the state, and has helped to make 
Adams county popular as a thriving agri- 
cultural district. He is a progressive, and 
is possessed of a thorough knowledge of his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



841 



calling, which places him among the lead- 
ing farmers of his community. In further- 
ing the interests of his township he has ever 
given his hearty support, financially and 
otherwise, toward public enterprises, and has 
gained an enviable reputation wherever he 
is known. His estate comprises three hun- 
dred acres, and he has added such improve- 
ments as are found on modern farms. 

Mr. Fritz was born in West Prussia, 
Germany, January 9, 1843, ^'iJ ^^'^s the son 
of John and Mary Fritz. His father was a 
wood worker, and ran on boats on the Elbe 
river during the summer season. He emi- 
grated to America about 1870 and located 
in Dundee, Kane county, Illinois, where he 
resided with his daughter, Mrs. Scholt, un- 
til his death in 1889. The mother died in 
Germany in 185Q. 

Of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Fritz, our subject was the fourth in order 
of birth. He attended school until fourteen 
years of age, after which time he worked 
at farm work until he came to America in 
1865. He located at Dundee, Illinois, and 
worked on a farm for six years. He went 
to Quincy, Adams county, in 1871, and pur- 
chased three hundred acres of land, upon 
which he has since resided. He erected a 
good residence and commodious barns, and 
miakes a specialty of stock raising. The farm 
is nicely located, and runs down to the Wis- 
consin river, and is acknowledged to be one 
of the best in the country. A ferry has re- 
cently been started across the river, Mr. 
Fritz having given the right of way for a 
period of twenty-five years. A market at 
Martyn for the people of Quincy township is 
thus opened, being nine miles to that place. 
Our subject is in possession of a medal 
awarded him by the World's Columbian Ex- 
position for winter wheat and silver hull 
buckwheat, raised on his farm, on old land, 
thus placing Adams county at the head of 
the grain raising counties of the state. 



Mr. Fritz was married in September, 
1869, to Minnie Hintz, daughter of Fred 
and Mary (Streaving^i Hintz, of Dundee, 
Illinois. Mrs. Fritz's parents came to 
America from Germany about 1866. Mr. 
and Mrs. Fritz have been the parents of 
eleven children, as follows : Christ, at Dun- 
dee, Illinois ; William ; Charles, in West Su- 
perior; John, in Dundee, Illinois; Annie, in 
Elgin, Illinois; Franz, in Dundee, Illinois; 
i\Iartha, Mary, the two last named, twins, 
residing in Martyn; Minnie, at home; Al- 
bert, in Dundee; and Ernest, at home. 

Mr. Fritz is a member of the Lutheran 
church at Quincy. In political sentiment he 
is a Republican. He is a man of enlight- 
ened views and stands firmlv for right and 
good citizenship. He is an exemplary 
member of his community, and is public- 
spirited, and takes an active interest in mat- 
ters of local importance. He has spared no 
labor and painstaking care in making of his 
farm one of the model estates of Adams 
county, and thus raising the standard of ag- 
riculture. 



OSCAR CLARKE ELY. 

Oscar Clarke Ely, a prominent dairyman 
and general farmer, and postmaster at 
Spring Creek, residing in Monroe township, 
Adams county, has been a resident of that 
place since his boyhood days, and the farm 
v/hich is now his home is one he assisted his 
father in clearing for cultivation. When 
the family went to that region it was a wil- 
derness, and the present farm is one of the 
best to be found within the limits of Adams 
county, and the subject of this review is en- 
titled to much credit for the share he took 
in its transformation. He was but a young 
lad at the time of their early life there, but 
put his shoulder to the wheel and did what 
was in his power, and has been rewarded liv 



342 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



witnessing tlie development of a thriving 
agricultural district, as well as individual 
gain. 

■\lr. Elv was born July 22. 1839, at W'il- 
braham, Hampden county, Massachusetts, 
and was the son of Jonathan Dixon and Julia 
(Clarke) Ely. The family had lived in the 
county many years, and the father was a 
shoemaker hy trade, and alsri followed farm- 
ing. They came to what is now the town of 
Monroe, Adams county, Wisconsin, in 1855, 
and took one hundred and sixty acres of 
government land, on which they erected good 
buildings, and at the time of his death ninety 
acres were cleared for cultivation. There 
were no settlers for a number of miles, and 
the nearest pulling place was Xecedah. The 
father died December 28, 1883, aged seven- 
ty-six years, and the mother died March 2^, 
1889, aged seventy-five years, and both were 
buried at Spring Creek. Mr. Ely was a de- 
vout Christian and a member of the Meth- 
odist church. He was a Republican in po- 
litical sentiment and much interested in 
party movements. He served in several 
township offices of trust, and was a respected 
citizen and gained the confidence of his as- 
sociates. Six children, fi\t sons and one 
daughter, were born to this worthy couple, 
as follows: Henry D., now farming in 
Monroe township; Oscar C, our subject; 
Elwood M., now farming in Monroe town- 
ship; Dexter \Y., residing in Chicago; Ho- 
mer \\'., now in Granite, Illinois; and Har- 
riet hi, now Mrs. C. R. Barker, of Chicago. 
Oscar C. Ely at the age of ten years 
went to work for a farmer, and after three 
summers entered the cotton factory at Rock- 
ville, Connecticut, and was thus engaged 
about three years. Ele came with his par- 
er.ts to Wisconsin at the age of sixteen 3'ears, 
and from that time assisted his father in 
the clearing of the farm. He is now in pos- 
session of two hundred acres, and has about 
one hundred acres under cultivation. He 



was awarded a diploma and medal by the 
^\'orld"s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, 
for Initter made on his farm, which was a 
great honor from the fact that the butter 
scored one hundred points. He is thorough 
in his work, practical, and uses the most ap- 
proved methods, and has made a success. 

Mr. Ely was married December 12, 
1863, to Annette B. Gardner, tlaughter of 
Oliver and Melissa (TullerJ Gardner, of 
Preston township. Eive children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Ely, three of whom 
are living, as follows : Charlotte E., born 
January 8, 1867, now Mrs. G. Losey, resid- 
ing near Hancock, Leola township, Adams 
county; Alice J., born August 16, 1870, now 
Airs. G. H. ^Munroe, of Barnum, Adams 
county, and Arthur O., born March 2, 1881. 
The son is a sufferer from paralysis, and is 
an invalid. 

jMr. and Mrs. Ely are consistent mem- 
bers of the Methodist church, and take an 
active part in church matters. He has ex- 
erted his influence for the interests of his 
townshiiD, and has served in various local 
offices of trust, in every instance perform- 
ir.g his duties with fidelity and gaining the 
confidence of his fellows. He has been 
township clerk and justice of the peace, and 
is well known in his comniunit}^ In po- 
litical faith he is a Republican. 

Mr. Ely was appointed postmaster of 
Spring Creek in 1897. He still holds that 
position, while his wife is assistant post- 
master. 



RILEY SPRAGUE RICHMOND. 

Riley Sprague Richmond, an influential 
citizen and prominent business man of Ran- 
dolph, Columbia county, has spent over a 
half century of his life in the county of his 
adoption. He was born in the town of Og- 
den, Monroe county, New York, Septem- 



COMPEXD/CM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



343 



ber 6, 1826, and was a son of Joshua and 
Al)igail (Sprague) Richmond. 

The father of our subject was a native 
of \\'(iodstock. Connecticut, and lie repre- 
sented the sixth generation of his family in 
that state. His first ancestor on this ci.>n- 
tinent was John Richmond, one of the found ■ 
ers of Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1637. He 
came from Ashton Keynes, \\'iltshire, Eng- 
land. The Richmond family originated in 
Brittan}", France, and is still found in that 
country. \Villiam Makepeace Thackeray 
descended from the Richmonds of \\'iltshire, 
whose posterity includes many eminent men 
in England and Ariierica. A number of the 
descendants of John Richmond were in the 
Colonial and Revolutionary wars. The 
grandfather of our subject, Edward Rich- 
mond, was a pioneer in Dartmouth, Massa- 
chusetts, and later in Woodstock, Connecti- 
cut, and Stafford, \'ermont. He sold his 
farm and was paid in Continental money, 
which depreciated in \-alue and caused him 
great loss. He died in 1804. Our sub- 
ject's father went to ^Monroe county, New 
York, at the age of fourteen years, and at 
that time there was not a frame house in 
Rochester; all were of logs. He spent his 
life on a farm there, and died in 1868 at the 
age of seventy-five years. He served in the 
war of 1812, and was in the battle of Buf- 
falo and the battle of Erie, and filled most 
of the local offices in his community. He 
was a successful farmerj_ and was able to 
give each of his children a tract of land. 

The mother (.)f our suliject died while 
he was l.)ut an infant. Her father, Ichabod 
Sprague, came to New York from New 
England, and was of English and Irish de- 
scent. He died at Churchville, Monroe 
county. New York, where he owned a farm 
cf seven hundred acres. Joshua Richmond 
was married three times. The mother of 
our sulijcct was the first wife, ami to this 
union five children were born, of whom our 



subject was the youngest child and only son. 
The second wife bore the maiden name of 
Nancy ;\.. Crissy, and ten chiklren were 
born to the second union. The third wife 
was uan:ed Nancy True prior to her mar- 
riage. 

Riley Sprague Richmond is the only sur- 
vivor of his mother's family of children. He 
left home in 1847, '^"^1 came to Wisconsin, 
and took government land in Randolph 
township, Columbia county, where he con- 
tinued his residence twenty-five years, and 
a; the end of that time owned 1 >nc hundred 
and eighty-five acres of land, although he 
had disposed of some. He brought it to 
a high state of cultivation and erected good 
buildings. Since the fall of 1872 he has 
li\-ed in the x'illase of Ixandolph, where he 
resides in practical retirement. He pur- 
chased two other farms, and later sold all 
his lands. He .was one of the incorporators 
of the Randolph Canning Company in 1895, 
and has since iseen president of the company, 
and the enterjirise has proven remarkably 
successful. 

Our subject was married June 15, 1854, 
to Lucy Jane 01i\er, a daughter of Zenith 
and Polly 01i\-er. Mrs. Richmond was 
born in New York, and died August, 1856, 
leaving one child: Eva I., now Mrs. John 
S. Lightner, of Randolph. Our subject 
was married to Jane Hughes, February 4, 
1857. Mrs. Richmond was a daughter of 
Gliomas and Margaret ( Jones ) Hughes. 
Her parents were from Caernarvonshire, 
Wales, and came to America in 1846. and 
settled in I\.andolpIi to\\nship. Columbia 
county, where Mr. Hughes died June 30, 
1879, aged sixty-five years. Mrs. Hughes 
died in December, 1896, aged nearly eighty- 
one years. Mrs. Richmond was born in 
Wales. Mr. and ]Mrs. Richmond are the 
parents of two children: Cora B., now 
Mrs. Dr. Harvey X. Jackson, of Milwaukee; 
and Ozro, who ilied in infancy. ^Ir. and 



344 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mrs. Richmond have one grandson, named 
Riley Richmond Jackson. The Richmond 
family have been Universalists in religious 
belief for some generations, and our sub- 
ject inclines toward that denomination. He 
is a member of the A. F. & A. M. In early 
life he was a Democrat in political faith, 
but of recent years he is independent in poli- 
tics. He has held various township offices, 
and is always interested in educational af- 
fairs and public enterprises. During the 
Civil Avar he took a leading part in filling the 
quota of troops from Randolph township, 
and but one draft was levied in the town- 
ship. He was a liberal subscriber to the 
bounty fund, and went to Milwaukee to pay 
the bounty to enlisted troops from Randolph 
township. 



WILLIAM A. HAYES. 

William A. Hayes, a prominent railroad 
conductor of Baraboo, who has won suc- 
cess by his own perseverance and industry, 
was born in Mountain Ash, South Wales, 
December 25, 1863. His father, William 
Hayes, was a nati\-e of County Kerry, Ire- 
land, and a son of Captain William Hayes, 
who was commander of a vessel sailing from 
Cork and was lost at sea. While a young 
man the former went to Wales, where he 
married Miss Ellen Condon, a native of 
Mountain Ash, and a daughter of John 
Condon, a coal miner of that place. In 
that country the father of our subject en- 
gaged in coal mining until the early part of 
1865, when he came to the United States 
and first located in Lancaster, Pennsylva- 
nia, where he was employed in oil works for 
a time. About 1S70 he removed to Mazo- 
manie, \\'isconsin, and entered the employ 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee '& St. Paul Rail- 
road Company on a construction train. In 



1873 h^ went to W^auzeka, where he was 
section foreman until 1897, since which 
time he has been a switch tender at Madison, 
01; the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. 
His wife died April 9, 1894, at the age of 
fifty-three years. 

Our subject was only a small boy when 
the family came to Wisconsin, and he ob- 
tained a limited education in the public 
schools of Mazomanie and Wauzeka, which 
he attended only about eighteen months in 
all. At the age of nine years he began sup- 
porting himself by farm labor, and when 
twelve entered a stave factory at Wauzeka, 
Vv-here he was employed for three years. He 
next worked as baggageman at Woodman, 
Wisconsin, where he spent three years and 
a half, and during his leisure moments 
learned telegraphy. In the fall of 1884 be 
secured an appointment as brakeman on the 
Madison division of the Chicago & North- 
v/estern Railroad, and three years later was 
made conductor on the same division. For 
several years past he has had charge of a 
work train, covering all the tracks between 
Harvard and Winona, Milwaukee and Ga- 
lena. 

jNIr. Hayes was married, December 25, 
1890, to Miss Clara A. Michaelis, a native 
of Shullsburg, Wisconsin, and a daughter 
of August and Juliet (Meyer) Michaelis, of 
Lancaster, Wisconsin. To them have been 
born three children : Helen, Merl and 
Willie. 

Since 1891 Mr. Hayes has been an acti\-e 
and prominent member of Baraboo Divis- 
ion, No. 68, O. R. C, of which be is now 
chief conductor, and in 1897 he was a dele- 
gate to the biennial session of the Grand 
Division of the order, at Los Angeles, Cali- 
fornia. Pie is also a member of Sinnissippi 
Council, No. 1158, R. A., of Belvidere, Illi- 
nois, and is a stanch supporter of the Demo- 
cratic party, though not an aggressive par- 
tisan. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



345 



HON. JOHN A. HENRY. 

Hon. John A. Henry, one of the lead- 
ing business men of Easton, Adams county, 
and the present representative from that dis- 
trict in the general assembly of the state, 
has been a resident of that region many 
years, and is well known as a gentleman 
whose business qualifications and integrity 
entitle him to prominence in the commercial 
world. He is proprietor of a general mer- 
chandise store in that town, and has been 
identified with her business interests for the 
past twenty years, and is also possessor of 
large landed interests in Adams county. 

Mr. Henry was born in Oswego coun- 
ty. New York, October 14, 1845, and was 
the son of Andrew and Ann (Wickware) 
tienry. The Wickware family were early 
settlers of Oswego county, and well known 
in that vicinity. The father of our suljject 
was left motherless at the age of six years. 
He was a cooper by trade, and moved his 
family from Oswego county to Racine coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, in 1850, where be stayed 
about one year, and then moved to Water- 
ford, and worked at his trade for a few 
years. He went to California overland, 
with his twelve-year-old son, Antle, about 
1854, and engaged in mining with fair suc- 
cess, and remained about four years, return- 
ing to Water ford in 1858. He moved to 
Easton, Adams county, in 1863 where he 
purshased land and resided until his death, 
February 10, 1874, aged fifty-five years. The 
mother died May 24, 1894, aged seventy- 
four years, and both parents were laid to rest 
al White Creek. Of their five children our 
subject was the second in order of l)irth. 

John Henry was given a good educa- 
tion, attending school until his sixteenth 
year, when he enlisted for his country's 
cause, but was rejected on account of his 
parents not giving consent. He afterward 
enlisted in the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalrv, 



and served until the close of the war, receiv- 
ing his discharge at Madison, in June, 1865. 
His regiment had the honor of being- the 
longest in the service of any volunteer regi- 
ment. He was engaged in hard work, 
chasing bushwhackers, and was disabled at 
Pascagoula Bay, Mississippi, by a broken 
leg, caused by a horse kicking him. He 
was confined to the hospital at New Orleans, 
and was afterward removed to New York, 
and thence to Madison, \\'isconsin. He has 
in his possession a nunilier of interesting 
relics of those troublous times, among them 
a wooden sword, which was presented to 
him as captain of the \\'aterfijrd Home 
Guards, a company formed for the purpose 
of drill work. He has two sabres, which 
at one time belonged to the Confederate 
ami)-, and are marked C. S. A. In assist- 
ing to organize Company C, First Wiscon- 
sin Infantry, under Captain Hill, our sub- 
ject was drummer, and is in possession of 
a pair of remarkably fine drum sticks, which 
were used at that time. His stock of gen- 
eral merchandise at Easton is complete in 
every particular/and he enjoys a liberal pat- 
ronage. He owns the old homestead on 
sections 30 and 31, comprising one hundred 
and twenty acres, and also eighty acres of 
land on section 4, in Springville township. 
Mr. Henry was married December 6, 
1868, to Alice Augusta Stowell, daughter of 
Lullerand Polly (Spoor) Stowell, of Spring- 
ville, Adams county. Six children have been 
born to "Mr. and Mrs. Henry, as follows: 
Edith, born July 26, 1869, now Mrs. F. 
Jones, of North Freedom, Sauk county; 
Etta, born December 18, 1871, now Mrs. 
R. Walton, of Easton; Alice, born May 25, 
1877, now Mrs. A. Austin, of Jackson; 
Belle, born September i, 1882, residing at 
home; Ruth, born March 9, 1884; and Vera, 
born October 24, 1887. The three last 
named reside at home, with their parents. 
Mr. Flenrv is a member of the Masonic fra- 



34G 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



ternit\- at Kilbuurn, and the Ennis Reecl 
Post, Xo. 159, G. A. R., of White Creek. 
Ill the latter he has served as first and sec- 
ond commander^ and is at present officer of 
the day. He has been postmaster of Easton 
for the past twenty years, and is justice of 
the peace. He has served as supervisor in 
^\'hite Creek township, but has not aspired 
to county offices. He takes an active in- 
terest in tiie welfare of his community, and 
stands firmly for right and equity. In po- 
litical faith he is a Republican, and vras 
nominated by his party for the assembly in 
1900, and elected. 



ED\\".\RD EATON. 

Wisconsin keeps pace with her sister 
states in the number of her industries, and 
chief among them stands the farming inter- 
ests. Delton township, Sauk county, has 
been largely instrurtiental in giving the state 
its present standing. The fine estates, and 
pleasant natural surroundings of the farms 
of that vicinity bring it into general notice, 
and one of the finest on the banks of the 
Wisconsin is that owned by the subject of 
this review. He has a river frontage oi 
o\'er one mile and the outlook is most beauti- 
ful. Fishing and boating are features of 
the vicinit}-. His farm comprises three 
hundred and thirty acres. A competency 
earned by his own labors sweetens his later 
years and life holds many enjoyments for 
him as a reward for his early efforts. 
Portraits of Mr. Eaton and his honored wile 
are shown elsewhere in this volume. 

I\Ir. Eaton was born in Benenden, Kent, 
England, December 2, 1835, and was the 
son of Edward and Mary (Shoebridge) 
Eaton. His father was a iiati\'e of Benen- 
den, England, and was a farmer by occupa- 
tion. He came to America in 1841, and 



purchased a farm in Madison county. New 
\ork, where he was successful in the grow- 
ing of hops. He remained there thirteen 
years, and gathered together a comfortable 
competence. He disposed of his property in 
1855 and removed to Newport, Sauk county, 
Wisconsin, arriving January 23, 1856. He 
purchased lots in the town of Newport, and 
established a meat market in that town, in 
which business he was engaged at the time 
of his death. He was drowned in the Wis- 
consin river in June, 1856, and was buried 
at Delton, and his wife was laid to rest be- 
side him in 1869. 

Edward Eaton was the only ciiild born 
to Edward and ]\Iary Eaton, and came to 
America in company with his parents. As 
a youth he worked on the farm with his 
father, and after their arri\-al at Newport 
engageil for a time in the mercantile busi- 
ness, and later turned his attention to farm- 
ing. He has gained his property by faitii- 
ful efforts, and has become one of the sub- 
stantial men of Delton township. His 
property is daily becoming more \'aluable, 
owing to its location, and is an ideal spot 
for summer cottages. ]Many notable places are 
in the \'icinity of his farm, including Lone 
Rock Inkstand, Sugar Bi^iwl, and the Cave 
of the Dark Waters, all of which are in the 
lower dells of the Wisconsin, and the fishing 
on the ri\-er at that point is excellent. Mr. 
Eaton set out a hop yard in 1861, and con- 
tinued raising hops until 1884. The rais- 
ing of that product of the farm is too well 
known in this community to need comment 
here, but the Eaton famih- were probably 
the liest known and most successful hop 
growers in the countr\", lieing natives of 
the hop garden of the world, Kent, 
England, from whence they brought 
many practical and valuable ideas in regard 
to their culture. In August, 1884, F. S. W. 
Mann, now Lord Cornwallis, of Linton Park, 
Maidstone, England, paid a visit to the farm 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



349 



of ^Ir. Eaton, being at that time interested 
in hop growing" in England, and was one of 
the largest land owners in the liop district 
of Kent. Our subject sold hops as high 
as fifty-eight cents per pound, but the price 
finalh' dropped to one and a fourth cents 
per pound and proved an unremunerative 
crop, and since then Mr. Eaton has engaged 
in general farming. 

Our subject was married January 15, 
1857, to Celinda Mianda Chaffee, daughter 
of Captain Enoch and Rhoda M. (Strana- 
han) Chaffee, of Otsego county, New York. 
Mrs. Eaton's father came west in 1865, lo- 
cating at Newport, Wisconsin. He was a 
captain in the New York militia. His 
death occurred in ]March, 1887, and he was 
buried in Baraboo, in Mr. Eaton's family lot. 
Mrs. Eaton's mother returned east in 1880, 
and made her home with her eldest daugh- 
ter in Peterboro, Madison county. New 
York, until her death in 1881. Air. and Mrs. 
Eaton are the parents of two children : 
Minnie Mianda, born February 14, 1866, 
now the wife of Rew T. E. Foss, of Han- 
cock, Wisconsin, and Edward Emmon, born 
June 15, 1870, an agriculturist of Delton 
township. Mr. Eaton is a consistent mem- 
ber of the ^Methodist Episcopal church of 
Delton, antl is trustee, district steward, and 
treasurer of the same. He has never sought 
public office, preferring to serve his town- 
ship otherwise. He is a most prominerit 
member of his community, and in political 
faith he is a Republican. 



CAPT. OSCAR MIN BERING. 

Captain Oscar Mix Dering, a well- 
known citizen of Columbus, Columbia coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, is serving as justice of the 
peace, a position which he has filled for a 
number of 3-ears with credit to himself and 



to the satisfaction of his constituents. He 
is thoroughly impartial in meting out jus- 
tice, his opinions lieing unl)iased by either 
fear or favor, and his fidelity to the trust 
reposed in him is above question. 

The Captain is a native of Pennsylva- 
nia, born in Sunbury, Northumberland coun- 
ty, December 12, 1827, and is a son of 
Charles and Maria M. (Giberson) Dering. 
His ancestors came to this country from 
Germany in early colijnial days and settled 
in the Keystone state. One of his ancestors 
was a Revolutionary patriot, who cast the 
first cannon made in America. On this ac- 
count a reward was offered for his head by 
the British government. He died at Fred- 
ericktown, Maryland. The Captain's fa- 
ther, who was a cabinet maker in Pennsyl- 
vania, and accjuired considerable prominence 
as a skilled mechanic, came to \Visconsin in 
1849, and located at New Diggings, La Fay- 
ette county. He died, however, at Oyster 
Creek, Texas, November 25, 1875, at the 
age of seventy-three years. His wife passed 
away at New Diggings, W^isconsin, in 1859, 
at the age of fifty-four years. Her mater- 
nal grandfather Lewis was killed by the In- 
dians in Pennsylvania many years ago. 

At the "age of seventeen years Captain 
Dering left home and went to Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of 
an iron molder. In 1849 he came with his 
father to this state and worked at his trade 
in Milwaukee, Waukesha and elsewhere. He 
also did some prospecting for lead at New 
Diggings, and was there appointetl untler 
sheriff" and later was elected sheriff' of La 
Fayette county in 1856, though a Repub- 
lican and there being at that time a Demo- 
cratic majority of five hundred in the county. 
His election plainly indicated his personal 
popularity and the confidence and trust re- 
posed in him h\ his fellow citizens. In 
June, 1 86 1, he was appointed tleputy Lnited 
States provost marshal at Prairie du Chien 



Sw.» 



COMFEyDiUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



and did cv>n!uderaWe \\-\>rk in connection 
with the ennvlhtvfnt of tnx»i^ for the Civil 
war. In Febniary. 1865. he hegtm recniit- 
ing a cv"«npany on his owi\ acvotmt, and in 
March was cvMnmissioue<l captain of Com- 
pany C, Fiftieth \Viscv>nsiu \'ohmteer In- 
fantry, which was lirst orvlcrevl to Beutoiu 
Rtrracks, St. Louis, and later did g-arrison 
duty at difterent points in Missouri, tintil 
August, 1S05. when they were sent up the 
Missv^uri river K"» Fort Randall. Nebraska. 
Later tlvey were st;«ionevl at Fort Rice, IXv 
kota, for a tinve. and w-ere tinally musterxxl 
o«t at Madison, Wisconsin, June 13, 1866. 

After beiiig^ hc«iorably discharged. Cap- 
tain Dering located at Columbus, where he 
eiigaged in business as a gniin dealer for 
some time. Sulxsequently he served as city 
nursluil ;-.uJ. oepv.tv United States marslial, 
auo. for .1 ::;-.:".lvr of \-e;u^ past lias tiUevl 
tjie omcx^ ot T ".St toe of the i>eace in a most 
crcvMtaMc avsa s;-i:isfactv^r\- manner. 

In 1851 Captain Dering was uniievl in 
nsarriage with Miss Harriet A. Logan, at 
Milwaukee. She was bom in Tuscarawas 
comity, Ohio, and died at Columbus, Wis- 
consin. May ^ 1868, lea\-ing two daugh- 
" ' "w a resident ot Milwaukee. 

. t M:v-t CampMl. of the same 
c.'.} . . l.c ^ .iptain was agtiin manrievl Sep- 
temWr ^. 1870, his second union being 
w::',-. >'.;ss S;.r.->, T. Vance, wIk^ was K^ni 
liC.ir L.ike C". ...•.■.-.■. ".vin. Xew York, a daugh- 
ter of John \aucc. One son was K">m of 
this marriage — Guy V.. a cvxil dealer 01 Co- 
lumbus, who was educated at the Delafield 
Military Academy, at Deb.tield. Wiscon- 
sir., ar.v'. was conmvander there se\-eral \-ears 
a::- T'>.e family are connected with 

th^ .hurch. and the Captain is a 

ch < A. Haskell Fv^st. 

n; Post. X- ra*^. G 

A- R.. - : -. xn his • 

tons he ~ bee:i a ; : 



LEMUEL HASTIXC. DOYLE. 

Lemuel Hasting r>oyle. the founder of 
Doylestown, Columbia county, was bom 
November 26, 1832, at Mt. Washington, 
tvnxni of Bath, Xew Yoiic, is one of the most 
intelligent citizens of the towni of Spring- 
vale, Columbia county, and is alike knowni 
for his industry, thrift and upright char- 
acter. He is a son of Joseph and Hannah 
l^Seagier) IXnle. They were natives of 
Xew York, and the father was bom in tlie 
village of Bath. Steuben county, June 4, 
1805, and the motlier at Dryden, May 7, 
1807. The Doyles, though bearing an Irisli 
name, are undoubtevlly of Dutch extraction. 
In X636 one of the ancestors, a great-great- 
grandfather, was with Rog-er Williams in 
the settlement of Providence, Rhode Island. 
Samuel Doyle, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, left Prvmdence in 1757. and went to 
Bucks county. Pennsyl\-ania. with his par- 
ents, who there founded the city of Doyles- 
towni. Later on he enlistevl in the Penn- 
sylvania Rang-ers. and served throughout 
the Revolutionarj- war. He was present in 
the camp at A'alley Forge during that mem- 
orable winter, and snfferevl all the harvi- 
shijvs of Washington's men. and hali his re- 
ward in witsiessing tlie surrender of Lord 
Comw:illis, This veteran's father was 
kiilevi by the Indians in the early da>-s of the 
history- of Doylestown. Brigadier General 
William Doyle, who fought under General 
Harrison during tlie frontier wars with the 
Indians, and in the war with Great Britain, 
181.2-1815, was a gre- ■• - - the subject 
of our sketch. Oi: "ather. who 

came to Wisconsin in . >. , was for many 
years the nn^nrietor of the Doyle House at 
•■.d rising village 
. s wife was of 
>.ieniuin liescejit. ijer pe«.»ple ha\nng come 
iTom tlie regions of the historic Rhine. 
Her ffrandfather was at one time an officer 



'jilfEU'DJ'." '.■ 



tutera' aaa Aoe rail tuvtr tLt^ 



A settkd mar tise present rillag^e «>J Mr, maxtitA at Ajfcj^ost, 

,, ;.,'yirn- In 1859 he went tc* Water- Steslxer. -^^ ■ .■^■^■^ t^ 

/:, 'i/vA, vehere he Temahttd until J^5, i^f^? t^- --* 






Two €bsidf&i 

■-- ?v5ir8r«S$ 
-S L«ss- 



jieacsu 



OHX COPl.E'j 



■852 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



for many years a successful farmer of 
Washington to\\iislii|), wherein lie still owns 
one hundred and twenty acres of well im- 
proved land. 

I\Ir. Copley was born near Brandon, Ad- 
dison county, Vermont, April lo, 18J5, and 
was the son of Harvey and Ruth (Emerson) 
Copley. His grandfather, William Copley, 
was of English lineage, and married a 
daughter of Samuel Hand, a wealthy fisher- 
man of Massachusetts, and removed to 
Lewis county. New York, wdrere he was ac- 
cidentally killed by a branch of a tree fall- 
ing- upon him in the road. He was the fa- 
ther of fi\-e Sons and three daughters, as 
follows: Idenry, Samuel, ^\'i]liam, Alexan- 
der, Gustavus, Polly, Charlotte and Lois. 
The father of our subject was born in New- 
York, and while a young man went to Ver- 
mont, wdiere he died at the age of fifty-nine 
years. He was a prosperous farmer and 
exemplary citizen. The mother of our sub- 
ject was born in Rochester, Vermont, and 
was a daughter of John Emerson, wdio was 
of Scotch lineage, and was supposed to have 
been born in Connecticut. Mrs. Copley 
reached the age of ninety-three years, and 
died near Grand Forks, North Dakota. This 
worthy couple were the parents of seven 
children, w'ho reached the age of maturity, 
as follows : Hannah, now Mrs. E. S. 
Drake, of Richland Center, Wisconsin; 
John, our subject; George, who was mur- 
dered by a rujiber wlK)m he w-as trying to 
capture in Idaho, about 1865; Adaline, now 
Mrs. Samuel E. Drake, of Richland Center, 
Wisconsin; Lois, now Mrs. \\'illiam Shel- 
den, of Richland Center; Mary, now Mrs. 
Rufus Smith, of Pittsfield, Vermont- and 
Electa, now Mrs. William Capps, residing 
near Grand Forks, North Dakota. 

John Copley began to earn his own live- 
lihood when he attained his majority, and 
spent eight months in a carpet factory at 
Lowell, Massachusetts, after which he en- 



gaged in farming in \^ermont. He came 
to Sauk county, AA'isconsin, in the spring of 
1872, and settled in \\'ashington township, 
where he has since resided. He owns and 
formerly operated one hundred and twenty 
acres of land, most of which is tillable. Since 
March, 1899, he has lived in retirement on 
his son's farm, near the old homestead 
and in the same township. The estate is 
v,-ell improved, and he made a success of his 
vocation, and is enjo}-ing a well deserved 
rest. 

Mr. Copley was married in 1852 to 
Lura A. Carlisle, daughter of William and 
Saphronia Carlisle, of Goshen, Vermont. 
Mrs. Copley died in 1857, leaving three chil- 
dren, all of w-hom died of diphtheria within 
one week, in 1861. Mr. Copley married 
Sarah Jane Parker, of Rochester, Vermont, 
in 1862. Mrs. Copley was born in Roches- 
ter, Vermont, and was a daughter of Ste- 
phen and Betsy (Collier) Parker. Her 
father was a native of New Hampshire, and 
spent most of his life on a farm in Vermont, 
and was a son of Stephen Parker, who 
served in the Continental army. Mrs. Cop- 
ley's mother was born in Middlebury, Ver- 
mont, and w^as a daughter of Asa and Aba- 
gail (Adams) Collier, wdro were natives of 
Connecticut. Mrs. Copley has one brother, 
George Parker, now residing at Hubbleton, 
Vermont. One son and one daughter h? ve 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Copley, as fol- 
lows : George ^^'illiam, a well-known 
farmer of Washington township, and Jane 
Lura, who married George Selden, of West 
Superior, ^Visconsin. She was lx)rn De- 
cember 5, 1865, and died April 30, 1900, 
leaving six children, three boys and three 
girls. Mr. Copley has been a prominent 
citizen wdierever he has chosen to make his 
home, and while a resident of Vermont 
served as supervisor and assessor of Goshen 
township, and has filled the same offices in 
Washington ti:)wnsliip, Sauk countv, since 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



353-. 



locating in \\'iscnnsin. He is active in his 
work for the \\clfare nf his coniniunity, and 
is a respected and iionored citizen. Fiir 
some time he supported the Greenhack party, 
but for many years past has identified him- 
self with the Republican party and its prin- 
ciples. 



XORMAX JOXES. 

Continued prominence in any sphere of 
life is evidence of a superidritv of mind and 
integrity of purpose, force of character and 
courage, that fit men to be leaders and 
teachers of their fellow men. ^\'itl^out ex- 
aggeration these characteristics may well be 
applied to him whose name introduces this 
review, and who is well known throughout 
Adams county for his integrity, high sense 
of justice, his industry and business acu- 
men. His home in Jackson township shows 
all the evidences of his careful pro\ision and 
superintendence, and is supplied with those 
improvements and conveniences which go 
to make modern farm life desirable. 

Norman Jones was born in Rocking- 
ham, Windham county, A'ermont, July 31, 
1840. His parents were Asa Kingsley 
Jones and Mercy (StreeterJ Jones. The 
father was a native of Rehoboth, JMassa- 
chusetts. His grandfather, the great- 
grandfather of our subject, is supposed to 
have established the. family in America, he 
being a Welsh sea captain, and settled in 
Rhode Island at an early day in its history. 
Asa K. Jones' father, Income Jones, re- 
moved to Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1799, 
where he carried on farming and black- 
smithing, and where he died when over 
eigh'ty years of age. His family record, 
which is still carefully preserved, gives the 
date of his birth as June 16, 1757. Income 
Jones married Mary Kingsley, a daughter 
of Benjamin and Sarah Kingsley. The 



former died April 19, 1769, in the sixty- 
sixth year of his age. Five sons and two 
daughters were born to Income and ]Mary 
Jones, of whom Asa Kingsley Jones, our 
subject's father, was the sixth child and 
fourth son. Asa was four years okl when 
the family moved to Vermont, and grew 
to manhood, and in 1819 located at Rock- 
ingham in that state.. Thence in 1S31 he 
came to Adams county, \\'isconsin, and set- 
tled in that locality, which has ever since 
Ijeen known as "Jonesville." He died there 
l)eceml)er 9, 1858, aged sixty-three \ears. 
He was a most exemplary citizen, and to 
liis activity and influence many of the fac- 
tors of civilization in Adams county's early 
history owe their existence. He helped to 
organize a Congregational church near Ox- 
ford, soon after his arrix-al in the count}', 
and its first meetings were held at his home. 
He was never an active politician, though 
he served as chairman of the board of Jack- 
son township. He was an Abolitionist in 
sentiment, and predicted the Civil war as an. 
irievitable result of the conditions existing 
in this nation, but did not li\e to see the 
realization of his prophecy and of his faith 
in the eventual emancipation of the slaves. 
His wife, Mrs. Mercy Jones, was born in 
February, j8oo, in Westmoreland. Xew 
Flampshire, and died Alarch 31, 1888. Her 
father, Jeremiah Streeter, died in X'ew 
\'ork, and her mother. C}"nthia (Snow) 
Streeter, died, in Brattleboro, Vermont, at 
the age of ninet}'-t\vo years. To ]Mr. and 
Mrs. Asa Kingsley Jones were born fi\e 
sons and fi\"e daughters. One son and one 
daughter died in infancy. Tiie names of 
the other children are as follows: C_\-nthia, 
afterward Mrs. L. B. Osgood, deceased. 
Her home was in Garden City, ^Minnesota. 
Chester, of Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Clement, 
a farmer of Springville township. Love, 
now Mrs. A. AI. Kendall, Garden City, 
Minnesota. Marv, now Mrs. Henr\- |. 



854 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Hubbard. Fanny, now Mrs. J. R. Vro- 
man. Nelson, and Norman, the subject of 
this review. The four last named are all 
residents of Adams county. 

Norman Jones lived with his parents 
until after his father's death, the mother 
continuing to live with our subject for ten 
years. She then resided with her son. Nel- 
son, and afterwards made her home with 
her daughter, Mrs. Hubbard, in whose home 
she died. At the age of eighteen years he 
took charge of the homestead farm, which 
consisted of three hundred and fifty acres, 
in company with his brother, Nelson. He 
now owns one hundred and eighty acres of 
the original home farm, and in all owns a 
total of three hundred and forty acres of 
land, one hundred and twenty-five acres of 
which is in a state of cultivation, and the 
balance is timber and pasture. In 1894 he 
erected one of the largest and most com- 
modious residences in Adams county, and 
liis farm is fitted with a fine set of buildings, 
including barns and sheds for his stock and 
for the preservation of his crops. He car- 
ries on grain and stock raising, and has 
made a marked success of both. 

Norman Jones was married May 12, 
1859, to Matilda Elizabeth Rogers, daugh- 
ter of LaFayette and Hannah Maria 
(Frank) Rogers. Mrs. Jones was born in 
Kirtland, Ohio. Her father was a native 
of Vermont, and when a young man re- 
moved to Lake county, Ohio, and after- 
wards came to Wisconsin, and was em- 
ployed for a time in the mills at Oxford. 
A few years later he located on a farm near 
Waterloo, Wisconsin. His death occurred 
at Portland, Wisconsin, December 28, 1881, 
when he was sixty-two years of age. Mrs. 
Jones' mother was i. native of Chautauqua 
county. New York. She died at the resi- 
dence of her daughter, Mrs. Norman Jones, 
in Adams county, Wisconsin, January 27, 
1899, in the eighty-first year of her age. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Norman Jones the fol- 
lowing children have been born : Ella Ma- 
tilda, deceased, was born July i, 1861. She 
became the wife of Dr. Adelbert Edwards, 
and her death occurred at Kingston, Wis- 
consin, March 17, 1886. Asa Norman, a 
physician of Hillsboro, Wisconsin, who 
married Margaret J\I. Worden. William 
LaFayette married Frances L. Phillips and 
resides on the home farm. Franklin Jo- 
seph, a physician of North Freedom, Wis- 
consin, married Edith Henry; and Nellie 
Love, now the wife of Dr. Adelbert Ed- 
wards, a prominent physician of Reedsburg, 
Wisconsin, mention of whom will be found 
elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jones and family are connected with the 
Jonesville Congregational church, which the 
members of this influential family helped to 
organize, and of which Mr. Jones is a dea- 
con. Li politics he has generally supported 
the men and measures of the Republican 
party, and he is a Prohibitionist in senti- 
ment. He has served several terms as town 
treasurer, and his son, William L., now 
holds that office. 



WILLL\M ADELBERT PEASE, M. D. 

In the medical profession there is no 
more able representative in Columbia county 
than the gentleman above named, who has 
built up an extensive practice in the town 
of Otsego and surrounding country. He 
has resided there since his early boyhood, 
and has ever been found a conscientious and 
honorable gentleman, working zealously for 
the better interests of his community. 

Our subject was born in the town of 
Wilson, Niagara county. New York, May 
28, 1846, and is a son of William C. and 
Caroline R. (McNitt) Pease, who were 
among the pioneer settlers of Columbia 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



355 



county. The father was boni in Massachu- 
setts, and went to New York in early Hfe. 
He came to Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
in 184S, and entered claim to government 
land in the town of Columbus. He spent 
the latter years of his life in the village of 
Otsego and died there about 1894, at the 
age of eighty-three years. He was one of 
the chief contributors toward the building 
of the Gravel Methodist church in the town 
of Otsego, and was always a consistent and 
influential member. The grandfather of 
our subject. Captain John Brazilla Pease, 
was of French descent. He was a sea cap- 
tain, sailing from New York, and made 
several whaling voyages. Our subject's 
mother was born in Niagara county, New- 
York, and died about two years after her 
husband's death, aged eighty-five years. 
She was a daughter of John ]\IcNitt, a 
captain in the United States army in the 
war of 1 81 2, who participated in the cam- 
paign about Fort Niagara. He was of 
Scotch lineage. 

Dr. Pease came to Columbia county 
when a boy and after completing the course 
in the public schools continued on the farm 
until about 1876, when he began the study 
of medicine with Dr. Robert W. Earll, of 
Columbus. He attended Rush Medical 
College in 1880, and two years later began 
the practice of his profession in the village 
of Otsego. He has since conducted his 
practice there and has met with noteworthy 
success. 

Our subject was married in 1867 to 
Alice Plaight, daughter of Jonathan and 
Phoebe Jane (Pulver) Haight. Her father 
came to Hampden township from Niagara 
county. New York, in 1846, and spent the 
remainder of his life here. He died at 
the age of seventy-two years, and his wife 
died here many years ago. The following 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pease : 
Dora, now Mrs. Gabriel Loven, of Rio; 



Mabel, residing at home;MyrtIe, a student at 
Trinity Hospital Training School for Nurses 
in Milwaukee; Willard, a student in the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in Mil- 
v/aukee. Each of the children have fol- 
lowed teaching. Mr. and Mrs. Pease have 
one grandson, named Leo Loven. Our 
subject is a member of Rio Lodge, A. F. 
& A. M., and also the Chapter at Columbus, 
and also the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica at Fall River. He has been health offi- 
cer for the township, for some years past, 
and is widely known for his skillful and 
thorough practice of his profession. Po- 
litically he is a Republican and is firm in his 
convictions, and has been frequently chosen 
as delegate to conventions of his party, but 
has never sought or accepted public office. 



SANFORD ANDREW COLLINS. 

Sanford Andrew Collins, one of the 
active and energetic young business men of 
the city of Reedsburg, was born at Alex- 
andria Bay, New York, March 18, i860. 
While still a lad of only seven years his 
parents brought him to Wisconsin and lo- 
cated on a farm in Sauk county. Their 
names were Sanford and Caroline M. (Sim- 
mons) Collins, and had been reared to an 
agricultural life, which they easily followed 
m their new home. They settled on a farm 
near Ironton, where the husband and father 
died November 24, 1874, at the untimely age 
of thirty-four. He was also born at Alexan- 
dria Bay, New York, where he grew to man- 
hood. He was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church and a friend of education. Dur- 
ing the Civil war he organized three different 
companies of soldiers. But he was de- 
barred from active service on account of 
physical disabilities. He was a prominent 
Mason, and at one time was master of the 



S56 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



home lotlg-e. His father, Josepli Collins, 
v,as a native of Ireland, Init came to this 
country when a boy. He was a linen manu- 
facturer in Massachusetts, Init died a farmer 
in Xew York. ]\[rs. Caroline }^l. Collins 
is still living- in Alihvaukee at the age of 
fifty-eig-ht. Her birthulace was in Jefferson 
county. New York, and her parents, An- 
drew anrl Lucinda Simmons, were from 
Pennsyhania. They were of German ori- 
gin and her father was a maker of potash 
f(jr man}- years. ^Vmong her ancestors 
v/ere se\-eral who took part in the Revolu- 
tionary war. 

Sanford A. Collins lived on the farm un- 
til he had become quite a stout and sturdy 
young man of sixteen. At that time he 
left home and went to Minneajjolis to learn, 
the marble trade. He finished his ap- 
prenticeship at Baraboo, where he worked 
se\-eral years. He had charge of a store 
during these }-ears for a short time at Tracy, 
Minnesota, and had short engagements at 
other western points. Nothing pleased 
liim so well, however, as the marble busi- 
ness and ^^'isconsin for a h(ime. He bought 
a shop at Baraboo, with a branch at Reeds- 
burg, in 1879, and for five years operated 
the two plants. In 1S84 he sold out the 
yard and offices at Baraboo, and removed 
to Reedsburg to make it his home. Here 
lie has built up an extensive business, and 
he commands a \olunie of trade not sur- 
passed by any house in \\'isc(.)nsin, outside 
of Milwaukee. He ships monuments to 
many dift'erent states ; at the present moment 
his business is vcrv promising. 

I\rr. Collins and Miss Alice J. Tha)'er 
were united in marriage in March, 1881. 
She is a daughter of George W. and Mary 
E. (Burton) Thayer, of Baraboo, and is a 
lady of much character and many attractive 
qualities. Mr. Thayer was born in Deer- 
field, Massachusetts, and is a lineal descend- 
ant of Go\-ernor Bradley of colonial fame. 



Mrs. Collins has in her jjossession several 
interesting relics of the Mayflower. She 
is a lady of unusual literary gifts, and is 
a welcome poetical contributor to several 
oi the leading periodicals of the dav. She 
is a prominent figure in social gatherings, 
and frequently preserves their most enjov- 
able features in striking \-erse. She is the 
mother of two charming children. Theodore 
and Carrie, and presides o\er a pleasant 
and attracti\e home. 

Mr. Collins is a strong Repul)lican, fol- 
lowing the principles and examples of Ijoth 
liis father and grandfather. He takes an 
intelligent and lively interest in local aft'airs, 
and in the spring of 1S99 was elected 
alderman from the first ward of his city. 
The same year he was elected president of 
the Reedsburs: Fair. 



ROBERT AHTCHELL, M. D., Dece.vsed. 

Robert ]\IitchclI, 3il. D., deceased, was 
a skilled physician and surgeon of Portage, 
whose knowledge of the science of medicine 
was broad and comprehensive, and whose 
ability in applying its principles to the needs 
of suft'ering humanity gained for him an en- 
viable prestige in professional circles. For 
almost forty years he w^as one of the lead- 
ing medical practitioners of Portage and 
vicinity. 

The Doctor was born in ^loravia. Ca}-uga 
county. New "^'ork. June 22, 1826, a son of 
Robert and Mary (Freeman) Mitchell, na- 
tives of Dutchess county, New York. The 
first of the family to come to the new world 
was Robert Mitchell, a younger son of Sir 
Humphrey and Hester (Smith) Mitchell, 
of Old Windsor, Berkshire', England. In 
1686 he settled on Long Island, where his 
posterity was well known for several genera- 
tions. His grandson, Dr. Samuel Latham 




ROBERT MITCHELL, M. D. (Deceased.) 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



859 



Mitchell, an eminent physician and professor 
of medicine in Columbia College, New York, 
was educated at Edinburgh, Scotland, ami 
served as United States senator. Uriah 
Mitchell, one of the descendants of the 
American progenitor, was sheritT of Queens 
county, New York, in 1790. He was mar- 
ried May 16, 1770, to Freelove Smith, who 
■was probably his second wife, and to them 
were born seven children. Their grandson. 
Morris M. Mitchell, was a resident of Lodi. 
\M.sconsin, for a number of years, and died 
there in 1865, at the age of forty. 

Robert Mitchell, the youngest child ot 
Uriah and Freelove (Smith) Mitchell, and 
father of our subject, was born in 1784, 
and died September 26, 1868. When a 
young man he located on a farm in Cayuga 
county. New York, and about 1859 became a 
resident of Portage, Wisconsin, where lie 
spent the remainder of his life. His wife 
died here in December, 1861, at the age nf 
sixty-five years. In their family were foiu^ 
children, namely ; Edward, who came ti ) 
Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1S60, and 
located on a farm in the town of Marcellon 
until called from this life in 1864, at the 
age of forty-five years; Jane G., who mar- 
ried Reuben Stoyell and came to Portage, 
where theij deaths occurred in the early '60s ; 
Robert, our subject; and Frances, who first 
married John Wilson, and after his death 
wedded James P. Rogers. 

Dr. Mitchell, of this review, completed 
his literary education at Geneva (n(nv 
Hobart) College, Geneva, New York, where 
he was graduated in 1845, and then entered 
the medical department of the University 
of Buffalo, from which he received a dii)lonia 
in the .spring of 1850. After spending the 
following winter near Des Moines, Iowa, iie 
startetl to California by the overland route 
with ox teams and was four months in cross- 
ing the plains. He engaged in mining on 
the Yuba. and Feather rivers, and after three 



years spent in the Golden State returnetl 
east by way of the Isthmus of Panama. 

In 1857 Dr. Mitchell came to Portage 
and turned his attention to the practice of 
his chosen profession. In .\ugust, 1S61, 
he was appointed assistant surgeon of the 
Tenth Wisconsin \^olunteer Infantr}'. with 
which he spent two years in the field, and 
was then appointed surgeon of the Twenty- 
seventh Regiment, and in that capacity 
served until the close of the war. Witli 
the former regiment he was in Kentucky, 
Tennessee and northern Alabama, and with 
Hie latter spent seventeen months m Ar- 
kansas, and later was at Mobile, Alabama, and 
in Texas, most of his time being devoted to 
professional work, .\fter the war he re- 
sumed practice in F'ortage, but in 1S69 re- 
mo\ed ti) a farm in Marquette county, where 
in connection \\\i\\ agricultural pursuits iie 
engaged in practice to some extent until De- 
cember, 1893, when he returned to Portage. 
For a number of years he was a member of 
the board of examining surgeons, holding 
that position through several changes in 
the national administration. He represented 
Marquette county in the general assembly in 
1875; was identified with the Republican 
party since its organization ; and was a char- 
ter member of J. W. Kershaw Post, G. A. 
R., at Briggsville. His death occurred June 
21, I S99. 

On the 25th of April, 1867, Dr. Mitchell 
was united in marriage with Miss Abby O. 
Briggs, a native of Vermont, and a daugii- 
ter of A. E. Briggs, the founder of Briggs- 
ville, Wisconsin. The lady was a native of 
Addison county, Vermont, born in 1829. 
She was educated at Shoreham Academy 
and at Brandon Seminary, in the state of her 
birth, and was graduated from the latter in 
1849. In 1851 this accomplished and tal- 
ented lady came westward, and engaged in 
teaching in the rising village, now city, of 
Portage in 1853. This was what was then 



360 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



known as the Classical Institute. She, at 
a later date, taught' some eight years in the 
Portage High School, and was one of the 
most prominent of the early instructors of 
that part of the state. Dr. and Mrs. 
Mitchell were parents of one son, Robert 
Ellis Mitchell, who was born in Portage, 
March 24, 1869, and is now a prominent 
attorney of that place. In 1889 he was con- 
firmed in St. George's Episcopal church. 
New York city, where his great-grand- 
father was baptized October 5, 1745. He 
attended the public schools of Marcjuette 
county, Wisconsin, and in 1889 entered 
Packard's Business College, New York city, 
where he spent five months. After his re- 
turn to this state he entered the law office of 
J. H. Rogers, of Portage, in the fall of 1890, 
and later was a student for two years in the 
College of Law connected with the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin, from which he was 
graduated in 1893. Since the fall of that 
year he has successfully engaged in practice 
at Portage and enjoys a liberal patronage. 
The family hold membership in the Episco- 
pal church and socially occupy an enviable 
position in the best circles of Portage. 

A portrait of Dr. Mitchell, who was one 
of the pioneer physicians of Columbia 
county, will be found by his many friends 
and former patients on another page of this 
volume. 



JACOB RANSOM VROMAN. 

Jacob Ransom Vroman, for over sixty 
years a resident of Wisconsin, is thorough- 
ly familiar with the development of that 
region, and has assisted in raising the stand- 
ard of excellence in all public matters with- 
in the State, and as an agriculturist of enter- 
prise and experience has made of the wild 
lands of that vicinity a thriving, productive 
district. Pie is now owner of a fine estate 



in Jackson township, Adams county, and 
his farm bears evidence of careful manage- 
ment and watchfulness over the details 
of his work. 

Mr. Vroman was born in Sharon, Scho- 
harie county. New York, July 14, 1831, 
the son of Josiah and Elizabeth (Fritcher) 
Vroman, both natives of Sharon, New York. 
The grandfather of our subject, Josiah 
Vroman, Sr., was a man of great physical 
strength, and was six feet, six inches in 
height. He followed the occupation of a 
farmer, and his ancestors were from Hol- 
land, .and settled in America at an early 
day. Several members of the family were 
active in Revolutionary times, and served 
in the war, and are prominent in the annals 
of Schoharie county. The father of our 
subject came to Wisconsin about 1838, and 
settled in Darien, Walworth county, where 
he was a pioneer and remained ten years, 
engaged in farming. He came to Adams 
county in the spring of 1850, and took a 
s(juatter's claim in Jackson township, where 
he lived some years. His death occurred in 
Oxford, Wisconsin. He was a consistent 
member of the Congregational church, and 
vras prominent in public affairs, and served 
in numerous township offices. In early life 
he was a AVhig, but afterward a Republican. 
Our subject's maternal grandfather, David 
Pritcher, was one of two men who distin- 
guished themselves during the Re\-olution- 
ary war by going to the Indian camp near 
Sharon, New York, and decoying the sav- 
ages into an ambush of American soldiers. 
They were pursued 'by the Indians about 
two miles, and his companion was forced to 
crawl into a hollow log to escape death at 
their hands, but Mr. Fritcher continued the 
flight until they were trapped. Our subject's 
mother passed away two years after the 
death of her husband, aged sixty-four years. 
She was the mother of the following chil- 
dren : Nancy, who married John Mereness, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



361 



and who died in 1850, at Darien; Peter N., 
deceased; Josiah A., deceased; John W., an 
agriculturist of Jackson township, a sketch of 
v.hose life appears elsewhere in this volume; 
Jacob R. ; David died at the age of seven- 
teen years; and Mary died at the age of 
eleven years. 

Jacob R. Vroman went to Walworth 
county with his parents, and well remembers 
much of the early history of that county. 
The journey to their new home was made 
by team to Buffalo, New York, and thence 
shipped to Detroit, and drove by team from 
there to Wisconsin. Near Buffalo he saw 
a railroad for the first time. He made a 
visit to Adams county in 1849, with his fa- 
ther and brother, John, and the following 
spring the family moved thither with teams. 
Deer were plentiful and soon fell prey to 
their guns. Our subject has killed deer 
every season until i8g8, and has probably 
killed as many as any other hunter in the 
county. On one expedition which lasted 
two months, in company with two men, 
ninety-six deer were killed, all within Wis- 
consin. On the same trip they also killed 
three elk, the only ones ever shot in the state, 
as far as known. He has also killed bears 
near his home and during the early days 
much other game. He entered claim to his 
present farm in 1850, and purchased the 
land at the U. S. Land Office at Mineral 
Point, Wisconsin, after the survey had been 
made about four years later. He and his 
brothers run a line from the Fox River, in 
Marcj[uette county, in order to approximate- 
ly locate the section lines, before making 
claims. Our subject now owns one hundred 
and eighty acres, well improved, and a good 
set of farm buildings. He has invested in 
other wild lands from time to time and 
once owned over seven hundred acres. 

Mr. Vroman was married November 2, 
1856, to Fannie Jones, daughter of Asa 
Kingsley and Mercy (Streeter) Jones. 



Mrs. Vroman was born in Rockingham, 
Windham county, Vermont, and came to 
Adams county with her parents in 185 1. 
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Vroman, as follows : Minnie J., now Mrs. 
Frank McConick, of Friendship; Clara 
Maria, now Mrs. A. E. Stafford, residing 
on. the homestead farm; and Clifford J., who 
died at the age of two and half years. 

Mr. Vroman took an active part in the 
organization of the townships of Jackson, 
New Haven, Dell Prairie and Springville, 
which were organized into one township 
with the first election at Dell Prairie Cor- 
ners, and Mr. Vroman was chosen the first 
township clerk. About two years later the 
township was divided into four townships 
and he was clerk of Jackson township, with 
Asa Iv. Jones, as chairman. Our subject 
has filled nearly every office in the town- 
ship and for a time was a member of the 
board of county poor commissioners. He 
has always been a Republican and his first 
presidential vote was cast for General Scott 
in 1852. He remembers the adoption of 
the state constitution in Wisconsin, and 
has always shown marked interest in pub- 
lic affairs. He donated the ground for the 
site, and considerable money for the erec- 
tion of the Presbyterian church near his 
home. He has been a member of Oxford 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., since in 1864, and 
for many years was secretary of the local 
lodge. He is also connected with the chap- 
ter of that order at Portage. 



FRANCIS JOSEPH BOLTING. 

Francis Joseph Bolting, a well-known 
and highly esteemed citizen of Portage, 
Wisconsin, where for the past eight years 
he has served as cashier of the station of 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R;.':^ 



362 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



road, enjovs the distinction of being a na- 
tive of that city. He was born Decem1)er 
14, 1857, a son of Henry and Fredericka 
(Kaiser) Bohing, both natives of Germany, 
the former born hi Borken, Westphaha, 
Prussia, the latter in Innshng, Baden. Dur- 
ing his boyhiiod tlie father lost his parents 
and at the age of fourteen years he came 
to the United States. After a few years 
spent in New York City, he came to Port- 
age, Wisconsin, in 1850, and opened a gro- 
cer}' store here, which he carried on until 
his death. In 1849 '^^ went to California 
by way of Cape Horn and conducted a gro- 
cery store in San Francisco for a short time, 
but returned to the states the following- 
year. He was reared in the Catholic faith 
and was a member of the Masonic lodge of 
Portage for some years. He was one of the 
prominent representatives of the Demo- 
cratic party in his couimunity, was hon- 
ored with a number of local offices of trust 
and responsibility, including those of city 
treasurer and alderman of Portage. It 
was in that city that he was married, Feb- 
ruary 20, 1855, to Miss Fredericka Kaiser, 
wh(.) is still hving at the age of sixty-one 
years, but he died April 7, 1877. at the age 
of forty-seven. Her father, Joseph Kaiser, 
emigrated to America in 1848, and after 
living for five years upon a farm in Milwau- 
kee, came to Columbia county, settling in 
Lewiston township. His last years were 
spent in retirement from active labors at 
I'ortage, where he was accidentally killed 
on the railroad December 14, 1883. At 
that time he was eighty-six years of age, 
but w^as still hale and hearty. His wife had 
died Feliruary ID, 1872, when nearly sixty 
years old. Of the seven chiltlren born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Bolting, two died in infancy. 
The others are : Mary, now the wife of Will- 
iam Henry Little, of Portage; Francis J., 
our subject ; Henry George, a grocer of 
I'ortage ; Elizabeth, wife of \V. F. Turner, 



of the same city: and Carl, who was ac- 
cidentally killed while in the employ of the 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, 
November 19, 1887, at the age of twenty - 
two years. 

Francis J. Bolting was educated in the 
public schools of Portage, and on leaving 
home at the age of twenty-one years went to 
New York City, where he spent two years. 
In 1882 he entered the service of the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railri.iad Com- 
pany, with which he has been connected, 
serving as cashier of the station at Port- 
age since 1891. He is one of the most 
trusted employes of the company and has 
the confidence and high regard of all who 
know him. He is public spirited and pro- 
gressive, and a liberal supporter of all en- 
terprises for the public good. In 1883 he 
wedded Miss Marie Weber, also a native 
of Portage and a daughter of Peter and 
Magdalene Weber, now of Lyndon, Wis- 
ctmsin. 



ED\VARD GEORGE STOLTE. 

Edward George Stolte, manager of the 
Hotel Stolte at Reedsburg, was born in 
that place, December i, 1867. He is a son 
of \Villiam Stolte, of whom extended notice 
will be found upon another page of this 
volume. His education was obtained in the 
public schools of his native town and at 
the age of eighteen years he entered the 
employ of the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad as baggage man at Reedsburg 
station. After continuing in that capacity 
for three or four years he assumed charge 
of the Central House, the leading hotel of 
the town, which his father had owned for 
several years previous to that time. He 
conducted this house until it burned down 
in 1896, and has been manager of the Hotel 
Stolte since it was opened for business, 
January, 1897. The house is commodious. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



363 



■conveniently arranged and fitted up with 
every modern convenience. In its manage- 
n-.ent he is ably assisted by his two sisters, 
Dora and Nana, who give their personal at- 
tention to the cuisine and domestic arrange- 
ments, these departments being models of 
neatness and order. Mr. Stolte is a wide- 
awake and accommodating landlord and it 
is due to the combined efforts of the brot'.ier 
and sisters that the house enjoys the repu- 
tation of one of the most thoroughly 
ecjuipped and best managed hotels to be 
found in the state of Wisconsin. 

In conjunction with his brother, \\'ill- 
iani .v. Stolte, in September, 1898, he jiur- 
chased the business of the Reedsburg Tele- 
phone Company and has since been in active 
charge of that enterprise. He has placed 
a, new exchange in the hotel, affording a 
ready means of communication with all 
parts of the city and with many neighbor- 
ing towns to guests of the house, as well as 
to the citizens of Reedsburg. 

Mr. Stolte is a prominent member of 
the Masonic fraternity, holding official po- 
sitions in the local lodge, chapter, council 
and commandery. He is also identified 
with the order of the Eastern Star and with 
the Knights of Pythias. 

He has always taken an intelligent in- 
terest in public affairs. Since 1891 he has 
served as city constable. At that date he 
was also appointed deputy sheriff for Sauk 
county and served two years in that ca- 
pacity, being the youngest man who ever 
filled that position. He enjoys the good 
willof the traveling public in a nnteworthy 
degree and few men of his age in Sauk 
county are held in as high regard by their 
fellow citizens. 

Mr. Stolte was married Se])teml_ier 20, 
1900, to Miss Florence Pegler French, 
daugliter of W. FI. and Sarah (Morton) 
French, prominent residents of Reedsburg, 
^\'isconsin. 



WILLIAM STOLTE. 

William Stolte, one of the most success- 
ful business men of Reedsburg, was born 
at Hohenbunstorf, province of Hanover, 
Germany, March 2, 1833. He is the only 
survivor of the family of George and Dora 
(Evers) Stolte. which included six sons and 
two daughters, all the others having died 
in childhood. The Stolte family is one of 
two which existed in the vicinity of Flohen- 
bunstorf as early as the year 1300. A con- 
secutive genealogical record has been pre- 
served since 1680, earlier records having 
been destroyed during the Thirty-Years 
War in Germany. Members of the family 
have been extensive farmers for several 
centuries, but owing to the custom of en- 
tailing property, which existed in Gern.iany 
at that time, George Stolte inherited l)ut 
little of his father's estate. Fie came to 
the FTnited States in 1862 and died at Reeds- 
burg at the age of seventy-eight years. His 
wife passed away at the age of seventy-one 
years. 

William Stolte learned the tailor trade 
in his native land antl with a view to better- 
ing his fortunes, came, in i860, to this coun- 
try. He worked at his trade two years in 
Ivladison, Wisconsin, after which he pur- 
chased a small stock of cloths and opened 
a merchant tailoring business at Kilbourn 
City, in the same state. At the end of three 
years of successful business there, he locat- 
ed, in the fall of 1865, at Reedsburg and, in 
company with Deidrich Schweke, opened a 
general store. After the death of his part- 
ner, which occurred aliout four years later, 
he continued the business alone, doing a 
profitable trade until 1883, when he sold 
out the stock and took a trip to Europe, 
spending several months in rest and recrea- 
tion. In the meantime (1865) he bought 
the Alba Ibiuse, a three-story frame hotel 
building, which he enlarged and improved. 



364 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



fitting it up as a first-class hostlery and 
changing the name tn the Central House. 
Besides the hotel this building contained a 
store and, for some time, a cigar factory. 
Mr. Stolte has never been the active propri- 
etor of the hotel, but rented it until 1891. 
when his son, Edward G. Stolte, took charge. 
The Central House was destroyed by fire 
April 12, 1896, whereupon Mr. Stolte at 
once replaced it with the ]M"esent "Hotel 
Stolte." It is a substantial brick edifice, 
the most conspicuous building in the city 
of Reedsburg. From time to time he has 
made a number of other improvements in 
the town, including his private residence on 
the south side, which was erected in 1888. 
He also owns a valuable farm lying mostly 
within the city limits and is considered one 
of the most prosperous citizens of Sauk 
county. 

December 21, 1862, Mr. Stolte was mar- 
ried to Dora Meyer, a native of the same 
locality as her husband. She is a daughter 
of Geo'rge and Dorothea (Reitzmann) 
Meyer, who became residents of Sauk coun- 
ty, settling near Loganville, where Mr. 
Meyer lived to the age of nearly ninety 
years and his wife to the age of seventy- 
six years. ]\Ir. INIeyer was born at Him- 
bergen, 1^-ovince of Hanover, and spent 
several years in the Prussian army. He ac- 
companied Napoleon's expedition to Mos- 
cow and was captured by the Russians, re- 
maining a prisoner in that country for two 
cr three years. Of the nine children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Stolte, one died in infancy. 
The survivors are: Dora, Nana, Louise 
(Mrs. E. H. Marriott, of Baraboo), Lida, 
Lena, Freda, William, Edward G. and 
George. .\11 ha\e enjo-^'ed good educa- 
tional advantages and each of the sons is 
occupying a responsible position in business. 

Mr. Stolte has always been a liberal con- 
tributor to worthy public enterprises. Soon 
after he located in Reedsburg lie and his 



partner, Mr. Schweke, erected, at their own 
expense, the house of worship known as St. 
Peter's Lutheran church. When this con- 
gregation was divided in 1871, he became 
a member of the Evangelical Lutheran 
St. Johannes church, with which he and his 
family are still identified. He also helped 
to organize the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows at this place, being a memlier of 
Reedsburg Lodge, No. 135, and of Ger- 
mania Encampment, No. 17. Since be- 
coming a citizen of the United States he has 
been a consistent Democrat. He was for a 
number of years a member of the ^'illage 
board of supervisors, and has served the 
city as trustee and treasurer. In 1888 he 
v.-as the candidate of his party for county 
treasurer. 



OTTO KRISCH, Deceased. 

Otto Krisch, deceased, was for over 
forty years prominently identified with the 
business interests of Portage and was also 
a leader in musical and social circles. He 
was born in Prague, Austria, October 4, 
1 83 1, a son of Carl and Anna Krisch, who 
spent their entire lives at that place. His 
literary education was acquired in a gym- 
nasium in his native city, and he also ob- 
tained a thorough knowledge of both instru- 
mental and vocal music, studying under 
Robert Vogel, the famous composer. He be- 
came skilled in both lines and for some time 
sang in operas in dift'erent German cities. 

Coming to the new world, Mr. Krisch 
located in Portage, Wisconsin, in 1854, and 
three years later established a grocery store 
at that place, which he successfully con- 
ducted until his death, on the 4th of July, 
1897. He was a charter member of the 
old Hook & Ladder Company of that city, 
and for two years was a member of the 
Portage Volunteer Fire Deijartment. He 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



365 



was always a reliable and trustworthy busi- 
ness man and took an active part in the pro- 
motion of many public enterprises. So- 
cially he was a member of Silver Lake 
Lodge, A. O. U. W., and politically was a 
Democrat, but at local elections he usually 
voted independent of party, endeavoring to 
support the men best qualified for the office. 
For several years he served as city treas- 
urer with credit to himself and to the en- 
tire satisfaction of all concernetl, and was 
ever found true to every trust repnsed in 
him, whether in public or private life. He 
remained an ardent lover of music to the 
last and was a prime mover in organizing 
the Portage Liederkranz, of which he was 
a director for many years. Li the spring 
of 1897 he commenced the erection of an 
elegant brick residence, but died before its 
completion. It is one of the finest homes 
in the city and is now occupied by his fam- 
ily. He also owned a good two-story brick 
block on Cook street, where he carried on 
business. 

On the 27th of January, 1858, Mr. 
Krisch married Wiss Alagdalene Schleis- 
man, a native of Kline-Welsheim, Llesse- 
Uarmstadt, Germany, who came to the 
United States in 1854 with her parents, 
Adam and Margaret Schleisman. Her fa- 
ther died in Portage, in January, 1879, aged 
seventy-five years, her mother in August, 
18S2, aged seventy-two. The children 
born to ]\lr. and Mrs. Krisch were Alvina, 
v.ho died in infancy; Alois, mentioned be- 
low ; Anna, now a resident of Sioux City, 
Iowa; Eda and Otto. 

Alois Krisch was born in Portage, June 
15, i860, alid attended the high .school of 
that city. At the age of sixteen he en- 
tered his father's store as a clerk and has 
since been connected with the business, of 
wliicli he took charge after his father's 
death, and which lie now owns and success- 
fully conducts. He is a nran of good i)usi- 



ness ability and sound judgment, and, like 
his father, holds a high place in the regard 
of his fellow citizens. Socially he belongs 
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and the Portage Leiderkranz, and was a 
member of the Portage TurnvereinVorwarts 
until it disbanded. At the age of seventeen 
he joined the Portage Volunteer Fire De- 
partment and was connected with that or- 
ganization for ten years. 



ROBERT MONROE RAMSEY. 

Robert Monroe Ramsey, deceased, for 
many years a prominent citizen of New 
Haven township, Adams county, where he 
was a successful agriculturist, was born in 
Berlin township, Portage county, Ohio, 
March 2, 1829. He was the son of James 
and Sally (Best) Ramsey, both of whom 
were natives of Ohio, and came to Adams 
county in 1850, and settled in New Haven 
township, where they lived to be aged 
people. 

Our subject came to Wisconsin in 185 1 
and resided with his parents in Adams coun- 
ty until their deaths. He operated a thresh- 
ing machine for many years, and became 
the owner of four hundred acres of land 
and one of the best farms in the county. 
He raised considerable stock and also spent 
several winters in the pineries with his 
teams. He was industrious, enterprising 
and systematic, and in every undertaking 
met with the best results. He took an act- 
ive interest in the affairs of his county and 
township and, although not an aspirant for 
office, he exerted a marked influence among 
his neighbors and associates. 

Mr. Ramsey was married April 6, 1851, 
to Rebecca Fislicr, daughter of George and 
Esther ( Simonds) l^i.sher. Mrs. Ramsey 
was l)i)rn in I'alniyra, Portage county, Ohio, 



366 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



and her lather was a farmer, \vho passed 
the greater part of his life in that state. 
Her parents were natives of Mifflin, Penn- 
sylvania, and nio\-ed to Ohio while young. 
Mrs. Ramsey's grandfather, Zachariah 
Fisher, was one of the pioneer settlers of 
Portage county, where a numher of his de- 
scendants still reside and those and others 
at a distance hold annual reunions of the 
family. Five children were horn to Mr. 
and Mrs. Ramsey, as follows : Wallace 
James; iNIar}-, who married Mr. T. Fogle, 
and A\liose death occurred at the age of 
twttity-one years; Clinton C. ; George Mon- 
roe; and Sherwood, who died at the age of 
two and a half years. The surviving chil- 
llren all reside near the old homestead. 

]\Ir. Ramsey died near Big Springs, 
Adams county, September 20, 1895. He 
had been in ill health for over four years 
and was stricken with paralysis about four 
months prior to his death, and remained 
helpless until he passed away. He was a 
great sufferer, and his friends anxiously 
watched oxtv him and used every means to 
afford relief, but without any beneficial re- 
sults. He was a kind neighbor, faithful 
friend and public-spirited citizen, and won 
the esteem of a large circle of acquaint- 
ances. 



JOHN ROONEY. 

John Rooncy, a worthy veteran of the 
Civil war and an honored and highly re- 
spected citizen of Baraboo, Wisconsin, has 
been the architect of his own fortunes, hav- 
ing made his own way in the world from an 
early age, and although now broken down 
in health he still displays much energy and 
a devotion to the principles which have been 
the means of bringing to him success. Por- 
traits of Mr. Rooney and his esteemed wife 
arc appropriately shown on another page of 
this volume. 



Mr. Rooney was born in County Fer- 
managh, Ireland, August 15, 1844, a son d 
James and Ann (McManus) Rooney. His 
paternal grandfather, Owen Rooney, as well 
as the grandmother, who was a Murray, 
were life-long residents of County I*\'r- 
managh, where the former died at the age 
of eig'hty years. His ancestors were among 
the Catholics who clung to their homes dur- 
ing the oppression to which they were sub- 
jected in Cromwell's time. Our subject's 
maternal grandparents, Bernard and Mary 
(Boyle) McManus, were natives of County 
Ca\-an and Fermanagh, respecti\ely, and were 
heirs of a large estate left b\" the lady's 
father, James Boyle, in that county. They 
emigrated to the United States, and j\Ir. 
McManus became foreman on railroad con- 
struction in Pennsylvania. After his death 
his wife came to Sauk coimty, \Visconsin, 
where she died at -the age of eighty-seven 
years. In the Boyle family were a number 
of prominent priests,, mcluding Rev. Francis 
Edward Boyle, of Washington, D. C, who 
was a chaplain in the Union army during the 
Civil war. James R. Rooney, the father of 
our suljject, was a native of County Fer- 
managh, and was a well educated man for 
his day. He made his home on a farm near 
Rossleigh, where he followed the stone 
mason's trade until his emigration to Amer- 
ica in 1847. He first located in Dauphin 
county, Pennsylvania, and while there filled 
a large contract for wood fuel for the rail- 
road which passed his home. There he died 
August 15, 1 85 1. His wife, who was born 
in County Cavan, Ireland, April 2y, 18 16, 
died in Sauk county, Wisconsin, December 
28, 1885. Of their seven children, one died 
in infancy and Patrick was accidentally killed 
vvhile riding a liors.e in a race at Sugar 
Creek, Walworth county, Wisconsin. The 
others are Mary, wife of Thomas McGuan, 
of Westfield, Sauk county; John, our sub- 
ject; Margaret, wife of Nathan Bliven, <A 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



369 



Freeiloni township, Sauk county; Anna, wiie 
of Luke Kelley, of Washington, D. C; and 
Elizaheth, wife of John Norton, of Provi- 
dence, Rhode Island. 

John Rooney, whose name introduces 
this review, was only three years okl when 
linuig'lit hy his parents to the United States, 
and was only seven when his father died. 
Tlie following year the family moved to 
Zanes\'ille, Ohio, and the next vear \.o Rose- 
ville, that state. In 1855 they came to 
Whitewater, Wisconsin, and from there 
moved to Sugar Creek township, Wal- 
worth county, where our subject was em- 
ployed on the iild railroad grade which was 
afterward abandoned. From the age of 
seven years he had earned his own liveli- 
hood at railroad work, beginning as a water 
boy in Ohio, and after the death of his 
brother, Patrick, he dro\e the latter's team. 
Going to Cross Plains, he worked on the con- 
struction of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul Railroad between Madison and 
Prairie du Chien, and between Judah and 
Monroe, Wisconsin. In the fall of 1857 
the family settled in Honey Creek townshi]), 
Sauk county, where they engaged in farm- 
ing, the mother in the meantime having mar- 
ried George Sulli\-an. Our subject then 
earned his lix'elihood as a farm laborer until 
the Ci\-il war broke out. 

On the 9th of August, 1862, Mr. Rooney 
enlisted in Company K, Twenty-third Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, wdiich was as- 
signed to the First Brigade, Tenth Division, 
Thirteenth Army Corps. In September, 
1864, he was transferred to the Veteran Re- 
serve Corps. He took part in the battles 
of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post and 
Port Gibson, and the day following the last 
named engagement he received a sunstroke 
and was sent to the hospital at Grand Gulf, 
Mississippi, but he ran away and rejoined his 
regiment in front of Vicksburg. In June, 
1863, he suffered a relapse and was sent to 



Gayoso hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. Dur- 
ing this time his weight w^as reduced from 
one hundred and sixty-five pounds to ninety- 
six pounds. After being employed as a 
commissary for a time, he rejoined his regi- 
ment in March, 1864, but upon reaching New 
Orleans was taken ill with pneumonia, and 
sent to the marine hospital. Upon par- 
tially reco\-ering his health, he became recep- 
tion clerk at that place and continued in that 
capacity until discharged June ly, 1865, on 
the surgeon's certificate of disability. 

Renting a farm at Loganville, Sauk 
county, in 1867, Mr. Rooney engaged in hop 
culture with his step-father until the decline 
of that industry. In 1869 he bought land in 
Freedom township, upon which he located 
in 1874, and began its improvement, making 
his home there until 1885, when he came to 
Baraboo, and has since gix'en his attention 
chiefly to horticulture. 

Mr. Rooney was married !May 24, 1869, 
to Miss Sarah Maria Lamb, a native of 
Huron count}', Ohio, and a daughter of 
James Chauncey and Abbie Maria (Pettys) 
Lamb, who remo\-ed with their family 10 
Sauk county, Wisconsin, in 1857, and set-' 
tied in Freedom township. The father, a 
ship builder by trade, was born in Vermont, 
July 18, 1814, and died in Baraboo, Wiscon- 
sin, September 12, 1889. The mother was 
born in Cattaraugus county. New York, 
September 3, 1819, and was a daughter of 
Oliver and Ruth (Mead) Pettys, the latter a 
granddaughter of a Revolutionary soldier. 
Mrs. Lamb also died in Baraboo, February 
18, 1887. Her children were Mary Emma, 
wife of Daniel Seeley, of North Freedom; 
Sarah Maria, wife of our subject; and George 
D., who was born February 8, 1844, and dur- 
ing the Civil war enlisted in the Third Wis- 
consin Cavalry, but died of measles before 
leaving Madison, February 24, 1864. Our 
subject and his wife have two children: Ed- 
ward J., a farmer on the homestead in Free- 



370 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



dom township; and Aline M., wife of J. E. 
Curry, of Lyons, Sauk county. 

INIr. Rooney is a charter member of John 
Faller Post, No. 83, G. A. R., at North Free- 
dom. He was one of the pioneer workers in 
the temperance cause in his locahty, and has 
always taken an active part in such work. 
He was one of the prime movers in organ- 
izing the lodge of Good Templars in his 
neighborhood, and was instrumental in culti- 
vating a temperance sentiment among the 
people, which has been the means of ex- 
cluding the liquor traffic from the town of 
Freedom. In 1867 and 1868 he was dis- 
trict deputy in Sauk and Columbia counties 
for the Good Templars. Since the organiza- 
tion of the Prohibition party he has been a 
supporter of its princii)les, and conscien- 
tiously discharges all public and private 
duties. He favored McKinley's election in 
1896, but owing to ill health was unable to 
go to the polls. He has never aspired to 
office, but does not hesitate to agitate any 
question which he believes will prove of pub- 
lic benefit. 



ALAN BOGUE. 

Alan Bogue, an eminently respectalale 
and upright farmer in C(iluml)ia county, 
Wisconsin, has a fine farm in the town of 
Arlington, where he has led a quiet and use- 
ful life for many years. His is an hon- 
orable career, and deserves to be remem- 
bered when those who have exploited the in- 
dustry of the masses, and build their fortunes 
on the self-denial and the toil of those who 
labor, are forgotten. It may lack stir and 
excitement, but it has gone down deep to 
the roots of character and manliness antl 
plain straightforward integrity, and as such 
is vital to the general welfare. 

Mr. Bogue was born in Whithorn, 
Wigtonshire. Scotland, February 18, 1835. 
and is a son of Edward and Margaret 



(Clark) Bogue, both natives of the same 
locality. The father was a laborer and em- 
igrated to the United States about 1856, 
and located in the town of Caledonia, Co- 
lumbia county, where he died in 1883, at the 
venerable age of eighty-four years. His 
widow survived until November 29, 1899, 
and reached the age of ninety-three. Her 
father was a laborer in Scotland, and lived 
to l)e one hundred years old. Mr. and Mrs. 
Edward Bogue had one son and one daugh- 
ter. The son is the gentleman whose name 
introduces this article, and the daughter be- 
came Mrs. John Shanks and died in the 
town of Caledonia. 

Alan Bogue spent his childhood and 
youth amid romantic surroundings on his 
native heath. He had his education in the 
parochial schools of the neighborhood, and 
in 1854 came to the United States. He was 
employed a year at Morristown, New Jer- 
sey, and in 1855 made his first appearance 
in ^Visconsin. He lived in the town of 
Caledonia for a time, where he worked at the 
trade of stone mason. Presently he had be- 
come sufficiently forehanded to undertake 
agricultural enterprises. He rented a farm 
for three years in the town of Arlington, and 
in 1868 bought the farm on which he is now 
living in the same township. Since it has 
come into his possession it has been greatly 
impro\'ed. New luiildings have been erect- 
ed, a fine orchard brought to bearing, and an 
elegant evergreen hedge secured. Taken 
altogether it is an exceedingly attractive 
homestead, and one of which Air. Bogue 
may be justly pmud. lie owns one hun- 
dred and sixt}- acres of land, every foot of 
\^iiich is tillable, and it is said to be one of 
the very Ijest farms in Columbia county. 

Alan Bogue is a Republican, but is thor- 
oughly independent and original in his ideas. 
He does his own thinking, forms his own 
conclusions, and holds strongly to his own 
convictions. He has been called upon to 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



371 



fill various local and county offices, and was 
chairman of the town board eight years, 
ai:d clerk of the town for five years. While 
he was on the county board, he served as one 
of a committee of three, which had charge 
of building the insane asylum of the coun- 
ty. Since 1884 Mr. Bogue has been one 
of the superintendents of the poor, and has 
also been a trustee of the county insane 
asylum. During this time the county farm 
has been enlarged and many new buildings 
added, and it is now regarded as a model 
institution of the kind. 

Mr. Bogue was married January 23, 
1863, to Miss Ellen Stevenson, a daughter 
of James and Esther (Mackey) Stevenson. 
Mrs. Bogue was born at Kilburnie, Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, and came with her parents 
to this country in 1854. They settled in 
the town of Dekorra, where her father 
died two years later. Her mother married 
John Caldwell, and lived to be se\enty-eight 
years of age. He lived in the town of Ar- 
lington, where she died in 1897. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bogue have seven chil- 
dren now living. Esther is the wife of 
Adolph Kleinert and lives in Poynette. 
Edward is a farmer near Centerville, South 
Dakota, and Alan is an attorney in the same 
state. Margaret is a teacher in Windsor, 
Wisconsin, and Andrew is a student at the 
State University at Madison. David is at 
home and Grace is a student at the Poynette 
high school. There is one grandchild in the 
family, born November 29, 1899. The fam- 
ily are connected with the Presbyterian 
church at Poynette, and Mr. Bogue is a 
member of the Poynette Masonic lodge. 



NELSON JONES. 

Nelson Jones. Perseverance and indus- 
try, supplemented by good judgment and 
honesty, are sure of successful results, to 



whatever vocation they are applied, and the 
gentleman whose name heads this review is 
one whose life work has been a success by 
the exercise of these characteristics. He 
has chosen agriculture as his calling, and 
from a humble start has gained a compe- 
tence sufficient to tide him through life. He 
is the owner of large tracts of land, and his 
home farm is in Jackson township^ Adams 
county, and here he is passing his declining 
years, enjoying the esteem of his fellow 
men. 

]\Ir. Jones was born in Rockingham, 
\^'indham county, Vermont, January 26, 
1839, and was the son of Asa K. and Mercy 
Tones, a sketch of whose lives appears else- 
udiere in this volume. Our subject came 
with his parents to to Adams county in 1851, 
going via the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence 
Ijv boat to Racine, Wisconsin, thence bv 
stage to Janes\'ille, Wisconsin, and com- 
pleted the j(iurnev bv team to Adams county, 
where the family settled on section 3, in 
Jackson township. The land was not sur- 
veyed until the following year, and the fa- 
ther then became the possessor of three hun- 
dred and twenty acres. Our subject at- 
tended the schools of his native state, and 
one winter in Wisconsin, and assisted his 
fatlier in clearing the homestead, splitting 
rails, etc. His father died before our sub- 
ject was twenty years of age, and he then 
took the management of the farm, and now 
owns the estate. He also possesses a fine 
farm near the homestead, comprising two 
hundred acres, and also has a valuable tract 
of three hundred and twenty acres, in Cerro 
Gordo county, Iowa, which he purchased 
about 1879, as wild Jand, while spending one 
year in that county. He engages in rais- 
ir.g stock to some extent, and has some ex- 
cellent horses on his estate. 

Mr. Jones was married, in April, 1859, 
to Luc>- Calkins, daughter of James and 
YiM-y A. (Briggs) Calkins. Mrs. Jones 



372 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



was born in Pennsylvania, and moved with 
ber parents to Adams county, Wisconsin, in 
1858. Her father was a carpenter by trade, 
and died in MinneapoUs, Minnesota, and her 
mother is still living. Mrs. Jones died July 
18, 1895, aged fifty-four years. Three 
children were born to Mr. and Airs. Jones, 
as follows : Frank, a farmer of Jackson 
township ; Alary, w'ho married H. L. Mason, 
and who died in Sejtemher, 1891, aged 
twenty-nine years; H.ittie, now Mrs. Hat- 
tie W'ohlfort, of Jackson township. Mr. 
Jones has ten grandchildren. 

Our subject is a Republican in political 
sentiment, and takes an interest in public 
matters, although he never accepted the re- 
sponsibility of public office. He has pur- 
sued the even tenor of his way, gaining the 
respect of his associates, and is well known 
in Adams count}', where he has resided for 
nearly half a .century. He has witnessed 
the development of that region, and has lent 
a helping hand toward a high state of civili- 
zation. 



JOHN BYRON PROUTY. 

Jolm Byron Prouty. a representative of 
one of the pioneer families of Sauk county, 
Wisconsin, is an inlluential citizen and suc- 
cessful farmer of Washington township, 
where he makes his home on section 29. 
He was born in Washington township, Sauk 
county, Wisconsin, February 9, 1856, and 
was a son of Re\-. Andrew and Delilah 
(Truax) Prouty. 

The grandparents of our suljject bore 
the names of Barnabas a;id Rebecca ( Trum- 
bo) Prouty. The grandfather was a native 
of Ohio and was of New England ances- 
try, while the grandmother was of German 
descent. Barnabas Prcnity can:e to Sauk 
county in 1853, where he still lives at tlie 
age of ninety years. He enjoys good health 



and mental acti\-ity. Eight sons were born 
to that worthy cmiple, as follows: Andrew; 
John, a prominent citizen of O'Neill, Ne- 
braska ; Barnabas, of Sauk county ; Joshua, 
of Sauk county; Stephen, deceased: Enoch, 
formerly a Baptist minister, and the in- 
ventor of the famous Prouty power print- 
ing press, and other valuafile in\-entions, now 
in luisiness in Chicago; Jeremiah, of Sauk 
count_v; Hiram, also residing in Sauk coun- 
ty. The oldest son, Andrew Proutv, was 
born in Morrill county, Ohio, and came to 
Wisconsin with his father, and has since re- 
sided in Washington township. He re- 
cei\-ed a liberal education in Ohio, and 
taught school several years after locating in 
Wisconsin, and a few years afterward was 
ordained a minister of the Baptist church. 
For some years he filled regular pastorates, 
and spent about ten years in the active min- 
istry, and still holds occasional services. He 
has been a member of the board of super- 
visors, and works for the interests of his 
community. The mother of our subject was 
born in Ohio. 

John Byron Prouty attended the public 
schools of Sauk county, and at the age of 
twenty-one began earning his li\-elihood as 
a farm lal)orer. His present fine farm com- 
prises one hundred and eighty acres, and is 
near Sandusky, and he has made his home 
on that place since 1S86. He devotes his 
attention to live stock raising and dairying. 
The farm is the old Lunn homestead. 

Mr. Prouty was married in 1886 to Sa- 
rah Ann Lmm, dau.o'hter of Joseph and Ann 
(Taylor) Lunn, prominent pioneers of 
Washington township. They went tliere 
from Milwaukee in 1857, settling near the 
\'illage of Sandusky. Mrs. Prouty's father 
was one of the most successful farmers of 
Sauk county. He was born in Yorkshire, 
England, and died in 1882, aged sixty-six 
years. Airs. Prouty's mother was born, 
near Afanchester, England, and came to the 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



378 



United States in 1830. She died in 1882. 
aged nearly sixty-two years. .Mrs. Prouty 
was one of a family of ten children, among 
whom was James T. Lunn, who was connty 
superintendent of scliools of Sauk county 
for eleven years, and is now a prominent 
business man of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 
Mrs. Prouty is a lady of culture and good 
education, and was eueaged in teaching for 
several years. 1 hree children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Prouty, as follows: 
Florence Edna, Ernest Andrew and Everett 
Samuel. The sons are twins. Mr. Prouty 
is active in all public movements, and is a 
Republican in jjolitical sentiment. He at- 
tends most of the county conventions, and 
in 1898 was a delegate to the state conven- 
tion in the interest of La Follette for gov- 
ernor. -He is at present chairman of the 
township committee, and a member of the 
county committee. He has tilled the office 
of t(nvnshii) treasurer, and has gained the 
confidence of the people of his township and 
county, and is well known as a man of broad 
mind and energetic character. 



EUGENE COPELAND THIESSEX. 

Eugene Copeland Thiessen is a prosper- 
ous and influential farmer in the town of 
Leeds, Columbia county, Wisconsin, and is 
a man wdio jiresents in his own career a 
magnificent illustration of the advantages 
that attend a rural life. He is now in the 
full prime of his manly powers, and coming 
from a youth and manhood that have been 
peaceful and orderly, his vital forces are not 
depleted, but have rather increased and 
strengthened. It is permitted him to ex- 
pect a peaceful and protracted old age. 

Mr. Thiessen was born at Fond du Lac, 
Wisconsin, February 3, 1855, and is a son 
of Carl and Sarah M. (Green) Thiessen. His 



father was a native of Mecklenburg Schwer- 
ein, Germany, and he was born near Ham- 
burg. He had the usual privileges of edu- 
cation that the German youth of his time 
enjoyed, and he was early set to work learn- 
ing the trade of a cabinet maker. After the 
old solid German fashion he ser\ed an ap- 
prenticeship of seven years, and when it was 
completed he came to the United States, and 
after spending a few months at New York, 
and nearly two years at ]\Iartinsburg, New 
York, he came to this state and worked at 
the carpenter trade in Fond du Lac for some 
years. Li 1858 Mr. Thiessen came to Co- 
lumbia county^ and the next year he bought 
forty acres of land in the town of Leeds. 
This was in a state of nature, and required 
impro\ements from the very beginning. He 
built a small house, and other needed build- 
ings, and this was his home until his death, 
August 31, 1900. He kept active and busy 
almost e\'ery day, and was happy and con- 
tented throughout his long and useful life 
of seventy-nine years. He was a member of 
the Presbyterian church, and was always 
an active and intelligent Republican. His 
wife died January 4, 1875, at the age of 
forty-two. She was born near Martins- 
burg, New York, and her father, a native of 
that state, died in the town of Leeds at the 
age of ninety-seven. The father of Francis 
Green, and the grandfather of Mrs. Sarah 
M. Thiessen, was killed in the war of the 
Revolution during the boyhood of Francis. 
The mother of Mrs. Thiessen died in Rio 
when she was nearly eighty years old. Fred- 
erick F. Thiessen, the only known brother 
of Carl Thiesson, died at Stepney, Connecti- 
cut. He was a baker by trade, and followed 
that occupation some years in the city of 
New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Carl Thies- 
sen were 1)orn three sons : Carlton M., of 
the town of Lowville ; Eugene C, of Leeds ; 
and Louis F., of Oshkosh. 

Eugene C. Thiessen has li\ed on the 



874 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



homestead from the age of three years. He 
attended the district school, and has become 
a very proficient mechanic with a natural 
aptitude for ahnost any kind of manual 
work. He is a master hand at a carpenter 
job, does mason work to compare with the 
best, and is a worker in leather, both in shoe 
making and in harness making, that does not 
need to be ashamed of his handiwork. When 
he was twenty-one he went to Mason City, 
Iowa, and spent a year and a half in that 
place. Then he came back to the paternal 
homestead, which now consists of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, and has resided here 
since. He has erected a large barn, and 
greatly improved the other buildings, and 
this became under his careful management 
one of the most desirable farms in the town. 

Mr. Thiessen and Miss Nettie J. Dela- 
ney were married July 19, 1881. She is a 
daughter of Simon and Rebecca (Scofield) 
Delaney, and was born in the town of Low- 
ville. Her father came to Wisconsin from 
the county of Chemung, New York, where 
he was born. He died in the town of Low- 
ville, in May, 1896, at the age of seventy- 
nine. Mrs. Rebecca Delaney still lives at 
Poynette, and is now seventy-two years old. 
Her father, Daniel Scofield, came to Colum- 
bia in 1855, and died in Lowville at the 
age of seventy-nine. His wife, Julia A. 
(Riker) Scofield, reached the age of eighty- 
seven years. She was born in Orange coun- 
ty, New York. The Riker and Scofield 
families are old New England people. The 
various members of the Riker family hold 
an annual reunion at Summit, Pennsylvania. 

Mr. and Mrs. Thiessen are the parents 
of a numerous and interesting family of five 
children: Charles E., aged eighteen years; 
George, seventeen years; Mabel, fifteen 
years; Harold A., eight years, and Sarah 
K., five years. Mr. Thiessen is a member of 
the Lowville Presbyterian church, and be- 
longs to Poynette Camp, No. 1090, Mod- 



ern Woodmen of America. He is agent in 
the town for the Arlington Farmers' Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company. He has always 
been a Republican, and has taken an active 
part in party management. He is president 
of the Farmers' lelephone Company, of the 
town of Leeds, and is one of the leading 
men in this part of the county. He is a 
life member of the Columbia County Agri- 
cultural Society, and has been general man- 
ager of the horse department for some 
years. He is a successful breeder of fine 
horses, and has exhibited Hambletonian and 
Morgan horses at the county fairs on numer- 
ous occasions. He takes an active part also 
in school matters, and for several years has 
been clerk of the second district, town of 
Leeds. 



COMFORT HAMILTON KNAPP. 

Comfort Hamilton Knapp, one of the 
successful pioneers of Sauk county, now 
living a retired life in the village of North 
Freedom, has had some interesting experi- 
ences in the course of his life. He was 
born in the town of Collins, Erie county. 
New York, February 19, 1829, a son of 
John and Deborah (Knapp) Knapp. The 
Knapp family is of English origin. Sylva- 
nus Knapp, the paternal grandfather of our 
subject, was a native of Massachusetts, and 
a cooper by trade, along which line he car- 
ried on an extensive business in Erie coun- 
ty. New York, for some years. He died in 
Jamestown, the latter state, at the age of 
seventy-eight years. He married a Miss 
Winn, whose father was a Tory, and moved 
to Canada soon after the Revolutionary war. 
Johnson Knapp, our subject's father, was 
born in Massachusetts, but was quite young 
when taken by his parents to New York, 
where he learned the trade of a blacksmith. 
In 1 844 he removed to Dearborn county. In- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



375 



diana, where he spent the remainder of his 
life with the exception of three years, when 
living in Sauk county, Wisconsin. He died 
in Dearborn county, Indiana. His wife, 
also a native of Massachusetts, survived him 
a number of years, and died in the town of 
Collins, Erie county, New York, at the age 
of eighty-four. Her father, Comfort 
Knapp, was a brother of Sylvanus Knapp. 
He was a wholesale merchant in Boston for 
some years, but meeting with misfortune in 
business, he moved to the town of Boston, 
Erie county. New York, where he cleared 
a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
He died in Pine Grove, Warren county, 
Pennsylvania, aged eighty-seven years. He 
was a close communion Baptist, and served 
as deacon for over forty years. 

Our subject is the only one in a family 
of six children who settled in Wisconsin. 
He has in his possession a picture of his 
mother and four of her descendants, each 
representing a different generation, who 
were living at the same time. He was fif- 
teen years of age when the family removed 
to Indiana, and soon afterward he began life 
for himself by working at farming and other 
occupations. In 1846 he returned to Erie 
county. New York, where he lived until 
1855, when he came to Sauk county, Wis- 
consin, and located in the town of Reeds- 
burg. In April, 1859, he started v/ith a 
company of prospectors for Pike's Peak, but 
before reaching their destination they re- 
ceived unfavorable reports of the mining 
there and decided to go to Oregon, where 
Mr. Knapp spent two seasons in mining with 
indifferent success. The following two sea- 
sons were spent in Washington and Idaho, 
'and he then returned east by way of the Isth- 
mus, being thirty-one days in making the 
journey. He left San Francisco in Jan- 
uary, 1863, and at Aspinwall took passage 
on the steamer "Ariel" for New York. On 
the down trip this vessel had been over- 



hauled in the West Indies by a Confederate 
vessel, and her guns, sails and other val- 
uables confiscated. Owing to the preva- 
lence of the yellow fever on the islands. 
Captain Semmes, of the Confederate steam- 
er, allowed the "Ariel" to proceed with her 
passengers instead of putting them ashore, 
as was at first intended. He admonished 
tlie captain of the "Ariel," however, that he 
would sink the vessel if he again caught her 
on the sea without the "treasury," or ship- 
ment of California gold, which she was ac- 
customed to bring regularly from the Isth- 
mus. As the rebel cruiser was hovering 
about the entrance of the harbor in plain 
sight when ready for the return trip, the 
usual shipment of gold was left, and during 
a heavy fog the "Ariel" left the harbor at 
night without detection, and taking a dif- 
ferent course from the one usually pm^sued, 
reached Key West in safety, and from there 
the voyage to New York was made without 
difficulty. 

In 1864 Mr. Knapp, with his family, 
moved to Idaho, and engaged in farmin* on 
the Boise river, thirty miles below Boise 
City. He spent one summer crossing the 
plains with ox teams and driving several 
cows. He joined a wagon train at Omaha. 
They had some Indian scares, but no serious 
difficulty with the red men. Mr. Knapp 
arrived in Boise City, September 11, 1864, 
and remained in Idaho five years, and then 
returned to Sauk county, Wisconsin, by 
driving to Ogden, Utah, and there taking 
the Union Pacific Railroad. He has made 
a number of trips to the Pacific slope, and 
twice crossed the plains with teams. After 
his return to Sauk county, he engaged in 
farming in Reedsburg township for some 
years, but since 1888 has made his home in 
North Freedom, where for a time he car- 
ried on business as a grain dealer, but is 
now living retired. 

On the nth of October, 1848, Mr. 



87G 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Knapp was united in marriage with Miss 
Prusia Maria Fisk, a native of Darljy, \'er- 
niont, and a daughter of Royal and Harriet 
(Mead) Fisk. The father was born in tlie 
same place, of English origin, and the mother 
in Ferrisburg, Vermont, of Scotch extrac- 
tion. The first of the Fisk family to come 
to America settled in Rhode Island. Royal 
Fisk, who. was a local minister of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, came to Sauk coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, in 1854, and first located in 
Reedsburg township, but ilied in Freedom 
township, March 29, 187S, aged se\-enty 
years. His wife died two years later at the 
same age. To Mr. and Mrs. Knapp were 
born the following; children : Merritt. a 
resident of Xorth Freedom; Edwin, of 
\\'hitman county. Washington : Harriet, de- 
ceased wife of L. Dearborn; Frank, of Lew- 
iston. Idaho: Mary, wife of James Randell, 
of Reedsburg; Laura, deceased wife of ^^^ 
W. Randell ; Walter, of Whitman county, 
Washington: and Alma, wife i:>f Frank ]\Ior- 
ley, of the town of Baraboo, Wisconsin. 
They also have twenty-two grandchildren 
living and eight great-grandchildren. 

Mr. Knapp has been an earnest advocate 
and supporter of ])rohibition since the in- 
ccpticjn of that mo\-ement. and never with- 
I'lolds his influence from any enterprise 
which he Ijelieves will prove of public ben- 
efit. He has ser\-ed on the town board of 
Reedsburg a number of vears, and held other 
local oflices of trust. \\'liere\er known he 
is held in high regard. 



WARREN GILBERT. 

^^'arren Gilliert may be truly classed as 
one of the self-made men of Colum])ia coun- 
t3', AX'isconsin. He lias an elegant home in 
Lowville township, and for many years was 
one of the most extensive agriculturists of 



\\'isconsin. He is a pioneer settler of that 
l.icality and can recoimt many interesting 
facts of early life there. 

Otu" subject was born in the town of 
Schuyler, Herkimer county, New York,. 
June 22, 1827, and is a son of Erastus and 
Nancy (Baker) Gilbert. His father vsas a 
r.ative of Herkimer county, and while a com- 
paratively yoimg luen fell from the hay mow 
0I his barn and died from the effects of the 
fall, in 183 1. The grandparents of our sub- 
ject, Jonathan and Susan Gilbert, moved 
from Oakham, Alassachusetts, to New York, 
when the site of Utica was an unbroken 
forest. The grandfather was a veteran of 
the Revolutionary war. and he cleared a 
farm in Herkiiuer county, and reached the 
age of eighty years there. Two of his sons 
served in the war of 181 2. The mother of 
our subject married a second time, and be- 
came the wife of Stephen Hicks, and re- 
niiA'ed from Herkimer count}-. The familv 
was prominent in .Schuyler township for 
many years, and the grandmother of our 
subject reached an advanced age there. 

Warren Gilbert was an only son and af- 
ter his father's death was mainly reared by 
h.is grandmother ( iilbert, and it was upon 
her that he relied largeh- for comfort and ad- 
^•ice in his early manhood, and it was upon 
her ad\ice that he came west. At the age of 
fifteen j-ears he began to struggle for a li^■c- 
lihood at farming, earning six dollars per 
month. He worked for others until the 
spring of 1848, when he came to Wisconsin. 
.\n uncle. Jonathan Gilbert, had come west 
in 1845, from his home in the Empire state, 
and had located in Columliia county. Jona- 
than Gilbert lix-ed here until his death in 
1889. It was largely owing to his uncle 
being here th;it tr.rncd the steps of Warren 
Gilbert to Columbia county. On his ar- 
rival he entered a pre-emption claim to one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in section 
26, of Low\-ille township. Fle walk'cd one 




^~ 




COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



881 



Inmdred miles to the land office at Green 
Bay to prove his title, and from time to time 
purchased adjacent tracts, and later owned 
over three thousand acres of land in Co- 
lumbia county. He has also purchased con- 
siderable land in Minnesota and South Da- 
kota. For some years he hauled his wheat 
crops to Milwaukee, with an ox team, six 
days being consumed in the trip. He has 
engaged extensively in stock raising as well 
as grain, and at one time owned one thou- 
sand sheep, and has also owned one hun- 
dred head of horses at a time. He was one 
of the incorporators of the Rio State Bank, 
and has done more or less loan business for 
some years. His residence and most of the 
contents burned November 9, 1897, but in 
1898 he erected a handsome modern dwell- 
ing in which he now makes his home, and 
enjoys peace and plenty in his declining 
years.' 

Mr. Gilbert was married in 1848 to Mary 
Widrick, daughter of John and Maria Wid- 
rick, of Oneida county, New York. Mrs. 
Gilbert was born in Herkimer county, New 
York, and her parents were of Mohawk 
Dutch descent. Her father died in the town 
of Lowville, Wisconsin, at the age of eighty- 
one years. He was possessed of a very 
strong physique until his last illness. His 
wife also died at Lowville. Mrs. Gilbert 
died of paralysis, November 2. 1892, aged 
about sixty-five years. Of this marriage 
were born five sons and two daughters. Both 
the latter died in infancy, one at the age of 
three weeks and the other at the age of five 
years. The sons were as folloWiS : George 
Henry, now living in Freeborn county, Min- 
nesota; Albert C.. of Martin county, Minne- 
sota ; James Warren, Charles L. and Eugene 
A. Each of the three youngest sons con- 
duct a part of the homestead farm. Mr. Gil- 
bert has now twenty-two grandchildren and 
two great-grandchildren. One of his grand- 
children, Eleanor Gilbert, a great favorite 



and pet of her grandfather, and who was 
never happier than when in his company, 
was so unfortunate as to be burned to death, 
August 27, 1898. 

Mr. Gilbert was reared in the ]\Iethodist 
faith, and he attends the Congregational 
church of Rio, and has been one of the chief 
contributors to its support. He js a mem- 
ber of the board of directors of the \\'iscon- 
sin Home Finding Association. In politi- 
cal principles he is a Democrat, but supports 
the best man for ofifice irrespective of party. 

Naturally shrewd, the early training he 
received developed in Mr. Gilbert a most ex- 
cellent business ability, and his eminent suc- 
cess in the pursuit of wealth is entirely due 
to his own efforts. Good judgment and well 
directed energy have lifted him from com- 
parative poverty into easy affluence and 
ease. His wide reputation for probity and 
fairness in all the concerns of life has 
brought him the warm esteem of all with 
whom he is brought into contact. A large 
portion of the community will therefore be 
pleased to find among the illustrations of 
this work on other pages portraits of both 
Mr. Gilbert and his wife. 



JOHN HENRY DOOLEY. 

John Henry Dooley, an influential 
farmer and representative citizen of Colum- 
bia county, lives on the old Dooley home- 
stead, in Scott township. The old farm, the 
place of his birth, is situated in section 33, 
and here our subject first opened his eyes 
upon the world September 24, 1854. 

John Henry Dooley^ was the only son 
born to Henry and Maria (Barnish) Doo- 
ley. His parents were natives of Stafford- 
shire, England, and came to the United 
States in 1847, arriving in Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, in June of that year. Henry 



382 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Dooley, the father, had been employed for 
many years in the potteries of Staffordshire, 
becoming an expert plate maker. He joined 
the Potters' Emigration Society, which ac- 
quired a large tract of land in Columbia 
county, Wisconsin. This land was all in a 
wild state, and twenty acres thereof was as- 
signed to Henry Dooley, in section 33, town 
of Scott. He found it to be in the midst of 
an unbroken forest. However, he set about 
making a new home. He built a log cabin 
and began to clear his land. He afterward 
purchased more land, and acquired in all the 
ownership of eighty acres. He had for 
many years been a great sufferer from 
asthma, and on January 30, 1878, he passed 
away, at the age of fifty-nine years, nine 
months and twenty-six days. Through all 
his life he had been an industrious man, and 
an upright and respected member of the 
communities where he had made his home. 
His wife, Maria (Barnish) Dooley, died 
May 3, 1890, aged seventy-one years, eight 
months and twenty-six days. In her youth 
she was a member of the Presbyterian 
church, but united with the Methodist church 
in Columbia county. 

Besides our subject, John Henrj' Doo- 
ley, there were eleven chililren of this worthy 
couple, all daughters, but three of whom 
are now living, viz: Elizabeth, now Mrs. 
William Cook; Ellen E., widow of Ralph 
Deakin; Maria Louise, now Mrs. William 
Moore. The two first named live in Scott 
township, and the latter in W^vocena town- 
ship. 

John H. Dooley was reared on the home- 
stead farm, and attended the district school. 
He has added twenty-five acres to the origi- 
nal farm, and has enlarged buildings, and 
m.ade a great many other valuable improve- 
ments, and is the possessor of a valuable 
piece of property. 

Mr. Dooley was married December 21, 
1 880, to Mary Jane Clark, daughter of 



Samuel and Jane Clark', of Randolph Cen- 
ter, Wisconsin. They are the parents of 
four children, namely: Anna J., Stephen 
Henry, Samuel Carson and John Wallace. 
Mr. Dooley and his family are connected 
with the Methodist church, of which he is 
a trustee. In political faith Mr. Dooley has 
been a lifelong Republican, and has taken 
an active interest in public matters. He 
was elected in 1890 to the office of register 
of deeds, and has served two terms in that 
capacity. He was the only new candidate 
on the Republican ticket of the year 1S90 
th.at was elected in the county, all the others 
suffering defeat. He was the first native 
born citizen of the county that ever held 
that office. He has been elected to several 
local offices from time to time, and has 
served for five years as township clerk. He 
is the present chairman of the Scott town 
board. He is well known throughout the 
county, and is held in high esteem by all. 



FRANZ WOHLFERT. 

Franz Wohlfert, a son of the German 
empire, whose career in his adopted land has 
Ijeen crowned with success, is a prominent 
farmer of Jackson township, Adams county. 
Ide is an ex-soldier, who bravely defended 
our Union, and can look back on his ser- 
vice with justifiable pride. His home is one 
of comfort and he has added improvements 
until it is one of the first farms of the town- 
ship. 

Mr. Wohlfert was born in the city of 
Baden, Germany, February 23, 1823, and 
was the son of Matthias and Elizabeth 
(Krall) Wohlfert. His father was a lum- 
berman and farmer who lived and died in 
Baden. 

Our subject came to America about 
1853, and resided three years in New York 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



88g 



city, and then caine to Wisconsin, and lived 
for a time at Sharon, Walworth county, and 
in 1855 removed to Adams county, settHng 
in Jackson township on his present farm. 
He now owns two hundred acres of land 
with a good set of farm huildings, and car- 
ries on general farming. Me enlisted in 
October, 1864, in Company D, Fourth Wis- 
consin Heavy Artillery, and served eleven 
months, and was discharged at the close of 
the war. He was stationed at Brazos City, 
Louisiana. On the occasion of the assas- 
sination of President Lincoln, while firing- 
one hundred guns, our subject lost his hear- 
ing by the discharge of artillery. While in 
the service he also suffered from diarrhea 
and malaria for several months. 

Mr. Wohlfert was married at Sharon, 
Wisconsin, October, 1853, to Dena Miller, 
daughter of George and Cornelia Miller. 
Mrs. Wohlfert was born in New Beiern, 
Germany, and came to the United States in 
1 85 1. Her father died in Germany, and 
her mother died in 1870, aged fifty-five 
years. Mrs. Miller married after the death 
of her husband, becoming the wife of An- 
drew Hoffman, who died in Adams county, 
July, 1890, aged over eighty years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wohlfert were the parents of the 
following children: Irvin married Amelia 
Washburn; Wilhelmina, now Mrs. Horace 
Stalker, of Oxford; Conrad married Mrs. 
Cora Aurbach, residing in Kilbourn; An- 
drew married Hattie Jones, daughter of 
Nelson Jones ; Jacob married Esther Cart- 
wright; George married Philadelphia Kel- 
sey; John married Bertha Burnham ; Au- 
gust married Kate Huffman; Walter, and 
Robert. All reside in Adams county, with 
the exceptions as noted. Walter carries on 
the homestead farm, and was married March 
7, 1899, to Miss Millie Burnham, daughter 
of Theodore Burnliam. Mrs. Wohlfei't 
was born in Adams county. Our suliject 
and wife have .seventeen grandchildren and 



three great-grandchildren. Mr. \\'ohlfert 
was reared in the Catholic church, and Mrs. 
Wohlfert was reared in the Lutheran faith, 
in which most of the family are baptized, al- 
though they attend the Jonesville Congrega- 
tional church, near their home. Mr. Wohl- 
fert is a member of A. J. Miller Post, G. A. 
K., at Oxford. He is a Democrat in politi- 
cal sentiment, although his sons are all Re- 
publicans. He stands firmly for his convic- 
tions, is a faithful and earnest citizen, and 
has aided materially in the upbuilding of 
Atfams county. 



THOMAS WILLIAM DUNN. 

Thomas \Villiam Dunn, proprietor of 
one of the leading general merchandise 
stores of White Creek, Adams county, has 
by dint of honest efforts gained a compe- 
tence for himself and family, which is 
worthy the undertaking. He is not a man 
of much physical vigor, having met with 
an accident at the age of two and one-half 
years, which made him a cripple for life, but 
he is broad-minded and practical and has 
Uiade a success of mercantile business. He 
also handles farm machinery, and is well 
known throughout Adams county, and en- 
joys his share of the patronage. 

Mr. Dunn was born in Jefferson county, 
New York, March 23, 1855. His parents, 
Robert and Fanny (Fee) Dunn, were na- 
tives, respectively, of England and New York 
city, New York, and the father came to 
.-\merica at the age of thirteen years. He 
is now a resident of Springville township, 
Atlams county, Wisconsin, at the advanced 
age of eighty-two years, and the mother is 
aged seventy-five years. 

Our subject came to Springville town- 
ship. Adams county, with his parents when 
but one year and a half old, and they settled 
on tlie farm, which is still their home. At 



884 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the age of two and one-half years our sub- 
ject had his hip dislocated, and he was un- 
able to attend school regularly, but by 
studying at home he acquired a good edu- 
cation, and prepared himself for business 
life. He resided with his parents unt^l 
about thirty-two years of age, assisting some 
with the farm work, and then established a 
general merchandise store in \\'hite Creek, 
and soon after added the farm machinery. 
I'or over twelve years he was postmaster, 
and discharged his duties faithfully and 
well. 

Mr. Dunn was married April 2j, iS86, 
to Amy Esther Foster, daughter of Leon- 
ard and Esther (Roach) Foster, of Olin, 
Adams county. Two children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Dunn, as follows : 
Oscar Hilbert, born October 30, 1888; and 
Ira Glen, born September 3, 1892. In re- 
h'gious faith Mr. Dunn is a Congregation- 
alist. He has held various township offices, 
and in every instance has performed his du- 
ties with rare fidelity and increasyig popu- 
larity. He is a Republican in political sen- 
timent, but takes no active part in political 
movements. He is content to serve his 
community as a pri\ate citizen, lending his 
influence for the welfare of those around 
him, but not participating in public office. 
He has attained an assured position among 
the substantial men of his community, and is 
possessed of an indomitable will, untiring 
perseverance, and energetic character. 



MANELIOUS PEARSON, Deceased. 

Manelious Pearson, deceased, one of the 
first settlers of Lavalle township, Sauk coun- 
ty, passed an eventful life in that region, and 
was one of the prominent citizens of his 
community. He engaged in the pursuit of 
agriculture, and at the time of his death was 



one of the well-to-do men of the county, and 
enjoyed the highest esteem of his fellow 
m,en. 

Mr. Pearson was born near Bradford, 
Yorkshire, England, in 1810, and was the 
son of Samuel and Mary (Mitchell) Pear- 
son. His father was a manufacturer of 
woolen goods, and resided near Bradford 
until his death. Our subject was a weaver 
by trade, and worked thus until thirty-one 
years of age, when, in 1S42. he came to the 
United States. He purchased a farm of 
twenty acres in Indiana, and later moved 
to Columbus, Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
where he conducted one of the finest farms 
in that region. He returned to England in 
1847, ^"d the following year brought his 
family, consisting of his wife and three chil- 
dren, to the Wisconsin home. He moved 
to Lavalle township, Sauk county, in 1848, 
where he took up one hundred and sixty 
acres of land, which has since been the old 
homestead. He erected the first house in 
the township, and his daughter, Mary Anne, 
was the first white child born in Lavalle 
township. The country was wild, and 
abounded with bears, wolves and Indians, 
and he saw many hardships, and lived in 
wigwams with the Indians for some time. 
At one time he owned most of the land 
around his homestead, -and at the time of 
his death was in possession of three hun- 
dred and twenty acres in Lavalle township, 
and eighty acres in Palo Alto county, Iowa, 
which he visited frequently. 

Mr. Pearson was married in England to 
Sarah Wroe, daughter of Thomas and Sa- 
rah ( Worthington) Wroe. The family fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming, and were 
in good circumstances. Mrs. Pearson was 
born August 13, 181 5, and despite her ad- 
\anced age enjoys good health. She reads 
without the aid of glasses, and is active. 
She now makes her home with her son, 
Christopher. She has crossed the Atlantic 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



§85 



three times, and Mr. Pearson took the jour- 
ney seven times. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Pearson the following 
children were born : Charles, born Novem- 
ber 27, 1833, now living in Inmton, Wis- 
consin; Martha, born in 1836, now Mrs. 
James Harrison, of Ironton ; Isaac, born in 
1839, died in the fall of 1894; Mary Anne, 
now Mrs. George Innian, of Chicago ; 
Thomas, living on the homestead in La- 
valle township; and Christopher, living on 
the homestead, which has been divided, and 
on which he has erected a model residence. 

Mr. Pearson passed from this life May 
28, 1893, in Lavalle, aged eighty-three years. 
He took great interest in the development 
01 the country, and was a loyal citizen, 
Whose death was a loss to the entire com- 
munity. He was a stanch Democrat in po- 
litical sentiment, and on the last election 
previous to his death cast his vote for the 
candidat'es of that party. 

Charles Pearson, the eldest son of 
Manelious and Sarah (VVroe) Pearson, is a 
retired farmer, and resides in the village of 
Ironton. He came to America with his 
parents in 1848, and enlisted for the preser- 
vation of the Union in September, 1861, 
and became a member of Company B, 
Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. He saw ser- 
vice under Logan, Howard, Sherman and 
Grant, and was engaged in the sieges of 
Vick.sburg and Atlanta, and in the latter en- 
gagement was wounded in the left knee, 
September 28, 1864, and has been a sufferer 
in consequence until the present time. He 
was engaged upon a battery, and his hearing 
became affected, so that now he cannot hear 
well. He was discharged from the ser- 
vice in November, 1864, at Chattanooga. 
Returning from the army he engaged in 
farming near Ironton, and continued thus 
until 1890, when he sold his farm to his son, 
Charles, and has since resided in Ironton. 

Charles Pearson was married Tanuarv i. 



1853, to Martha Harrison, daughter of 
George and Martha Harrison, of Lavalle. 
Nine children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Pearson, eight of whom are .still liv- 
ing, as follows : Eleazer, now living in 
Ironton township ; Azilla, now M"rs; Rabuck, 
residing in Lavalle; Jacob, residing in La- 
valle ; Sarah, now Mrs. Thornton, of La- 
valle; Selena, now Mrs. Stowe, of Ironton; 
Charles, residing in Ironton ; Ida, teaching 
in the public school of Ironton; and Alina, 
a teacher in the Lavalle school. Mr. Pear- 
son is a member of H. A. Tator Post, G. A. 
R. In political sentiment he is a Republi- 
can, and despite the fact that his afflictions 
are such as kept him confined to his home, 
he takes great interest in the affairs of his 
party. He is a man who has made his in- 
fluence felt in his community, and is deserv- 
edly held in high esteem. 



PETER BAHL, Deceased. 

Peter Bahl, deceased, while in life was 
an honored veteran of our great Civil war, 
and an honest and hard-working man all his 
life, making his home in the town of Fort 
Winnebago, Columbia county. More than 
three-quarters of the century stretched 
away behind him before called to his rest, 
and he filled his years with earnest toil and 
the workings of an upright spirit. Mr. 
Bahl was born in Goldhausen, province of 
Nassau, Germany, July 25, 1824, and came 
of a family prominent in business and agri- 
cultural circles. His father, John Bahl, was 
a prosperous farmer and fruit grower, and 
served for many years as burgomaster of 
Goldhausen. He was the father of seven 
sons. One of these served in the German 
army, and three were surveyors. Three of 
his sons and one daughter have found homes 
w ithin the limits of the LTnited States. 



386 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Peter Bahl spent his earlier years un- 
der the parental roof tree, and was bred to 
the wagon maker's trade in Germany. In 
1854 he crossed the ocean, and found work 
at his trade in Milwaukee, where he contin- 
ued for nearly two years. From Milwaukee 
he removed to Dodgeville, and settled on a 
farm, giving for many years his chief atten- 
tion to his trade, lie was thirteen years in 
one shop, and was in demand in neighboring 
villages. His military experiences were 
confined to the closing months of the Civil 
war, but none the less creditable on that ac- 
count. He enlisted in February, 1865, and 
was the color bearer seven months. He 
was stationed at St. Louis and Rolla, Mis- 
souri, but was taken sick at Springfield, and 
passed through an exceedingly painful expe- 
rience, and retired from the army with 
health much impaired. 

Mr. Bahl was married soon after coming 
to this country to Miss Anne Mary Eulberg, 
a sister of Adam Eulberg, of Portage. She 
died at Dodgeville, Wisconsin, in 1876, aged 
thirty-eight years, and was also of German 
extraction, her birthplace being the village 
of Muelt, Nassau. She had one brother, 
and five sisters : Ludwig is a professor of 
music at Highland, Wisconsin. He grad- 
uated from St. F"rancis" Seminary, Milwau- 
kee, and has won a high standing in his 
chosen calling. Mary is dead. Elizabeth, 
Emma (Mrs. Theodore Gloeckler) and Su- 
sie are still living, while Anna died an in- 
fant. Mr. Bahl was an e.xtensive reader, 
and took much interest in current affairs. 
Mr. Bahl died May 9, 1900. 



CHRISTOPH SPIEHR. 

Christoph S])iehr. .Among the brave 
and far-sighted pioneers (d' Wisconsin the 
hardy, industrious and frugal emigrants 
were leaders, and ha\'e been important fac- 



tors in developing and sustaining the va- 
ried activities which, combined in a harmo- 
nious whole, constitute our modern civiliza- ' 
tion. A worthy representative of this class 
is Christoph Spiehr, who is one of the old- 
est settlers of Sauk City now living, hav- 
ing come here from Milwaukee, August 25, 
1850. For many years he was actively 
identified with the business interests of the 
place, but is now practically living retired. 

Mr. Spiehr was born September 7, 18 18, 
in Rehna, Germany, ten miles from Ham- 
burg, and was educated in his native land, 
but his opportunities along that line were 
limited. In early life he commenced learn- 
ing the tinsmith's trade, but before complet- 
ing his apprenticeship found that the busi- 
ness was injurious to his health, and on the 
advice of a physician abandoned it. Eater 
he learned the shoemaker's trade, but it 
seemed difficult, if not impossible, under the 
existing circumstances to accumulate any- 
thing, as only by the strictest economy and 
careful management he was able to meet his- 
daily expenses. So a change was deter- 
mined upon, and this country selected as 
offering the best inducements for a poor 
man. At the age of twenty-nine he took 
passage on a sailing vessel at Hamburg, and 
after a rough and stormy passage of forty- 
two days' duration finally reached the harbor 
of New York. At first the skies seemed 
bright, and amid the regrets of parting from 
friends and native land, came hope for a 
better future in this land of liberty, of which 
he had heard so much. 

From New York Mr. Spiehr went to 
Buffalo, and later to Milwaukee, where he 
worked at his trade and made many friends, 
among wiliom were leather dealers, who 
willingly assisted him in subsequent years. 
As previously stated, he came to Sauk City, 
August 25, 1850, and as he was without 
money, and could not afford to hire a con- 
veyance, he made the journey on foot. This 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



387 



section at that time was all wild and unim- 
proved. He opened a shop in Sauk City, 
and in order to secure a start worked day 
and night, sometimes until two o'clock in 
the morning. He thus proved to the leather 
dealers in Milwaukee that he was honest, 
industrious and persevering, and he had no 
trouble in securing supplies on credit. He 
continued to work at his trade for many 
years with good success, but is now living 
retired, peacefully passing his declining 
years in caring for his garden and taking 
life easy. He has platform scales upon his 
place and weighs hay, etc. 

Mr. Spiehr married Conradina Biersch- 
wale, also a native of Germany, by whom 
he has had four children, three now living, 
namely: Charles, a druggist of Chicago; 
Mrs. Louisa Weisenborn, of ^Milwaukee; 
and Mrs. Bertha Housen, of Chippewa 
Falls, Wisconsin, whose husband is a college 
professor. Mr. Spiehr is a free thinker and 
a member of the Free Congregation of Sauk 
City, to which he sold the land on which 
tlieir chapel is built. He was one of the 
organizers of the society, and one of its first 
officers. He has witnessed almost the en- 
tire growth of Sauk City, and in early days 
took an active part in every enterprise cal- 
culated to prove of public benefit, securing 
the ground for a cemetery, organizing the 
fire company, and using his influence for the 
establishment of a postoftice here. He is 
widely known and highly respected, and on 
the rolls of Sauk county's honored pioneers 
his name should be among the foremost. He 
and his wife visited the World's Fair in 
Chicago in 1893, and had a very enjoyable 
time. 



ANANIAS HARRIS. 

Ai;anias Harris, one of the most success- 
ful farmers of Adams county, was born in 
the town of Henderson, JefYerson county. 



New York, December 13, 1812. He has led 
a life of industry, frugality and temperance, 
and though now in the eighty-seventh year 
of his age, he still exhibits remarkable activ- 
ity of mind and body. He sprang of early 
New England families, many members of 
which have been conspicuous for physical 
longevity, independent ideas and stability of 
purpose. 

He is a lineal descendant of Anthony 
Harris, senior, who was born of Welsh jiar- 
ents at Richmond, Chester county. New 
Hampshire, in 1736. Among his children 
was a daughter, Lydia, who became the 
mother of Reverend Hosea Ballon, the 
famous pioneer of Universalism in New 
England. He also had a son, Anthony, 
who became the father of Jeremiah Harris, 
and grandfather of the subject of this no- 
tice. Jeremiah Harris was also a native of 
Richmond, New Hampshire, and lived at 
different times in New York, Canada, Ohio 
and Pennsylvania. His later years were 
spent in the last named state, and his death 
occurred in the town of Springfield, Erie 
county, about 1 847, at the age of over eighty 
years. He was an earnest adherent of the 
Universalist faith, and very fond of relig- 
ious argument, at which he excelled. Though 
never ordained as a minister, he frequently 
filled the pulpit and always attracted goodly 
congregations. He married Priscilla Cole, 
who departed this life in 1868, after attain- 
ing the age of nearly ninety years. She 
was a daughter of Barnabas Cole, who was 
born at Chatham, Massachusetts, and en- 
listed from that state in the Continental 
army. He is supposed to have been a de- 
scendant of Isaac Cole, a native of Sand- 
wich, county of Kent, England, who came 
to Massachusetts in 1634. In civil life Bar- 
nabas Cole was a farmer. He died in the 
town of Conneaut, Erie county, Pennsylva- 
nia, at the age of nearly eighty years. 

Jeremiah and Priscilla Harris w'ere the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



parents of seven sons and two daughters, 
several of whom reached the age of more 
than eighty years. Their names were : Si- 
las, Levi, Barney, Luke, Jeremiah, Caleb, 
Ananias, Sarah (Mrs. C. P. Ellis) and Me- 
lissa. All but the last named reached ma- 
ture age, and six of the number became resi- 
dents of Wisconsin. Levi was a Univer- 
salist clergyman. 

Ananias Harris, who is the only survivor 
of his father's family, was about fourteen 
years old when he located with his parents 
in Springfield, Pennsylvania. He lived 
there until 1856, when he came to Wiscon- 
sin. After spending one season in the town 
01 La Grange, Walworth county, he settled 
on his present farm in the town of Spring- 
ville, Adams county. A small clearing had 
previously been made thereon, and he at 
once set about its further improvement. 
From time to time he made additions to the 
original purchase, and has owned more than 
a section of land in all. Though he has 
given each of his children a farm, he still 
has two hundred and forty acres with sub- 
stantial improvements. The farm is well 
stocked and under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. He has concerned himself very little 
with public affairs, but has maintained a 
reputation for strict integrity and persever- 
ing industry. 

Mr. Harris was first married, January 
20, 1839, to Margaret, daughter of Joshua 
and Margaret Smith. She was a native of 
Pennsylvania, and died at Springfield, Oc- 
tober 6, 1 84 1, at the age of twenty-three 
years. She left two sons: Milo and 
Charles G. The latter, who served three 
years in Company E, Nineteenth Wisconsin 
Volunteer Lifantry, was seized with con- 
sumption while in that service and died at 
Springfield, Pennsylvania, not being able 
to reach his home in Wisconsin. 

April 18. 1845, ^^i'- Harris was married 
to Phoebe Cordelia, daughter of Isaac and 



Jane (Cole) Brower. Mrs. Harris was born 
in the county of McKean, state of Penn- 
sylvania. Her parents were natives of New 
"^^ork, her mother probably of the same 
family from which Barnabas Cole de- 
scended. Six children were born of the 
last mentioned union, George Britton and 
Cordelia P. having died in childhood. The 
survivors are: Margaret E. (Mrs. H. S. 
Willard), Edson B., Matilda Jane and Julia 
(Mrs. George Ager), all living in Adams 
county. 



CAPT. OLE MATHL-\S BENDIXEN. 

Captain Ole Mathias Bendixen, a well- 
known ex-sheriff of Columbia county, has 
for many years been one of its most highly 
esteemed and valued citizens. He is of for- 
eign birth, but his duties of citizenship have 
ever been performed with a loyafty equal to 
that of any native son of America, and when 
the nation was imperiled by rebellion he 
V, ent to the defense of the Union and pro- 
tected the cause of his adopted country on 
many a southern battlefield. 

A native of Norway, Mr. Bendixen was 
born in Flekkefiord, Prestigeld, April 14, 
1833, a"d is a son of Tollag E. and Anna 
Maria (Torkelson) Bendixen, also natives 
nf that place, where the father followed 
farming for many years, as did also the pa- 
ternal grandfather and great-grandfather, 
and the maternal grandfather, Torkel Tor- 
kelson. In 1850, Tollag Bendixen, with his 
family, sailed for the United States, and on 
reaching the shores of this country came di- 
rect to Columbia county, Wisconsin, locat- 
ii!g on a farm in Lewiston township, where 
he died September 2, 1888, when nearly 
eighty-two years of age. The wife and 
mother died in 1861. Of the five children 
born to this worthy couple, three died in 
Norway, and our subject is the only one 
now living. 




CAPTAIH OLE M. BEHDIXEH. 




MRS. OLE H. BEHDIXEN. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



393 



Ole M. Bendixen received a limited edu- 
cation in the schools of his native land, and 
was reared to farm life. He was seventeen 
years of age when he accompanied his par- 
ents on their emigration to tlie new world, 
and has since made his home in Lewiston 
township, Columbia county, Wisconsin, on 
the farm which his father took as a squat- 
ter's claim. He now owns six hundred 
acres of valuable land divided into four 
farms, and has for many years made a spe- 
cialty of hop culture. 

During the Civil war Mr. Bendixen en- 
hsted October 29, 1861, in Comppmy D, Fif- 
teenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which 
was assigned to the Army of the Cumber- 
land, and at different times was under the 
command of Commodore Foote, Generals 
Buell, Rosecrans and Sherman. His first 
engagement of any importance was the siege 
of Island No. 10, which was followed by the 
battles of Perryville, Stone River and Chick- 
amauga. At the last named engagement he 
was wounded and sent to hospital No. 8, 
Nashville, and later transferred to Harvey 
hospital, Madison, Wisconsin. He rejoined 
his regiment at Chattanooga, Tennessee, 
July 8, 1864, and was detailed to take charge 
of the guard at the hospital on Lookout 
mountain, having been promoted to the rank 
of sergeant previous to being wiounded. 
Three months later he joined his regiment in 
guarding Whiteside Station, where he re- 
mained until mustered out February 13, 
1865. He received a brevet captain's com- 
mission, dated October 8, 1862, as a recogni- 
tion of conspicuous gallantry at the battle of 
Perryville. 

On the 22nd of January, 1869, Mr. Ben- 
dixen married Miss Julia Scott, also a na- 
tive of Norway, who came to America in 
1850 with her parents, Peter and Gonel 
Scott, of McFarland, Dane county, Wiscon- 
sin. _ Six children have been born of this 
union, namely: Anna Maria, now the wife 



of Christ Anset, of Lewiston township; Jo- 
sephine Tallene, who successfully engaged in 
teaching for several, years, and died July 15, 
1899; Ella Sophia, now Mrs. Robert Kerr; 
Tollag Blaine, Lawrence, Amanda G., and 
Cora Mabel, at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bendixen are prominent 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
of Portage, of which he is one of the trus- 
tees, and was a member of the building com- 
mittee, and socially he belongs to Roselle 
Post, No. 14, G. A. R., in which he has 
served as senior vice-commander. In politi- 
cal sentiment he has always been a stanch 
Republican, has been a delegate to most of 
tlie county conventions of his party since the 
war, to the state convention in 1890, and to 
congressional and other conventions, where 
he has rendered his party effective service. 
Being one of the most prominent and influen- 
tial citizens of his community; he has been 
called upon to fill a number of local offices of 
honor and trust, serving as township treas- 
urer five years, member of the board of su- 
pervisors and chairman of the board in Lew- 
iston township for two years. In 18S6 he 
was nominated for sheriff, and though de- 
feated at that time he was elected to the same 
office in 1896. His official duties were ever 
discharged with the utmost promptness and 
fidelity, worthy of all commendation, and 
his public and private life are alike above re- 
proach. He now resides on the farm in 
Lewiston township. Portraits of Mr. Ben- 
dixen and wife, shown on other pages in this 
volume, will please a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances who are attached to them 
by admiration and regard for their many 
sterling virtues and unblemished probity. 



MILO HARRIS. 

Milo Harris, an honored and highly re- 
spected citizen of Kill)ourn, Columbia coun- 
ty. \\'isconsin, who, after years of active 



894 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



labor as an agriculturist, is now living a re- 
tired life, enjoying the fruits of former toil, 
was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, 
September i8, 1839, and is the only surviv- 
ing son of Ananias and Margaret Harris, of 
whom more extended mention is made on 
another page of this volume. 

At the age of seventeen our subject came 
to Wisconsin, and the greater part of his 
life has been passed in z\dams county. On 
the 26th of September, 1864, he enlisted as 
a recruit in Company K, Twenty-fifth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, under command 
of Col. J. M. Rusk, afterward governor of 
the state. He joined Sherman's army after 
the fall of Atlanta, went on the celebrated 
march to the sea, and was all through the 
Carolina campaign. As a private he par- 
ticipated in the battles of Bentonville, Golds- 
boro, and Salkahatchie, and the capture of 
Columbia, South Carolina. At Newbern, 
North Carolina, he was incapacitated by 
malarial fever and sent on a transport to 
New York, where he remained in a hospital 
at Willet's Point until honorably discharged, 
June 8, 1865. After the war Mr. Harris 
engaged in farming in Springville township, 
Adams county, where he owned a fine farm 
of two hundred and forty-five acres, and in 
his undertakings met with marked success, 
so that he is now able to lay aside all busi- 
ness cares and spend his declining years in 
ease and quiet, surrounded by all the com- 
forts which make life worth the living. He 
now makes his home in the town of Kil- 
bourn, Columbia county. 

On the 2ist of February, 1866, Mr. 
Harris married Miss Emma M. Willard, 
who was born in St. Lawrence county, New 
York, May 26, 1848. a daughter of Lean- 
der and Lucy A. Willard. By this union 
were born two sons : Charles A., born Feb- 
ruary 3, 1867, died April 14, 1890. Law- 
rence N. married Lillian L. Billings, a 
sketch of whose parents is given elsewhere 



in this volume, and is now operating the old 
homestead farm in Springville township, 
Adams county. 

Mr. Harris was an honored member and 
held the office of senior vice commander of 
J. C. Miller Post, No. 143, G. A. R., of 
Oxford, and in politics is a supporter of the 
Republican party. He has served as jus- 
tice of the peace in Oxford, and has Ijeen a 
member of the board of education three 
years. Upright and honorable in all the re- 
lations of life, he commands the respect and 
confidence of those with whom he comes in 
contact, and he has a host of friends in the 
community where he resides. 



LORENZO GARDNER. 

Lorenzo Gardner. Among the great 
agricultural states of the west Wisconsin 
stands well to the front in the variety and 
quality of its products, and the grains, stock 
and dairy, as well as the garden and vine- 
yard, have returned their full shares re- 
spectively of the abundance that has earned 
for this state its enviable rank. Sauk 
county has not lagged behind in the annual 
outpouring of nature's riches, and the gen- 
tleman whose name introduces this biogra- 
phy, and whose home is in Lavalle town- 
ship, has for more than a quarter of a cent- 
ury been recognized as one of the leading 
and most successful agriculturists of the 
county. 

Lorenzo Gardner was born August g, 
1838, in Pennsylvania, son of Elisha P. and 
Phoebe (Jordan) Gardner. Elisha P. Gard- 
ner was born in Otsego county, New York, 
and Phoebe (Jordan) Gardner was born 
near Knoxville, Pennsylvania. Elisha 
Gardner brought his family to Dane county, 
Wisconsin, in the spring of 1851, and the 
next year moved to a farm near Reedsburg, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



895 



Sauk county, where he remained three or 
four years. He afterwards purchased a 
farm in Winfield township, then sold it, and 
purchased the farm whicl: became his home- 
stead, and is now occupied by his son, W. 
S. Gardner. Ehsha P. Gardner died at La- 
valle, February lo, 1891, and his faithful 
wife died in the same village March 21, 
1898. 

Until he was sixteen years of age Lo- 
renzo Gardner, the suliject of this review, 
worked on the farm and attended the pub- 
lic schools of the neighborhood, where he 
picked up such education as could be gleaned 
under such circumstances. He has always 
been a great observer, and he has in this 
way gathered a fund of practical knowl- 
edge from many sources that has stood him 
in good stead on many occasions and af- 
fords him much pleasure and entertainment. 
When about seventeen years old he went to 
Grand Rapids, and engaged in carpenter 
work. He helped to erect the first frame 
building in the village of Centralia, now a 
thriving suburb of Grand Rapids, on the op- 
posite bank of the Wisconsin river. After 
about five years of this work he returned to 
Sauk county and purchased a farm near the 
old homestead, and this farm he has since 
occupied. He has made a success of farm- 
ing, and has an estate of great value, en- 
hanced by excellent improvements and con- 
veniences suitable for the prosecution of 
modern agriculture. He is practical and 
original in his ideas and keeps pace with 
advancing methods and progress in this 
branch of industry. 

Mr. Gardner was married September 2, 
1862, to Sarah J. White, daughter of John 
and Jane ( Cottrell ) White, natives of Eng- 
land, who came to the United States in 
1848. To Mr. and Mrs. Gardner ten chil- 
dren have been born, six of whom are now 
living, named as follows : Etta, born April 
3. 1864. now Mrs. Packard, of Canton, Wis- 



consin; Frank L., born February 10, 1866, 
living at Lavalle; Mary, born June 30, 1869, 
now Mrs. Stel^bins, of Woodland, Wis- 
consin; Elmer, born August i, 1873; Isabel, 
born February 14, 1882; and Louisa, born 
July 20, 1883, all at home. Mr. Gardner 
takes an active interest in public matters, has 
always been a stanch Republican, has been 
elected to various town offices from time to 
time, and has always discharged his trust 
with honesty, fidelity and to the satisfaction 
of his constituents. 



AUGUST RUSCH. 

August Rusch, one of the oldest engin- 
eers on the La Crosse division of the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and 
an honored resident of Portage, Wisconsin, 
was born in Pomerania, Germany, April 2, 
1846, a son of WiUiam and Sophia ( Bartel) 
Rusch, also natives of that place, who in 
1847 came to the United States and located 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the father 
at first worked at his trade of blacksmith- 
ing. After a time he entered the shops of 
the Milwaukee & La Crosse Railroad at that 
place, and in 1862 was transferred to the 
shops at Portage, where he was employed 
for a number of years, but spent his last 
days in retirement from active labor, enjoy- 
ing a well-earned rest. He died in Portage 
September 9, 1893, at the ripe old age of 
eighty years. Li political sentiment he was 
a stanch Republican, and for one term he 
most capably served his fellow citizens as 
alderman from the fifth ward of Portage. 
He was an active and faithful memljer of 
the Lutheran church, which he helped to or- 
ganize here, and was a trustee of the same 
for some years. His estimable wife still 
survives him, and is living in Portage at the 
age of seventy-four years. Her parents died 



396 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



in Milwaukee. Our subject is the oldest of 
a family of five children, three sons and two 
daughters, who reached years of maturity, 
the others being Frank, a locomotive engin- 
eer living in Portage; Frederick, a fireman 
of the same place; Minna, widow of Her- 
man Kuntzman and a resident of Stillwater, 
Minnesota; and Bertha, a resident of Port- 
age. 

August Rusch was a mere infant when 
brought by his parents to the new world, 
and was educated in the public schools of 
Milwaukee. At the age of fourteen he en- 
tered the employ of the Milwaukee & La 
Crosse Railroad, now the La Crosse divis- 
ion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railroad, with which he has ever since been 
connected. He began as wiper in the shops 
at Portage, later was fireman for six years, 
and since 1869 has been a locomotive en- 
gineer, being on the passenger run between 
Portage and Milwaukee for several years 
past. Being sober, industrious and pains- 
tc'^king, he is a most valuable employe, as is 
evinced by his long service with one of the 
leading railroad companies of the north- 
west, for it is a well-known fact that such 
corporations keep in their employ only those 
who best serve their interests. 

On the 20th of August, 1882, Mr. Rusch 
married Miss Augusta Peterman, a daugh- 
ter of William and Minna (Heuer) Peter- 
man, of Milwaukee, who were also from 
Pomerania, Germany, and came to this 
country in 1839. For many years the fa- 
ther was a hardware dealer in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, where he died January 9, 1897, 
aged seventy-one years and eight months, 
and his wife passed away April 22, 1882, 
aged fifty-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Rusch have been born five children, as fol- 
lows : Alary, Julia, Edna, Emma and Her- 
bert. The family occcupy a verv pleasant 
modern home on Cass street, which Mr. 
Rusch has recently remodeled, and they 



are connected with the Lutheran church of 
Portage. Fraternally Mr. Rusch is a mem- 
ber of Division No. 66, B. of L. E., and 
politically is identified with the Republi- 
can party, but takes no active part in politics 
aside from voting. He is widely known and 
highly respected, and justly merits the high 
regard in which he is held, for his life has 
always been honorable and upright. 



JAMES FRANKLLN VON ALSTINE. 

The dells of the Wisconsin river furnish 
ideal places for country homes, and among 
those who have taken advantage of one of 
the brightest spots on which to locate is the 
gentleman whose name heads this review. 
Flis farm is one of the finest in the vicinity, 
and he has spared no pains to make it such, 
and the natural surroundings have aided in 
liis \vork. The farm is part of what Hs 
known as Witch's Gulch, and has almost a 
mile of river frontage, making" it an ideal 
spot for tourists and a valuable farm prop- 
erty. His homestead is located in Dell 
Prairie township, and he has been a resident 
of Adams county for a quarter of a cen- 
tury, and is well known and enjoys an en- 
viable reputation. 

Mr. Von Alstine was born in Erie, Erie 
county, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1840, and 
was the son of Joseph and Harriet (Blake) 
Von Alstine. His father was born in Scho- 
harie county, New York, and his mother in 
Onondaga county, New York. The father 
was engaged in early life in the salt works 
in Syracuse, and later followed farming. 
He came west in 1853, to Baraboo, Sauk 
county, Wisconsin, where he remained one 
\ear, and then moved to Lyndon, Juneau 
county. He removed to Springville town- 
ship. Adams county, in 1856, and purchased 
land on which he conducted farming until 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



397 



his death March i6, 1874. His wife died 
October 12, of the same year, and both were 
buried in Kilbourn cemetery. 

Our subject came to Wisconsin with his 
parents when thirteen years of age and had 
previously attended school in Pierpont, 
Ohio, and when the family located in Sauk 
county, he attended school in Baraboo. 
After moving to Juneau county he worked 
in the pineries and was thus engaged fif- 
teen winters, and spent twenty-six summers 
as raftsman on the Wisconsin, Yellow and 
Mississippi rivers. He moved to his pres- 
ent home in 1874, and has been a continuous 
resident of Dell Prairie township since. 

Mr. Von Alstine was married, October 
16, 1857, to Eliza O'Connor, daughter of 
William and Elizabeth O'Connor, of Penn- 
sylvania. Mrs. Von Alstine's father was 
born near Niagara Falls, Canada, and left 
there in 181 2, and her mother was born in 
Baltimore, Maryland. Her parents came to 
Oconomowoc, Waukesha county, Wiscon- 
sin, in 1844, and the father was a cooper 
by trade, but farmed while there. The fam- 
ily moved to Sauk county in 1 854, and after 
one year came to SpringA'ille township, 
Adams county, and remained until 1859, 
thence moved to Necedah, Juneau county, 
and the father engaged in the lumber and 
cranberry business. He purchased a farm 
in Lisbon township, Juneau county, in 1862, 
on which he pursued farming until his death 
ill 1875. The mother of Mrs. Von Alstine 
died in 1873, ^^^'^ '^oth parents rest at New 
Lisbon. Mr. and Mrs. Von Alstine are the 
parents of the following children : William 
died in 1872; Emmett, farmer, in Dell 
Prairie township; Helen, now Mrs. Hamil- 
ton Tyler, of Dell Prairie; Albert, in Big 
Springs, Adams county; Warren, in Dell 
Prairie township; George, employed in the 
car service on the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad; Edith, residing at home; Her- 
bert, at home; and Frederick, at home. Mr. 



Von Alstine is a Republican in political 
sentiment, but does not seek public prefer- 
ment. He is interested in his community's 
welfare, and supports feasible public meas- 
ures and enterprises. 



SAMUEL SAMPSON. 

For the past half a century Columbia 
county has had no more energetic and able 
representative among her farming com- 
munity than the gentleman above named. 
He is the possessor of a fine estate in Ot- 
sego township and has gained an abundance 
of property to tide him through his declin- 
ing years and also possesses an enviable 
reputation. 

Our subject was born near Bergen, Nor- 
way, March 6, 1837, and was a son of Tor- 
bm and Anna (Ellingson) Sampson, na- 
tives of Voss, near Bergen. His father 
was a farmer in Norway, and came to the 
United States in 1844. After spending four 
years in Boone county, Illinois, he came 
to Columbia county, Wisconsin, and settled 
in the town of Lowville, where he pur- 
chased wild land. He resided there until 
his death October 2, 1897, aged nearly 
eighty-eight years. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject, Samuel Sampson, 
lived and died in Norway. Our subject's 
mother died in the town of Lowville, Co- 
lumbia county, December 12, 1897, aged 
ninety years. The parents of Samuel Samp- 
son were members of the Lutheran church, 
of Bonnett Prairie, which they assisted in 
organizing soon after going to the county 
in 1849. The following children were born 
to this worthy couple: Samuel, our subject; 
Peter died in Jackson county, Wisconsin ; 
Severt, of Wilkins county, Minnesota; 
Ever, deceased, served four years in the 
U. S. army during the Civil war in the 



398 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Thirty-second \\'isconsin Volunteer In- 
fantry, marclied with Slierman to the sea 
■ and participated in numerous battles; El- 
ling died in Minnesota ; Anna, residing in 
Rio, \\'isconsin. 

Samuel Sampson came to Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, at the age of twelve 
years, and at the age of eighteen years be- 
gan farming for himself. About 1870 he 
purchased eighty acres of his present farm 
in the town of Otsego. His entire tract of 
two hundred acres is now, thoroughly im- 
proved with substantial and commodious 
buildings, his own w^ork, and he has pros- 
pered to a remarkable degree. He has gi\-en 
attention to tobacco culture for the past few 
years and is also interested in stock rais- 
ing. For twenty-five years he operated a 
threshing machine and introduced the first 
steam machine in the county. He was a 
stockholder in the first cooperative cheese 
factory at Rio, of which he later became 
sole owner, and he also built a creamery in 
the village of Otsego and operated the same 
three years. 

Our subject was married December 25, 
1858, to Esther Christine Jurgerson, daugh- 
ter of Hans and Carrie (Gunderson) Jur- 
gerson. Mrs. Sampson was born in Holden, 
Norway, and came to the United States with 
her parents in 1846. The family spent one 
wninter in Walworth county and then settled 
in the town of Otsego, being among the pio- 
neers of Columbia county. Mr. Jurgerson 
died at the age of sixty-five years, and the 
mother died about 1852. Mrs. Sampson 
was adopted in childhood by her aunt and 
uncle, Peter and Kjerste (Gunderson) Hal- 
vorson, with whom she lived until her mar- 
riage. The present home of Mr. and Mrs. 
Sampson is the homestead of Mr. and Mrs. 
Halvorson, who settled there in 1846. Mr. 
Halvorson died in 1884. aged seventy-six 
years, and his wife died two years later, 
aged eightv-two vears. Mr. and Mrs. 



Sampson are the parents of fourteen children 
now living, and one other who died in in- 
fancy. Those who reached maturity are as 
follows : Thomas, residing in Rio, Wiscon- 
sin, traveling representative of a grain firm; 
Mary C, now Mrs. Rev. H. Engh, of Thors- 
by, Alabama; Anna C, now Mrs. O. Jar- 
show, of Hazel Run, Minnesota ;Henry, cash- 
ier of the Bank of Elbow Lake, Elbow Lake, 
Minnesota ;SinaM., now Mrs. Rev. Otto Ot- 
tesen, of Sioux Rapids, Iowa ; Clara L., now 
Mrs. Rev. O. M. Vereide, of Buffalo Center, 
Iowa ; George, residing at home, a gradu- 
ate of Stoughton Academy, and a commer- 
cial traveler; Cora E. ; William O. ; Her- 
man A., assistant cashier of a bank at Mon- 
tevideo, Minnesota ; Walter O. ; Elmer A. ; 
Olga Rosina and Matilda. Mr. and Mrs. 
Sampson have twenty-three grandchildren. 
The family has enjoyed good advantages 
and is connected with the Bonnett Prairie 
Lutheran church, of which Mr. Sampson 
was a trustee for many years. He contrib- 
uted toward the erection of the stone church 
edifice erected in 1867. He is well known 
in local affairs of Otsego township and was 
chairman of the board for three years. Po- 
litically he is a Republican, but in recent 
years is not active in party affairs. 



HENRY SARRINGTON. 

Henry Sarrington, a prominent miller 
and business man of Delton, Sauk county, 
has been a resident of that region over 
thirty years, and has aided in the upbuild- 
ing of his township and county, and is well 
known for his industry and honesty. His 
mill was the first one built in that vicinity, 
and he enjoys a large patronage from many 
miles around. 

Mr. Sarrington was born at Ketter- 
ing, Northampton, England, December 
-5- 1835. and was the son of Jonas 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



899 



and Eliza Ann (Baker) Sarrington. His 
father was a farmer l\v occupatiim ami 
never left his native land, both he antl 
his wife dying in England. Our sub- 
ject was afforded good educational ad- 
vantages, and attended school until he 
reached the age of sixteen years, when he 
was apprenticed to the trade which he has 
followed throughout his life. He was ap- 
prenticed for three years to a miller and was 
employed thus until he came to America, 
in the winter of 1856. He arrived at New 
York March 6, 1857, and at once proceeded 
to Oneida county, where he located and fol- 
lowed his trade three years. He then de- 
cided to turn his way westward, and see 
what was in store for a young man of good 
ability and strong will, and accordingly came 
to Wisconsin, and for one year made Berlin 
his home. He then moved to Retton, where 
he stayed three years as miller, and in 1867 
removed to Delton, Sauk county, and was 
employed as miller until 1882, when he pur 
chased the property and business and has 
continued as proprietor to the present time. 
Dell creek furnishes good power, and the 
mill does the best of work. He is a thor- 
ough miller and his business steadily in- 
creases. The mill was the first grist-mill 
built in that section of the country. 

Mr. Sarrington was married, July 4, 
1865, to Susan Bolderson. Mrs. Sarring- 
ton died July 7, 1889, leaving three chil- 
dren, as follows : Evelyn, now Mrs. Julius 
Sumner, of Detroit, Michigan; Leslie H., 
working with his father in the mill at Del- 
tun; and Grace, attending school in Poy- 
iiette, Wisconsin. Mr. Sarrington married 
Emma Mash, of Excelsior township, Sauk 
county, January 2, 1893. 

Mr. Sarrington is a man of excellent 
characteristics, and has devoted a great 
share of his time to the interests of his com- 
munity. At one time and another he has 
held most of the important offices of trust 



in his township, and in every instance has 
performed the duties with a oneness of pur- 
pose and ability which has won for him 
the confidence and esteem of his associates. 
He was district treasurer for nine years, and 
his popularity is marked throughout the 
county. In political faith he is a Demo- 
crat, and stands firmly for the principles of 
his party. He keeps abreast of the times, 
and in all matters of a public nature gives 
his support when the interests of his com- 
munity will be enhanced by so doing. He 
came into the state when it was a wild coun- 
try, and has witnessed its transformation 
into one of the foremost countries of the 
west, and it is to his iniiuence in a great 
measure the present high state of civiliza- 
tion found in Sauk county is traceable. He 
did his duty as a pioneer and then contin- 
ued along the same line working for his 
fellowmen, and is now held in their minds 
and hearts as a loyal citizen and friend. 



LYMAN N. MORSE. 

Lyman N. Morse, an enterprising agri- 
culturist of Adams county, Wisconsin, is 
the owner of a fine farm near Big Spring, 
and his management of the place is marked 
by the scientific knowledge and skill which 
characterize the modern farmer. He was 
bijrn in Big Spring, Septemlser 2t,. 1851, 
an^l is the oldest son of Uri Morse, of whom 
further mention is made elsewhere in this 
volume. He was educated in the common 
and high schools of Kilbourn City, and as a 
steady and industrious youth, he assisted in 
the labors of the home farm until he attained 
his majority. 

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Morse be- 
gan teaching school in Pittsville, Wood 
county, Wisconsin, where he successfully fol- 
lowed that pursuit for three years, but his 



400 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



health would not permit its continuance. 
Believing that farming would prove bene- 
ficial, he purchased eighty acres of very 
fertile land in New Haven township, Adams 
county, in 1875, and not only placed the 
land under excellent cultivation, but also 
made many substantial improvements there- 
on, planting an orchard and erecting good 
buildings. In 1888 he removed to Big 
Spring, having come into possession of one 
hundred and twenty acres near that village, 
ninety acres of which were under cultiva- 
tion. Here he raises small grain and clover, 
and is quite extensively interested in the 
breeding of horses, cattle and hogs. In- 
dustrious, persevering and enterprisnig, he 
has become one of the most successful farm- 
ers in the locality. 

On the 19th of March, 1876, Mr. Morse 
was united in marriage with Miss Georgia 
M. Wells, who was born near Big Spring, 
September 9, 1856, and was educated in the 
common schools. Her father, Simeon S. 
Wells, was born in Berlin, Vermont, Feb- 
ruary 20, 1816, and died January 18, 1874. 
He was married, June 15^, 1842, to Mary 
A. Smith, who was born in Hatley, Canada 
East, February 25, 1825, and now lives with 
her children. Our subject and his wife 
have four children : Leslie L., born April 
29, 1880; Arthur D., born March 24, 1883; 
Clara M., born June 26, 1886; and Horace 
C, born October 16, 1889. 

Mr. Morse was one of the organizers of 
the town iire insurance company, in which 
he has filled important official positions, and 
through his efforts and good management 
the organization has been placed on a solid 
basis, the community owing him a debt of 
gratitude for being able to secure cheap fire 
and lightning insurance. Politically he is 
a Republican and has represented his town 
many times in the conventions of the party. 
He is also a prominent member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America, in which 



lodge he has filled the most responsible of- 
fices. Since the age of eighteen years he 
has been an active and influential member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and at 
the age of nineteen was chosen superintend- 
ent of the Sunday school, which position he 
has filled almost continuously since. He 
takes a deep interest in everything for the 
good of the community, his influence is 
great and always for good, and his example 
is well worthy of emulation. 



THADDEUS LEUTE. 

The foreign-born residents of Wiscon- 
sin have contributed a large proportion to. 
the development of that state, and the Ger- 
man empire has many able representatives 
among the number, foremost of whom may 
well be mentioned the gentleman whose name 
is presented to the readers. He has made a 
success of the pursuit of agriculture in his 
adopted land, and his estate is one of the 
best in Dell Prairie township, Adams county. 
He labored through many weary years dur- 
ing his early settlement in this region, and 
his estate of the present day bears little trace 
of its primitive condition. He now has 
commodious and substantial buildings, ex- 
cellent land cleared for cultivation, and va- 
rious other improvements which would pre- 
sent themselves to the visitor in a way that 
would at once call to mind the lab^>r neces- 
sary to bring it to its present high state of 
cultivation and improvement. 

Mr. Leute was born in Baden, Germany, 
October 28, 1832, and was the son of Thad- 
deus and Frances (Matheus) Leute, of Ba- 
den, Germany. His father was a shoemaker 
by trade, and passed his career in his native 
land. Our subject until fourteen years of 
age attended school, and was afterward en- 
gaged at farm work until twenty-two years 
of aee, when he came to America and located 



IT 





COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



■403 



in Dell Prairie township, Adams county. He 
purchased the farm where he now resides, 
and has been a continuous resident of that 
township since. He owns one hundred and 
fifty acres of good land, and the buildings on 
the estate have all been erected by him. It 
took careful management and earnest lal)or 
to accomplish the purpose for which he came 
to the new home, but he never once lacked the 
courage to proceed with his task, and is to- 
day one of the substantial men of his com- 
munity. 

Mr. Leute was married October 28, 1867, 
to Kunigunda Naber, daughter of Lawrence 
and Kunigunda Naber, of Bayern, Germany. 
Mrs. Leute's father came to the United 
States in 1866, and located at Kilbourn, 
where he engaged in farming for about ten 
years. His death occurred about 1889, and 
he was buried at Kilbourn. Four children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leute. as 
follows: Theodore, born June 2^), 1869, 
now working with his father on the home 
farm; Mary Ann, born October 12, 1871, 
now residing at home ; Helena, born Alay 30, 
1882, residing at present at home, and Thad- 
deus, the first born, who died at the age of 
fourteen. Mr. Leute is a communicant of 
the Catliolic church at Killjdurn. He is an 
excellent example of a self-made man, and 
in the gaining of a competence and his pres- 
ent estate he has made for himself an en- 
viable reputation as an industrious and hon- 
est man. His vocation is one well suited to 
his characteristics and calls forth hospitality, 
charity and brotherly kindness. He has not 
been active in political movements, but is a 
gentleman who keeps abreast of the times on 
the important issues, and lends his influence 
for right and the best in local and national 
government. The development and exten- 
sion of the great agricultural interests in this 
part of the county are in part due to his in- 
dustry and push, and the success which has 
been his is justlv deserved. 



Portraits of Mr. Leute and his estimable 
wife are shown on another page in this vol- 
ume. 



FREDERICK B. HA^IILTON. 

Frederick B. Hamilton, for many years 
a successful and public-spirited citizen of 
Waushara county, has a home in Hancock, 
v/here he is interested in assisting his two 
sons in their business,, as far as age and health 
will permit. His business standing is be- 
yond question, his personal character above 
reproach, and though he has all but com- 
pleted the allotted measure of life and is still 
alert and vigorous. 

The Hamiltons are an old New England 
family, and Lebbeus, the father of Fred- 
erick, was born in HaHfax, Windham coun- 
ty, Vermont, in May, 1794. After the 
good old American fashion he moved west 
as soon as he became of age, and settled in 
Pennsylvania. There he presently found a 
wife, Sally Dickinson, who proved herself 
a helpmeet to him in every relation of life. 
In 1856 he brought his family into Adams 
county, where he pre-empted forty acres, 
and with his sons Frederick and Silas bought 
in addition two hundred and eighty acres 
of unimproved land, for which they paid a 
dollar and a quarter an acre. In 1864 the 
father and Silas died of smallpox. That 
year Frederick sent his name to Wautoma 
for enlistment, but he was taken sick and 
for a time could not leave home. Before 
he had recovered he was drafted, and 
promptly reporting at La Crosse, he was as- 
signed to Company H, Eighteenth Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Infantry, and served through- 
out the remaining months of the Civil war. 
He was discharged at Troy, New York, 
May 26, 1865. The most important strug- 
gle in which he participated was that known 
as the battle of Wilcox Bridge, North Caro- 
lina, a fierce conflict that covered three days, 



404 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



from the 8th to tlie loth of March, 1865. 
His- associations with the great struggle for 
the Union are very precious to him, and 
he has long been an earnest and hard work- 
ing member of the Grand Army. He be- 
longs to Tom. Ubank Post, No. 150, lo- 
cated at Hancock, and for }-ears he has 
served as its commander, and in e\'ery way 
has identified himself with its prosperity. 

^^"llen Mr. Hamilton returned from the 
war he sold the farm which he had pur- 
chased with his father and brother, settled 
up all claims against it, and bought an 
eighty-acre tract in section 12, in the town 
of Leola, wdiich he speedily converted into 
a very attractive and profitable establish- 
ment. In 1874 he was elected county treas- 
urer and remo\'ed to Friendship, which was 
Ihs home for six years. In 1S81 he re- 
turned to his farm, and continued its culti- 
vation for the next ten years. In 1891 he 
took charge of the general store that was 
inaugurated by the Farmers' Alliance, and 
was its manager for some several years. 
At that time the changed conditions of the 
Alliance seemed to make it advisable to sell 
the store, and Mr. Hamilton settled and 
severed his connection with the Alliance 
and went onto a small farm for a time, after 
which he bought the property in the village 
cf Hancock which is now his home. Mr. 
Hamilton was born in the town of Gibeon, 
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, Febru- 
ary 18, 1831, and has put behind him a 
long and active life. Wherever he has been 
he has the confidence and respect of all with 
whom he has been associated. While he 
lived in Adams county there was not a year 
in which he was not associated in some 
way with the town and county affairs. He 
served on the county board twelve years, 
and was several times its chairman. He is 
a Republican and inclines to broad and 
patriotic interpretations of all questions, 
He was married to Harriet Barnes, in iiis 



native village, June 26, 1852, and is the fa- 
tl'ier of four children : Emma, Sylvester, 
Stanley and Eugene. Stanley was married 
to Leafy Fansler, and lives in Hancock. 
Here also lives his brother, Eugene, whose 
wife was known before her marriage as 
Hattie Coggins. Mrs. Hamilton's father, 
Amos Barnes, was born in Connecticut. 
He was a farmer and came to Pennsylvania 
ir early life, where he married Mary Bel- 
cher. His father, Nehemiah Barnes, was a 
native of Connecticut and served in the 
Revolution. 

Mr. Hamilton's grandfather, John Ham- 
iUon, married Amy Angel. His maternal 
grandfather, Jonathan Dickinson, married 
Betsy Bull at Hoosick Fahs, New York, 
and moved to Sandy Creek, and was there 
at the time of the battle of Sacket Har- 
bor, in the war of 1812. The contending 
forces swept across his farm, and his experi- 
ences became interesting matter for remin- 
iscences in after years. 

Stanley Hamilton was a man of aft'airs 
in Adams county, and when his father w^as 
county treasurer he taught school in Friend- 
ship and was widely knowti as a capable 
teacher. After his marriage he located in 
Friendship and conducted a jewelry store. 
For six years he was clerk of the court. 
In 1894 he removed to Hancock and went 
into trade in company with J. W. Gunning, 
and opened up a combined jewelry and fur- 
niture store. Eugene Hamilton is also a 
resident of Hancock. He owns a fine farm 
in Adams county, consisting of one hun- 
dred and forty acres, but prefers to live 
in town and is carrying on an extensive 
livery business. 



THOMAS MAIR. 

Thomas Mair, a highly esteemed citi- 
zen of Poynette, Columbia county, Wiscon- 
sin, was born in the parish of Loudon, Ayr- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



405 



shire, Scotland, September 30, 1821, and is 
the eldest son of Charles and Agnes (Mc- 
Climont) Mair, both born among "Lou- 
don's bonnie woods and braes." Many 
generations of the Mairs ha\'e lixed in that 
parish, and no small number of Lhem were 
employed in the looms of that region. 
Charles Mair became an expert weaver of 
muslin and lace at New Milns, where he 
reached the age of seventy-seven years. 
Mrs. Agnes Mair reached the age of sev- 
enty years. She was the daughter of John 
IsIcClimont, also a lace weaver, and his 
family was among the oldest in Ayrshire. 
Charles and Agnes Mair were the parents 
of thirteen children, and three of their sons, 
Thomas, Andrew and Hugh, became resi- 
dents of the town of Arlington. Hugh has 
returned to Scotland. 

Thomas Mair learned the lace-maker's 
trade, and turned many a fine sample of 
hand-made goods. In 1849 '^^ came to the 
United States and located for a short time 
at Whitewater, Wisconsin, where he worked 
in a foundry about a year, and was then en- 
gaged in farming for some time in Rock 
county, and in the fall of 1855 he came to 
Columbia county. Here he bought eighty 
acres of land. It was utterly wild at the 
time of his purchase, but he gradually 
brought it to a high state of cultivation, 
and inade it the nucleus of a fine farm. He 
bought more land as the years rolled by and 
at one time had the title to a handsome farm 
of two hundred acres. He divided his at- 
tention between grain and live stock, and 
was a prosperous and successful farmer. 
In the spring of 1886 Mr. Mair sold his 
land and went to live in the village of 
Poynette, where he built a substantial brick 
residence for himself, and is the owner of 
several valuable houses and lots in the town. 

Thomas Mair and Agnes Jamieson were 
married in 1844. She was an estimable 
and lovely wife and mother, and died in 



1893, leaving eight children. She was born 
in Loudon, Scotland, and was a member 
of the Poynette Presbyterian church. She 
reached the age of sixty-six. The chil- 
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Mair are as follows: 
Sarah Anna died in December, 1892, at the 
age of thirty years; Charles lives in the town 
CI Arlington; Janet is the wife of William 
Robertson, of the town of Arlington ; Ag- 
nes is Mrs. R. Haddon, of Sparta, Wis- 
consin; Hugh is in Spink county. South 
Dakota; Jean is Mrs. James W. Duff, of 
Arlington; Mary is at home; Marion is Mrs. 
Charles Slothower, of Madison, Wisconsin; 
and Margaret is Mrs. Earle W. Drake, of 
Poynette. They have all had good educa- 
tions, and several have been teachers. There 
are twenty-two grandchildren and one 
great-grandchild in the family. Mr. Mair 
is an elder of the Presbyterian church at 
Poynette, with which he has been associat- 
ed for forty years. He has been a Demo- 
crat, but has never cherished political am- 
bitions of any sort. 



WILLIAM BEVERIDGE KENDALL. 

William Beveridge Kendall, one of the 
most intluential conductors on the Madison 
di\'ision of the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad, residing at Baraboo, Wisconsin, 
was born in Hoosick Falls, New York, De- 
cember II, 1857, and is a son of Levi G. 
and Abbie (Barrell) Kendall. The father, 
now one of the oldest and most trusted em- 
ployes of the same road, was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, October 2, 1827, a son of 
Andrew L. and Ruth (Fishel) Kendall. 
The Kendalls are of English descent, and the 
family was founded in Massachusetts about 
1700. Our subject's grandfather was born 
in Royalston, Woixester county, that state, 
and for some years followed the carpen- 



406 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ter's trade in Boston, where he died at the 
age of thirty-five years. His wife was born 
ill the same place, of Quaker Hneage, and 
died in Simsbury, Massachusetts, at the 
age of eighty-three. 1 he father of our sub- 
ject was only six years old when his mother 
removed to Royalston with her fi\'e chil- 
dren, the others being Alljert, who died in 
Worcester, that state; Lucius, a justice of 
the peace of Sewell, Massachusetts ; Louise, 
widow of Nathan N. Harlow, and a resi- 
dent of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; and 
Sophia, wife of George Newton, a con- 
tractor of Chicago. 

Leaving home at the age of twenty-one 
years, Levi G. Kendall began work on the 
Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad as a 
section man; was promoted to foreman six 
months later ; and at the end of the follow- 
ing six months was made baggagemaster 
between Brattleboro, Vermont, and Boston. 
Subsequently he served as freight conductor 
for some time, and in 1858 came to Wis- 
sin and entered the employ of the Chicago 
& Northwesern Railroad, which then had 
but ninety miles of track. He was foreman 
of construction under contractors, building 
the road from Harvard to Rockford. In 
1862 he enlisted as second corporal in Com- 
pany H, Twenty-first Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, Army of the Cumberland, and par- 
ticipated in the battles of Champion Hills 
and Murfreesboro, but after serving one 
year he was wounded in the right hand and 
discharged. He was roadmaster on the Ohio 
& Mississippi Railroad from 1863 to 1870, 
and in the latter year hired one hundred 
men in Chicago, and began the construction 
of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad 
from Madison toward Baraboo, as assistant 
superintendent of construction under con- 
tractors Cox & Howard and others, continu- 
ing in that capacity until the road was com- 
pleted past tunnel No i. Near there he 
purchased one hundred acres of land and 



laid out a town which was named in his 
honor. In 1873 he was appointed roadmas- 
ter on the Madison division and laid the 
track between Elroy and Sparta, and after- 
ward relaid it with steel rails. Since 1889 
he has been foreman of the Baraboo railroad 
yards. Between the Kinzie street bridge, 
Chicago, and Evanston, Illinois, he laid the 
first steel rails on the Chicago & North- 
western Railroad, in 1870, these rails cost- 
ing one hundred dollars per ton. In 185 1 he 
married Abbie Barrell, a nati\-e of Ashby, 
Massachusetts, who died in Vincennes, In- 
diana, in 1865, aged thirty-eight years. 
They had two sons, William B., our sub- 
ject, and Newton, who died in infancy. The 
father was again married, in 1867, his sec- 
ond union being with Louise M. Barrell, a 
sister of his former wife and a daughter of 
Nelson and Mehitable Barrell. By this 
marriage there is one daughter, Abbie, wife 
of John Layden, of Baraboo. Mrs. Ken- 
dall was the first worthy matron of Baraboo 
Chapter, O. E. S., and for ten years or more 
has been its representative to the grand chap- 
ter of Wisconsin. 

The subject of this sketch was only a 
small boy when brought by his parents to 
Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he attended the 
high school for a time. In 1873 he became 
a brakeman on the Madison division of the 
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad ; later was 
baggage man between Elroy and Winona for 
two years; and on the 2nd of September, 
1883, was promoted to conductor, in which 
c.'ipacity he has since served, running be- 
tween Baraboo and Winona at the present 
time. He has a pleasant home on Fifth ave- 
nue, Baraboo, erected by him in 1886. 

On the 25th of December, 1882, Mr. 
Kendall was united in marriage with Miss 
Josephine McGary, a daughter of Selime and 
Alvira (Fox) McGary, of Norwalk, Wis- 
consin. The father was born in Vermont 
of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and the mother is 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



407 



a native of Ohio. About 184S they came 
to this state and located on a farm near Nor- 
\\s.\k. Our subject and his wife have three 
children living, Raymond Levi, Walter 
Selime and Abbie May, while two died in 
infancy. The family attend the Methodist 
ch.urch, of which Mrs. Kendall is a member. 
Mr. Kendall is a member of Baraboo 
Division, No. 68, O. R. C, of which he was 
secretary eight or nine years, chief con- 
ductor one year and a member of the griev- 
ance committee ten years, being chair- 
man of the same eight years. He also be- 
longs to the Modern Woodmen of America, 
and Baraboo Lodge, N0.34, F. & A. M., 
and both he and his wife are members of 
Baraboo Chapter, No. 21, O. E. S. Since 
casting his first presidential vote for R. 
B. Hayes, in 1876, he has been a supporter of 
the Republican party and its principles. 



JOHN LLOYD W1LLL\:MS. 

John Lloyd ^\'illiams, one of the old- 
est surviving pioneers of Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, resides in Cambria, and is re- 
tired from active pursuits. He has a 
handsome residence in the town and is an 
honored citizen. 

Our subject was born in Brantrion, 
Llanllynfni, Caernarvonshire, Wales, in Oc- 
tober, 1 82 1, and was a son of Daniel and 
Ann (Davis) \\'illiams. His mother died 
on the sea while coming to America in 1847. 
The father completed the journey and lived 
in the town of Courtland until i860, passing 
away at the advanced age of eighty-eight 
years. He was a weaver by trade, following 
the occupation of his father, William Will- 
iams. Records of the Williams family 
have been preserved for five hundred or more 
years, and indicate that its members have 
generally been conrpicuous for long life. 



Another noteworthy fact is the large num- 
1)er of ministers of the Gospel and other 
professional men recorded. Among these 
is Rev. Michael Roberts, a leading divine of 
the C. M. Church in his day. The present; 
representatives of the family of Daniel and 
Ann Williams in Cambria are as follows: 
John, Robert, and Daniel, alt of whom 
have lived in Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
since 1847. Their average age is over 
eighty years, a record which probably can- 
not be duplicated in Columbia county. 

John Lloyd Williams was engaged in the 
slate quarries from boyhood, where two or 
th.ree thousand men were employed. He 
came to the United States in 1846. spend- 
ing six weeks on the sea. From Milwau- 
kee he drove to Columbia county and pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land 
in Courtland and Springvale townships for 
SIX hundred dollars. But seven or eight 
acres of this had been broken, and he resided 
on that farm for many years and thoroughly 
imprcned the place. He disposed of the 
farm about 1880 and removed to the vil- 
lage of Cambria, where he built a fine resi- 
dence and he has since lived in practical 
ritirement, finding his chief employment in 
the care of his grounds. His home is 
one of the most attractive in the village, and 
the house, with its surroundings and shade 
trees, and well kept lawn bespeak the taste 
and industry of the owner. Our subject 
was married in 1853 to Eleanor Williams, a 
daughter of Richard P. and Jane (Roberts) 
Williams. Mrs. Eleanor Williams was born 
in the parish of Guffin, Valley of Conway, 
September 26, 1827. The homestead farm 
on which she was born was owned by the 
family of Mrs. Jane Roberts Williams, the 
■last named lady being a daughter of Thomas 
and Eleanor Roberts. Richard P. Williams 
came to America in 1848 and settled on 
a farm in the tnwn of Spring\-ale, which 
farm is now owned by his son, Henry R. 



408 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Williams. R. P. Williams reached the age 
of eighty-one years and died March 4, 
1869. He followed farming throughout his 
life. His father, William Pritchard, lived 
and died in Wales on a farm called "Coid- 
maorw." Mrs. Jane \\'illiams died fifteen 
years before her husband. Ten children 
were born to them, of whom three died in 
Wales. 1 he surviving children were as fol- 
lows: Thomas; Eleanor (wife of our sub- 
ject) ; Jans; William; Richard; Henry, now 
deceased ; and David, now deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. John Lloyd ^Villiams are 
members of the C. M. church of Cambria, 
which church they assisted in organizing, 
and are highly esteemed in the community 
where they have spent half a century. 



PHILIP HAYES. 

Philip Hayes, one of the old and honored 
citizens of New Haven township, Adams 
county, W'isconsin, whose time and attention 
are devoted to agricultural pursuits, was 
born near Dublin, Ireland, ^une 2, 1823, 
and at the age of ten years went to sea as 
an apprentice. During the seven years 
spent upon the water, he was gradually pro- 
moted until he became boatswain. He vis- 
ited many of the im])ortant ports of the 
world, encountered many se\ere storms- and 
had many narrow escapes. In 1846 he be- 
came a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, 
where he made his home for fifteen years, 
and during that time he made many voy- 
ages to Cuba and other islands of the West 
Indies, also to New York and Boston, and 
when on land was foreman of an establish- 
ment. He took an acti\-e part in the Cuban 
troubles of 1851, under General Lopez, the 
filibuster, and had some exciting experiences, 
being chased by the Spaniards and the 
United States government utticials. They 
started from St. Catherine's Island with a 



load of soldiers, and were captured by a 
United States cutter, but after receiving a 
scolding were released. They also carried 
soldiers from New Orleans and landed them 
near Moro Castle. 

In 1859 Mr. Hayes came to Adams 
county, Wisconsin, and at a nominal price 
bought two hundred acres of land in New 
tiaven township, one-half of which he now 
has under a high state of cultivation and 
improved with good and substantial build- 
ings, which stand as monuments to his 
thrift and enterprise. As an agriculturist 
he has been eminently successful. 

At St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Hayes was 
married, in November, 1849, to Miss Kath- 
erine McCarty, who was born in Preston, 
England, in 1824, and when quite young 
came with her parents to the new world, lo- 
cating in New Orleans. She died in New 
Haven township, Adams county, Wiscon- 
sin, in 1889. By this union were b(jrn nine 
children, of whom two are successful miners 
ar.d fruit growers of California; one is en- 
gaged in lumbering in California; two are 
in Dakota, engaged in merchandising and 
farming; one is a prominent man in public 
affairs; one is superintendent of a mine in 
Montana; while Henry has charge of his 
father's farm and also owns and operates a 
steam thresher. 

For many years Mr. Hayes was eni- 
ployed by a government surveying party on 
Fox river in the capacity of cook. In his 
political affiliations he is a Democrat, and 
in religious faith is a Catholic. He is high- 
ly respected and esteemed by all who know 
him and has a host of warm friends in 
Adams county. 



WILLIAM COOK. 

William Cook is a prosperous farmer of 
the town of Scott, Columbia cnurty, \\\\o 
lias been a resident of ^^'isconsin fur half 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



409 



a century, and in that time what stupendous 
chang-es has he nnt witnessed ? He was born 
at West Ferry, Lincohisliire, England, Au- 
gust 6, 1 84 1, and is a son of John and Jane 
(Jarvis) Cook, liotli natives of West Ferry. 
His father was a farmer, and also operated 
a three-horse-power tliresliing machine, 
used for the purpose of cleaning grain in 
such a way that it would not be broken, and 
be fit for thatching roofs. In 1850 he 
brought his family to Wisconsin, and lo- 
cated at F"ox Lake, where he spent six years. 
At the expiration of this time he bought 
a farm in Scott township, Columbia coun- 
ty, upon which he made his home until the 
day of his death, November 7, 1891, at the 
age of seventy-eight years, eight months. 
His wife died May 13, 1859, when forty- 
three years old. 

Mr. Cook, the subject of this article, has 
lived on his present farm since 1856, with 
the exception of three years which he spent 
on a rented place in the same t(_)wnship. 
He owns a quarter-section of land, and has 
brought it forward to a high pitch of agri- 
cultural perfection. He has erected com- 
fortable and commodious buildings, and is 
enjoying those privileges that come right- 
fully to the aged tiller of the soil, who has 
won his living from the teeming earth, and 
has put aside an ample competence for his 
declining years. He gives his chief atten- 
tion to live stock. 

Mr. Cook and Miss Elizabeth Ann I)(jo- 
ley were married July 22, 1865. She is a 
daughter of Henry D(_)oley, an early set- 
tler in Scott township, and she is the first 
white child native to the town. .She is the 
mother of six children: Jane M., who is 
Mrs. F. Rust, of Glidden, Iowa; John H. 
is a street car conductor in Milwaukee ; 
Nellie M. is Mrs. Frank M. Dowell, of 
Webster City, Iowa; William B., Henry 
D. and Lillie P. are at home. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cook have six grandchildren. He has for 



many years been a recognized leader in 
temperance work, was long associated v.ith 
the local lodge of the Independent Order of 
Good Templars, and has taken a very in- 
dependent attitude in politics. He is a man 
of character and the lesson of his life is 
a good one. Honesty and industry do 
count, and the man who is willing to work 
hard, endure privations and keep his word, 
is bound to succeed. 



CHRISTIAN OBKECHT, DECi-.vsED. 

Christian Obrecht, deceased, was one of 
the most important factors in the business 
circles of Sauk City, and his life was an 
exemplification of the term "dignity of 
labor." The possibilities that America of- 
fers to her citizens he utilized, and, though 
he came to this country in limited circum- 
stances, he steadily and perseveringiy 
worked his way upward, leaving the ranks 
of the many to stand among the successful 
few. 

Mr. Obrecht was born in Jenins, Canton 
Graubuenden, Switzerland, July 9, 1830, and 
had but a limited opportunity to secure an 
education, for at the age of fourteen years 
he was sent to the city of Rezeschow, Pn- 
land, to learn the confectioner's trade. After 
gaining a good practical knowledge of the 
business he returned to his native land in 
1849, and the same year came to the United 
States, locating first at St. Louis, Missouri, 
where he worked at his trade until coming 
to Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1855. Here 
he was first employed as a clerk in a store 
and later engaged in mercantile pursuits on 
his own account, opening a general store 
in 1857. He was soon firmly established in 
business, and the following year added to 
his growing business the lumber trade. This 
gave him an extended acquaintance and un- 



410 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



der liis efficient management became tlie 
leading" iuniher mart in this section of the 
state, liis trade extending over a large 
amount of territory. He was quite popular 
among the people and very successful in 
business enterprises. He was also an im- 
portant factor in the development and up- 
building of the place. 

In Sauk City, Mr. Obrecht married 
Miss Caroline Hitzenmeier, who was born 
in Mengerhausen, Germany, November i6. 
1835, and in 1845 came to the new world 
with her parents, Charles and Louisa 
(Goete) Hitzenmeier. They located in 
Sauk City, which at that time was a very 
small hamlet, and in those early days Mrs. 
Obrecht knew e\-ery dog and cat as well as 
every person in the village. Here she 
picked wild strawberries and in true pio- 
neer style spent her girlhood. Her father, 
who was a carpenter by trade, was the first 
contractor and builder in Sauk City and 
erected the first Catholic church there, but 
in later years he followed farming upon 
land for which he paid fourteen dollars per 
acre. He died here in 1888, and his wife 
passed away July 17, 1870. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Obrecht 
was a Republican, but cared nothing for the 
honors or emoluments of public office, pre- 
ferring to give his entire attention to his 
business interests. He met with marked 
success in his undertakings and accumulat- 
ed a large property, having secured real es- 
tate in various portions of the northwest. 
He united with the Masonic fraternity in 
1862 and was connected with the same until 
his death, which occurred May 14, 1895. 
He was an ui)right, reliable business man, 
genial and pleasant in manner, and in his 
death the community realized that it liad 
lost one of its best and most valued citi- 
zens. His widow, who is a most estimable 
lady, still resides in the beautiful home he 
erected in Sauk Citv. 



MILES TOLCOTT ALVERSOX. 

IMiles Tolcott Alverson, cashier of the 
City Bank of Portage, Wisconsin, and one 
of the most influential and progressive of its 
citizens, has a wide reputation as a most ca- 
pable financier, and occupies a position of no 
little prominence in connection with political 
affairs. His life demonstrates what may be 
accomplished through energy, careful man- 
agement, keen foresight and the utilization 
(if the powers with which nature has en- 
dowed one, and the opportunities with which 
the times surround him. 

A native of New York, Mr. Alverson was 
born at Rodman, January 26, 1833, and is a 
son of Almanson and Sylenda (Merwin) Al- 
\-erson. The father was born in V^ermont, 
December 25, 1807, and died in Herman, 
New York, August 2q, 1879. He was the 
eldest son of John and Sarah (Frink) Alver- 
son, the former probably born in Spring- 
field, Massachusetts, February 11, 1780, and 
died in Jefferson county, New York, June 
13, 1829. His father was David Alverson, 
a native of Scotland, who emigrated to Nova 
Scotia about 1774; from there he removed 
to Poughkeepsie, New York, and later to 
Springfield, Massachusetts, where he mar- 
ried Miss Hannah Lester, the mother of 
John Alverson. The mother of our sub- 
ject was born in Pinckney, Lewis county, 
New York, October 12, 1809, a daughter of 
Jesse and Rebecca (Morris) Merwin, and 
was a representative in the seventh genera- 
tion of both families, her ancestors on the 
paternal side ha\'ing located in Milford, 
Connecticut, in 1645, and on the maternal 
side at Ro.xbury, Massach.usetts, prior to 
1652. 

Miles T. Alverson obtained his primary 
education in the public and select schools of 
his native county, and also attended the Rod- 
man Academy. In October, 1854, he came 
to Columbia county, Wisconsin, and for sev- 




a 




/? 





MRS. MILES T. ALYERSON. 



COMPENDIUM or BIOGRAPHY. 



415 



eral years eng^ag'ecl in teaching at Dekorra, 
Lowville and Poynette. After coming to 
this state he took a course of study at the 
Spencerian Business College, Milwaukee, 
(luring which time he also gave instruction in 
mathematics at that institution and private 
lessons in the same science. During his early 
residence in Columhia county he also gave 
more or less attention to agriculture and 
house carpentering. In January, 1867, he 
was appointed deputy county treasurer, and 
removed to Portage, where he has since 
made his home. He was elected treasurer 
in the fall of 1868, and after filling that office 
for two or three years was re-elected, serv- 
ing in all six years with credit to himself and 
to the entire satisfaction of the general pub- 
lic. At the end of that time he purchased A. 
B. Alden's abstract business, and, in partner- 
ship with Thomas Yule, did a general reales- 
tate, abstract, insurance and loan business for 
some time. Since 1881 Mr. Alverson has 
been cashier of the City Bank of Portage, 
and devotes most of his time to the transac- 
tion of its business. During this time, and 
mainly through his efforts, the bank has con- 
stantly maintained a position among the lead- 
ing financial institutions of Columbia county. 

On the 23d of March, 1859, Mr. Alver- 
son married Miss Melissa Ann Low, a 
daughter of Captain Jacob and Catherine 
(Morgan) Low, and a granddaughter of 
Captain Gideon Low, of whom extended no- 
tice appears elsewhere in this volume. The 
two sons born of this union are : Charles 
Lewis, who was born December 23, i860, 
and is now cashier of the State Bank of Med- 
ford, Wisconsin; and Harry Bartlett, who 
was born March 27, 1872, and is now super- 
intendent of the distribution of Niagara 
Falls electric power at Buffalo, New York. 
Both sons graduated from the Uni\crsity 
of Wisconsin. 

That Mr. Alverson enjoys the utmost 
confidence of his fellow citizens is exidenced 



by the fact that he has been repeatedly called 
u])on to till imijortant positions of public 
trust, among which may be enumerated the 
offices of township superintendent of schools 
and town clerk in Lowville; and chairman of 
the board of education, and chairman of the 
county board of supervisors since coming to 
Portage. He is now a member of the execu- 
tive council of the Wisconsin Bankers' As- 
sociation. He has always been active in so- 
cial life and in promoting any undertaking 
likely to advance the standard of public mor- 
als. He and his family are connected with 
the Presbyterian church, and among the fra- 
ternities with which he is identified irlay be 
mentioned the Masonic order and the 
Knights of Pythias, in all of which he has 
filled important offices. Mrs. Alverson is a 
charter member of Wau-Bun Chapter, 
Daughters of the American Revolution. 
Morally and socially Mr. Alverson and 
his family are leaders in the society 
in which they live, and their exem- 
plary and Ijlameless lives are day by 
day proving excellent models lor the 
younger generations springing up around 
them in the community. Portraits of both 
Mr. and Mrs. Alverson grace pages in this 
volume, where they will be hailed with de- 
light by a large circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances, and prove lasting monuments to 
the parts they have taken in the development 
and improvement of the part of the state in 
which they live. 



HOLVER HENDRICKSON. 

Holver Hendrickson, senior member of 
the mercantile firm of Hendrickson, Bout- 
well & Company, of Rio, is one of the well- 
known business men of Columbia county. 
He is progressive and energetic and has ac- 
quired a good trade and enviable reputation 
a^ a citizen. 



416 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Our suljject was born in the town of 
Otsego, Columbia county, August 2, 1863, 
and was a son of Hoh'or and Emma (Samp- 
son) Hendrickson, who were natives of 
Halen, southern Norway. His parents 
came to the United States about 1845 ^""^ 
lived a short time at Wiiitewater, Wiscon- 
sin. From there they moved to Otsego 
township, Cokimbia county, and spent the 
balance of their lives there on a farm. The 
father died in 1891, aged sixty-eight years. 
He learned the carpenter's trade in Norway 
and followed the same in this country, and 
did all kinds of mechanical work, including 
cabinet work, wagon making, etc. The 
grandfather of our subject, Henry Hen- 
drickson, was also a mechanic and lived and 
died in Norway. Our subject's mother 
died about 1878, aged fifty-four years. Her 
father, Ambrose Sampson, was a carpenter 
and spent his life in Norway. Our subject 
was one of eight children, as follows : 
Henry, living on the homestead farm ; Am- 
brose, farming in Otsego township ; Holver, 
our subject; Hans, a painter in Rio; Anna, 
now Mrs. Ole Wilson, of Hazel Run, Min- 
nesota; Thuna, now Mrs. H. H. Lee, of 
Hazel Run, Minnesota; Emma, now Mrs. 
O. H. Thompson, of Rio; Mary, now Mrs. 
E. Bryant, of Randolph, Wisconsin. 

Holver Hendrickson attended the public 
school and at the age of nine years began for 
himself as a farm lal)orer. He later be- 
came a painter and paper hanger and in 
1889 began clerking in a general store in 
Rio, where he continued for eight years. 
In 1897 the firm of Hendrickson & Miles 
purchased a stock of goods and engaged in 
mercantile pursuits, and in 1898 the present 
firm of Hendrickson, Boutwell & Company 
was organized. They occupy a large double 
store and carry an extensi\e stock of gen- 
eral merchandise. 

Our subject was married in 1894 to Anna 
Boutwell, daughter of Peter and Anna 



Boutwell, of Otsego township. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hendrickson are the parents of two 
children, who are named, respectively, Irene 
Arabella, aged three years; and Beulah, 
aged ten months. Mr. Hendrickson is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. He is a Republican in political faith, 
but is not an active partisan. 



SIMON BOUTWELL. 

As an intelligent and enterprising agri- 
culturist this gentleman is well known to 
the people of Columbia county and sur- 
rounding country. He is a prosperous 
farmer and stock raiser, and has a fine es- 
tate in Otsego township. 

Mr. Boutwell was born in the town of 
Otsego, February 2, 1870, and was a son 
of Peter and Anna (Jellum) Boutwell, who 
were natives of Lee, Norway. The father 
left home at the age of seventeen years and 
came to the United States about 1850, set- 
tling for a time in Dane county, Wiscon- 
sin. About two years later he entered claim 
to land in section 21, in Otsego township, 
Columbia county, and Iiought other land 
from time to time until he owned two 
hundred and sixty-five acres of tillable 
land. He began with limited means, 
but acquired a well improved estate. 
He died December 8, 1893, aged sixty-one 
years and eight months. He was interested 
in breeding Morgan horses, and the "Bout- 
well stock" was well known among farm- 
ers and horsemen of the county. He op- 
erated a threshing machine for thirty years 
and was progressive and enterprising. He 
was one of the original members of the Lu- 
theran church of Bonnett Prairie. Our 
subject's mother was born at Jellum. near 
Bergen, Norway, anjl was a daughter of 
Simon Jellum, who came to the United 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



'ill 



States with Mr. Boutwell and settled in 
Dane county, Wisconsin, near Utica, where 
he died at tlie a^e of ninety years. His 
widow, Aase Jelkim, went to Freeborn 
county, Minnesota, where siie died at the 
age of about ninety years. Our subject was 
one of ten ciiildren, all of whom are living 
and are as follows : Butler, residing near 
Aberdeen, South Dakota ; Atley, near Aber- 
deen, South Dakota; Rhoda, now Mrs. G. 
O. Johnson, of Lowville township; Chris- 
tian, of Aberdeen, South Dakota; Rosa, now 
Mrs. L. Otterness, residing near Kenyon, 
Minnesota; Simon, our subject; Bertha, re- 
siding at home; Anna, now Mrs. Holvor 
Hendrickson, of Rio ; John, a member of 
the firm of Hendrickson, Bciutwell & Com- 
pany, of Rio; and Temon, residing at 
home. 

Simon Boutwell received a good educa- 
tion and has always resided on the home- 
stead farm. He began the cultivation of 
tobacco at the age of twenty-one, and after 
his father's death assumed charge of the 
place. He and his father were the first 
farmers in Columbia county to engage in 
tobacco culture, getting the plants some 
forty miles distant from their home. He 
now raises ten to thirteen acres of tobacco 
annually, and has a shed one hundred and 
twelve feet long, and contemplates building 
another equally as large. On the farm he 
has a small village of buildings and op- 
erates more or less of the macliinery of the 
place by steam power. He engages in horse 
breeding and has some excellent stock, in- 
cluding a thoroughbred French Percheron 
mare and a French Coach stallion, "Qui- 
beron," in which he owns a half-interest. 
He also breeds Scotch shorthorn cattle on 
the farm and has about fifty grades, and 
uses thoroughbred sires exclusively. He is 
a partner of the mercantile firm of Hendrick- 
son, Boutwell & Company at Rio. He is 
an excellent judge of tobacco in the leaf 



aiid has been employed for the last two 
seasons by a tobacco dealer in handling the 
crop in his locality. 

Mr. Boutwell is a member of the Lu- 
theran church, and also Mt. Pleasant Camp, 
No. 1 194, Modern Woodmen of America. 
In political principle he is a Republican and 
is firm in his convictions and highly respect- 
ed and esteemed by those among whom he 
has spent his career. 



JOHN BOUTWELL. 

John Boutwell, of the mercantile firm of 
Hendrickson, Boutwell & Company, of Rio, 
is one of the rapidly rising young men of 
Columbia county. He was born in Otsego 
township, November 7, 1877, and is a son of 
Peter and Anna (Jellum) Boutwell, who 
were natives of Lee, Norway. 

The parents of our subject came to 
America about i8£;o and settled in Colum- 
bia county, and the father acquired a valu- 
able farm in Otsego township. He bought 
and sold more or less real estate, and also 
dealt in horses and live stock, and operated 
a threshing machine for some years. He 
v.'as a member of the Lutheran church. 
The mother now resides on the homestead 
farm in Otsego township, aged o\-er sixty 
years. 

John Boutwell was reared on the home 
farm and attended the public school, and 
also Stoughton Academy, where he pur- 
sued a course in commercial law. He be- 
came a clerk in the store of Hendrickson 
& Miles, at Rio, in 1896, and went rapidly to 
the front, and in September, 1898, became 
a partner in the present firm of Hendrickson, 
Boutwell & Company. 

Mr. Boutwell is possessed of a charac- 
ter of the highest integrity, and is a mem- 
ber of the Norwegian Lutheran church of 



418 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Otsego township. He is also a member of 
the Modern Woodmen of .America. Po- 
hticahy he is a RepubHcan, but takes little 
interest in party affairs and does not seek 
public preferment. 



EDWARD NELSON MARSH. 

Prominent among the energetic, enter- 
prising and progressive citizens of Bara- 
boo, W^isconsin, is the gentleman whose 
name introduces this sketch. He has been 
actively identified with the development and 
prosperity of the state, and his connection 
Avith various business enterprises and in- 
dustries has been of decided advantage to 
this section, promoting its material welfare 
in no uncertain manner. 

Mr. Marsh was born in Lysander, near 
Baldwinsville, Onondaga county, New 
York, June i6, 1833, a son of Joshua and 
Elizabeth (Palmeter) Marsh. All repre- 
sentatives of the Marsh family in this coun- 
try are supposed to be descendants of two 
or three brothers who came from England 
in the early days of Massachusetts colony 
and settled in Braintree. Joshua Marsh, 
grandfather of our subject, was born at 
that place in 1745, and in early life moved 
to Nova Scotia, where he married Mar- 
garet Corbet, who was born in Plymouth, 
]\Iassachusetts, of Scotch ancestry. He 
was a farmer and fisherman by occupation.' 
He died at the age of sixty years, his death 
being caused by an accident. His wife 
reached the extreme age of one hundred and 
three years and three months and died at 
Londonderry, Nova Scotia. The names 
and dates of birth of their children were 
as follows: Isabel, December 6, 1771 : 
Sarah, September 26, 1773; Peleg, July 8, 
1775; Elizabeth, August 29, 1777: Joshua, 
August 5, 1779; John, May 24, 1781 ; Sam- 
uel, April 9, 1784; Eleanor, May 2, 1787: 



Wilson, April 21, 1789; Alexander, April 
21, 1791 ; and Charles, April 23, 1793. 

Joshua Marsh, Jr., father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Economy, Nova Scotia, 
and in 183 1 moved to Onondaga county, 
New York. In 1843 he went to Lake 
county, Illinois, and in 1862 came to Bara- 
boo, Wisconsin, where he died the follow- 
ing year, at the age of eighty-four. His 
wife had died near Antioch, in Lake county, 
Illinois, in 1843, <^t the age of fifty-five 
years. She was born in Cornwallis, No\'a 
Scotia, and her parents were from the High- 
lands of Scotland. The subject of this 
sketch is the youngest in a family of eleven 
children, the others being as follows : John 
Palmeter, born November 3, 1808, was liv- 
ing in Oregon when last heard of; Peleg, 
born November 23, 1810, died in Baraboo, 
Wisconsin, in November, 1896; Alexander, 
born April 23, 1813, is a resident of Delton, 
Sauk county; Margaret, born November 3, 
1815, married David Calkins and died in 
1858; Susan, born March 2Ti, 1818, mar- 
ried David Kimball and died in 1896; Mary, 
born August 23, 1820, married Nathan Pad- 
dock and died in 1896; Lavinia, born Feb- 
ruary, 1823, married first William Pratt, and 
second Jacob Kline; Joshua, born July 20, 
1823, is now living in California; Ann 
Chandler, born Juh' 11, 1827, now deceased, 
was the wife of George Paddock, of Bara- 
boo; and Abigail, born May 4, 1830, is the 
widow of Henry Willard, and resides in Del- 
ton, Sauk county. 

Edward N. Marsh, of this sketch, first 
came to Baraboo in 1849 o" ^ hunting trip, 
and three years later located here, being em- 
ployed in the lumber woods and mills of 
this locality until 18^5. He then turned his 
attention to daguerreotype and ambrotype 
work, and the introduction of photography 
a few }-ears later caused him to lose about 
si.x hundretl dollars in\'ested in daguerreo- 
type plates, etc. He was then interested in 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



419 



photography until the Civil war broke out. 
The next day after the first call for Wiscon- 
sin troops, April i6, 1861, he enlisted in 
Company E, First Wisconsin Volunteer In- 
fantry, under Captain George E. Bryant. 
Although he only enlisted for three months, 
he served four months under General Pat- 
terson in Maryland and Virginia, taking 
part in the engagement at Falling Water. 
After his discharge he helped recruit several 
W'isconsin regiments, and was offered com- 
missions in both the Twenty-third and Sixth 
Infantry, but could not accept either owing 
to physical disability. In 186 J he accom- 
panied eight hundred recruits to Leaven- 
worth, Kansas, there having been recent 
raids by Quantrell and others in that state, 
and from there he proceeded to Fort Scott, 
where he was attacked by hemorrhage and 
treated by an Indian doctor, who belonged 
to a company of Winnebagoes that had en- 
listed in Wisconsin. Upon his recovery he 
was detailed for service in the commissary 
department, but owing to failing health he 
was discharged in 1864. 

In 1865 Mr. Marsh built the Minniwa- 
ken House, the first hotel at Devil's Lake, 
and though at that time the nearest railroad 
station was at Kilbourn, he did a good busi- 
ness until 1868, when he sold out. He af- 
terward conducted hotels in Baraboo and 
Mauston, Wisconsin, and initiated another 
summer resort at Elkhart, Wisconsin. He 
took an active part in securing the construc- 
tion of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
road through Baraboo, from which event the 
tc^wn dates its growth and development. He 
was engaged in the hotel business in Mil- 
waukee for a time, but owing to the panic of 
1873 that enterprise and the one at Elkhart 
were not financial successes. He then went 
to Colorado and conducted hotels at Fair 
Play and South Park with good success for 
two years. The following three years were 
spent in Forestburg, South Dakota, where 



he engaged in farming and stock raising on 
a large scale, and since 1890 has given his 
attention to the real-estate business in Bara- 
boo, Wisconsin, opening the first office of 
the kind in the place, and handling city and 
farm property, together with a general loan 
and insurance business. Since the spring 
of 1897 he has also been engaged in devel- 
oping a summer resort at Lock Mirror Park, 
Sauk county, in connection with other par- 
ties, and has constructed a fine trout pond 
and made other improvements. This place 
is surely destined to become one of the most 
popular resorts in Wisconsin. Mr. Marsh 
is a far-sighted, capable business man, and 
in his undertakings has met with well-de- 
served success. 

On the 1st of September, 1855, Mr, 
Marsh was united in marriage with Miss 
May A. Blake, a native of Devonshire, Eng- 
land, who in 1849 came to Baraboo with 
her parents, Philip and Mary (May) Blake. 
They were three weeks on a sailing vessel in 
coming from Liverpool to New York. Mr. 
Blake died in Lemonweir, Wisconsin, in 
April, 1850, and his wife passed away in 
Baraboo, October 29, 1895, aged eighty- 
three years. Our subject and his wife have 
two daughters : Efiie May, now the wife 
of F. W. Greenleaf, of Milwaukee, Wiscon- 
sm ; and Mabel A., wife of C. B. Dutcher, of 
Baraboo. Fraternally Mr. Marsh is iden- 
tified with the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. He cast his first presidential ballot 
for Stephen A. Douglas in i860, but since 
the war has been a st:mch supporter of the 
Republican party and its principles. 



WILLIAM J. FOAT. 

William J. Foat, a representative and 
prominent farmer of Jackson township, 
Adams county, Wisconsin, is a veteran of 



420 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the Ci\il war and bears an honorable record 
for brave service in tlie cause of freedom 
and union, and in the paths of peace he has 
also won an enviable reputation through the 
sterling c|ualities which go to the making of 
a good citizen. 

Mr. Foat was born in Sullivan, iladison 
county, New York, September 24, 1842, a 
son of Samuel and Maria J. (Becker) Foat. 
The father, a native of Kent countv, Eng- 
land, emigrated to America in 1833, 'i'''*^ 
located in Sullivan county. New York, where 
he successfully engaged in farming until 
1843. He died in Canada in 1849. The 
maternal grandfather of our subject was of 
Holland descent, and was one of the early 
settlers of the Mohawk Flats. The mother 
died June 30, 1875. 

When our subject was a year old he was 
taken by his parents to Canada, where he 
was reared. His opportunities for obtaining 
an education were very meager, as he was 
only able to attend school for about three 
months, but being naturally bright and in- 
telligent he has become a well-informed man 
through his own unaided efforts. Leaving 
his home in Canada at the age of seventeen 
years, he came to Wisconsin, traveling most 
of the distance on foot, and he located first 
in Racine, but afterward removed to He- 
bron township, Jefferson county, where he 
engaged in agricultural pursuits for some 
time. After his marriage he bought a small 
farm in that comity, which he successfully 
operated until 1885, when he came to Adams 
county and purchased eighty acres in Jack- 
son township. At that time it was nearly 
all wild land, but he has placed fifty-five 
acres under the plow and erected good build- 
ings, and made other improvements upon 
the place, which add to its value and attract- 
ive appearance. The success that he has 
achieved in life is due entirely to his own 
perseverance, good management and untir- 
insr labor. 



During the Civil war Mr. Foat enlisted, 
August 21, 1862, in Company F, Twenty- 
second ^\'isconsin Volunteer Infantry, and 
being disabled at Camp Dick Robinson, 
Kentucky, he was discharged February i, 
1863. In 1864 he tried to re-enlist, but was 
not accepted on account of disability. As 
a Democrat he takes an active interest in po- 
litical aft'airs, but has never sought office. 
He is \ery much interested in educational 
matters, and his influence is always exerted 
in behalf of good schools and competent 
teachers. 

On September 23, 1871, Mr. Foat mar- 
ried Miss Olive L. Elmendorf, a daughter of 
John and Elizabeth (Youmans) Elmendorf, 
who were born in New York, and were of 
Holland descent. Her father was born 
March 7, 1792, and died at the advanced age 
of ninety-four years, living under the ad- 
n-iinistration of every president of the United 
States with the exception of Harrison and 
McKinley. He was a soldier of the war of 
1 81 2, being stationed on Staten Island to 
help guard New York city. Our subject 
and his wife have two children : John S., 
born September 29, 1872, and Emery S., 
born April 26, 1878. The younger son at- 
tended the common schools and now assists 
his father in the operation of the home farm. 

John S. Foat, the older son, after at- 
tending the district schools, entered Ripon 
College, in September, 1892, and pursued a 
scientific course, graduating with the de- 
gree of A. M., in June, 1899. He was an 
earnest worker, and one of the most popu- 
lar students of that institution, being busi- 
ness manager of the "College Days;" presi- 
dent of the ^olian Society, vice-president of 
the College Oratorical Union, president of 
the graduating class and president of the 
Athletic Society. He was one of the best 
debaters in the college. Before completing 
the course he laid aside his text-books to 
enter the service of his country in her war 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



421 



with Spain, enlisting May 12, 1898, in Com- 
pany D, Second Wisconsin Voluuteer In- 
fantry. He was made corporal in his com- 
pany, and was afterward promoted to the 
rank of sergeant. After a month spent at 
Camp Harvey, he went with his command 
to Camp Thomas, Georgia, and two months 
later sailed with the regiment for Porto 
Rico, where they landed July 28, 1898. He 
was in the engagement at Coamo, August 9, 
and was a valiant and fearless soldier. He 
reached home, September 10, much reduced 
in flesh, and was mustered out November 14, 
1898. On the 1st of October, 1899, he en- 
tered Rush Medical College, Chicago, where 
he expects to graduate in June, 1902, and 
then engage in the practice of medicine. 



JOHN GARDENER GRIFFIN. 

John Gardener Grifiin, of Courtland, Co- 
lumbia county, was born October 30, 181 5, 
in East Haddam, Middlesex county, Con- 
necticut, and was the oldest son of Nathan 
and Sarah Barber (Gallup) Griffin. His 
paternal grandfather was John Griffin, and 
his great-grandfather bore the name of 
Nathan. Nathan Griffin was born in Lyme, 
New London county, Connecticut, and 
moved to the town of East Haddam, and pur- 
chased land there some time in the early 
years of the seventeenth century. This land 
remained in the family possession through 
four generations, and was still held about 
fifty years ago by descendants of this early 
Nathan Griffin. On this farm were born 
our subject, his father, his grandfather, and 
here was also born the oldest daughter of 
John Gardener Griffin, Kate. The Griffins 
have always been farmers, though occasion- 
ally would be found one who would depart 
from family traditions and engage in trade 
or follow a profession. Such was the career 



of the father of our subject. At twenty-six 
vears of age he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits at East Haddam, and continued in that 
line until he came to Wisconsin in 1845. He 
was the father of twelve children: John 
G. ; Sarah Ann, now Mrs. Julius C. Will- 
iams ; Edwin B. ; Betsy B. ; Henry C. ; Al- 
bert Morgan ; C?rlos ; Phoebe ; Wallace Fred- 
erick ; George Cone ; Theodore ; and one who 
died in infancy. There is a family tradition to 
the effect that about the beginning of the 
seventeenth century three brothers emi- 
grated to this country from Wales and set- 
tled in various parts of this country. One 
brother located in Boston; another on Long 
Island, and the third in South Carolina. The 
Griffins of this history belong to the Long 
Island branch of the family. Nathan Grif- 
fin, the father of the subject of this sketch, 
and a part of his family, came west in 1845, 
and purchased land from a previous settler 
in this county. It was described as the 
southwest quarter of section 15, township 
12, range 12 east, and on this land he lived 
until his death in 1862, when he was over 
seventy-two years old. 

Hulda Cone, the great-grandmother of 
our subject, was the oldest daughter of 
George Cone by his first wife. The mater- 
nal grandparents of our subject, Gardener 
and Betsy Barber Gallup, were both born in 
Groton, New London county, and followed 
farming all their lives. 

John Gardener Griffin, being the oldest 
son of his parents, was named after both his 
grandparents. He passed his youth and 
early manhood in Connecticut, and was there 
married. He did not come west until 1857. 
He came to his father's farm in this county 
that year, bringing his own family with 
him, and remained with his parents as long 
as they lived. His mother lived until Jan- 
uary 2, 1 88 1, surviving her husband many 
years. After her death our subject bought 
out the interests of the other heirs, and is 



42-2 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



now the sole owner of the old homestead, 
which, with other lands added to it, now 
constitutes a valuable farm of three hun- 
dred and eighty acres. It is cultivated in 
the most modern and enlightened fashion, 
and is catalogued among the model farms 
of the county. 

Mr. Griffin and Miss Ursula Mack were 
married in Connecticut. Her parents were 
Romancey and Mehitable (Knowles) Mack, 
and her father was in early life the fore- 
man of a granite quarry, Ixit later became a 
farmer. She is the grantldaughter of Heze- 
kiah Mack, a veteran of the Revolution. 
Her union with Mr. Griffin was lilessed by 
the birth of three daughters : Kate, who 
died June 12, 1882, when she was thirty- 
seven years old; Jane, the wife of Hiram 
Gilmore, and living in Cambria ; Edith, who 
married George Ketchum, and with her hus- 
band is living on the farm. 

Mr. J. G. Griffin is a man of much more 
than the ordinary education. He attended 
a select school at East Haddam, later took 
a course at the Troy Conference Academy, 
at West Poultney, Vermont, and the Wes- 
ley Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts. 
When he was twenty-one he left school and 
applied himself to his lifework, the occupa- 
tion of a farmer. When he was seventeen 
he taught winter school, and from that time 
has always been associated with educational 
and public affairs. While still a young man 
he was made superintendent of schools, and 
when the law provided for a board of school 
commissioners he was named on the board 
among the very first to receive that honor. 
While in Connecticut he was twice a can- 
didate for the legislature on the Free Soil 
ticket, and once received within five votes 
of a majority of all cast. He had been a 
Democrat, having voted for Martin Van 
Buren in 1848, but when the parties divided 
on the issue of slavery he at once took his 
place with the party of freedom. He cast 



his first Republican vote for John C. Fre- 
mont, and since that time has been a stead- 
fast supporter of the party. Here in Wis- 
consin he has served about twenty-five years 
as a justice of the peace, and represented his 
district in the legislature of 1875 and 1876. 
He has frequently served on the jury, more 
frequently perhaps than any other man in 
the county. He became a Methodist when 
only fifteen years of age, and his life has 
been an offering on the altar of his faith. 
Through a long and active life he has been 
an earnest and faithful worker in the com- 
munion he so early selected, and it has hon- 
ored him in every way. He has lived to a 
grand old age, and leaves his posterity the 
inheritance of a noble name and the memo- 
ries of a useful life. 



KENNEDY SCOTT. 

Kennedy Scott is one of the most pub- 
lic-spirited and influential citizens of Rio, 
Columbia county, and has been identified 
with many efforts to advance the moral and 
material interests of the village and the 
county. He was born in Warren, Trumbull 
county, Ohio, the i6th day of Novem- 
ber, 1842, and is a son of William and 
Jane (Kennedy) Scott, both natives of 
county Tyrone, Ireland. His father came 
to this country in 1840 and located at War- 
ren, his mother following a year later. In 
the spring of 1850 the family came to Wis- 
consin, and settled in the town of Spring- 
vale, Columbia county, where the father 
bought wild land for a farm at three dollars 
and fifty cents an acre. He died on his farm 
in 1877 at the age of seventy-four. He was 
justice of the peace for twenty years in 
Springvale, though he was never an active 
politician. He was one of the founders of 
the local Congregational church with which 




KEHHEEY SCOTT. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAniY. 



425 



he and his wife were always identified. His 
father, Andrew Scott, hved and died on -x 
farm in county Tyrone, Ireland. Mrs. Jane 
Scott died in Rio in 1882 at the age of sev- 
enty-seven. Her father. William Kennedy, 
was a soldier in the British army, and died in 
tlie service. She was reared hy an uncle, 
Sanuicl McKenna. She was the mother of 
ten children, six of whom were born in Ire- 
land : Samuel died in Springvale, aged sev- 
enty years; Alary Jane is the wife of Charles 
Dowd, and has livetl in Wyocena township, 
Columbia county, on the same farm since 
1848: \\'illiam is at Ellendale, North Da- 
kota: Joseph, Staceyville, Iowa; John, El- 
lendale, North Dakota; James, Oakes, North 
Dakota ; Kennedy, the subject of this arti- 
cle; Lydia Ann, Mrs. James H. Palmer, died 
in 1863, at the age of nineteen years; Har- 
riet, Mrs. David Coff, Springvale township; 
Merrilla, Mrs. H. W. Wisner, Knapp, Wis- 
consin. 

Kennedy Scott came to Columbia county 
with his parents in 1850, and his home has 
been in or near the village of Rio for the last 
fifty years. There are not half a dozen peo- 
ple living in the community who were here 
when he came. After he had completed his 
studies in the district school he went to She- 
boygan and spent a year in the city school, 
and then took the normal course at the Fox 
Lake Female College. He began to teacli 
when nineteen years old, and had a salary of 
eighteen dollars a month, and boarded him- 
self. As a teacher he develoi)ed nuich abil- 
ity, and served successfully as principal at 
Poynette, Cambria, Wyocena and Rio. In 
August, 1 874, he was appointed countysuper- 
intendent of schools to fill a vacancy, and was 
elected three times for the same position, 
making five years that he served the people 
in that responsible position. In the spring of 
1880 he engaged in farming on a place about 
one mile south of Rio, a farm he still owns. 
It is a quarter-section, and he has made it one 



of the model farms of the county. He has 
put up first class buildings, and brought 
every acre under a high state of cultivation. 
For many years he made a specialty of potato 
culture and the breeding of Poland China 
swine. He has also dealt extensively in po- 
tatoes, shipping from different points 
throughout the county for a numlier of 
years. Since Noveml:er, 1S99, he has made 
his home in the village, where he has erected 
a fine modern residence. 

Mr. Scott has been twice married. His 
first wife was Miss .\nnie Buchanan, and 
they were married October 3, 1867. Her 
father, Daniel Buchanan, is now living in 
Ritzville, Washington. He was a member 
of the constitutional convention of that 
state. The lady was born in Glasgow, 
Scotland, and died March 3, 1880, at the age 
of forty-two years and five days. She was 
a member of the Congregational church, and 
left one son ami four daughters : Daniel A. is 
a farmer at Ritzville, Washington, and owns 
over one thousantl acres of farm land near 
that city; Lydia Ann, Mrs. F. M. Warner, 
Pingree, North Dakota; Jessie M., Mrs. F. 
H. Walker, of Rio; Margaret and Anna M. 
are living at home. All have had more or 
less experience in teaching except the young- 
est. Mr. Scott was married a second time, 
March 24, 1891, Miss Eleanor Evans be- 
coming his wife. She is a daughter of the 
Rev. Reese an.d Elizabeth (Jones) Evans, 
of Cambria, and was born at Mt. Pleasant, 
Racine county, Wisconsin. Her father was 
a clergyman of the Welsh Calvinistic Meth- 
odist church, and was a speaker and pastor 
of more than usual ability. When a young 
man he enjoyed a high reputation as a tem- 
perance speaker. He was born in Cardi- 
ganshire, Wales, and came to this country 
in 1842, settling first in Racine county. He 
was ordained in 1852, and spent the next 
four years as pastor of what was then the 
only Welsh Methodist church in Chicago. 



426 



COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHY. 



In 1857 he came to Cambria, and was 
pastor of a church in that village for twen- 
ty-two years. He went to Oxford, Iowa, to 
organize a synod, and died there October 23. 
1882, at the age of sixty-five years. He 
was a man of many excellent traits, and 
had an inexhaustil;)le fund of humor. It 
is told of him that soon after his ordination 
he drove to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, to attend 
a church conference, and it was expected of 
him that he should take charge of a certain 
service. On his arrival he met some other 
ministers, who, taking him for a teamster, 
and hearing that he was from Racine, began 
to ask him about the rising young clergy- 
man, Reese Evans. He answered them ac- 
cording to the spirit of the opportunity, and 
needless to say, they were much surprised to 
see him in the pulpit at the appointed time. 
He was married October 4, 1843, to Eliza- 
beth Jones, and became the father of two sons 
and five daughters. His wife was born in 
Caernavonshire, Wales, and died in Cam- 
bria, \\'isconsin, in 1893, when over 
seventy-two years of age. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy Scott are both in- 
timately associated with the Rio Congrega- 
tional church. He united v/ith the society in 
1869, and has been a deacon since 1877, suc- 
ceeding his father, who had acted in that ca- 
pacity many years. He has also been a 
trustee of the church since that year, and for 
a time was the clerk of the society. Mrs. 
Scott !:as been clerk since 1892, and is now 
solicitor and treasurer. Mr. Scott is a Re- 
publ can and was chairman and clerk of Low- 
ville township. He has been justice of the 
peace twelve years, and is a familiar figure 
at almost all political gatherings. Since 
1 86 1 he has been a member of the Independ- 
ent Order of Good Templars, and was grand 
marshal of the state grand lodge in 1867. 
Mrs. Scott and two daughters are also mem- 
bers of the Rio lodge. Mr. Scott united 
with the Odd Fellows in 1890, and has filled 



all the chairs in the Rio lodge. He is trus- 
tee and secretary at the present time of the 
local lodge. He is a Modern Woodman, 
and his wife and a daughter belong to the 
Royal Neighbors, where both are filling offi- 
cial positions. 

As a representative pioneer, and one of 
the county's prominent and influent'al cit- 
izens, a portrait of Mr. Scott is properly 
shown on a page of this volume. A life time 
spent in the county, together with the l)lame- 
less life and sterling integrity of Mr. Scott, 
have gained him the esteem and respect of all 
in the community and they will prize this 
work the more that it contains the likeness 
of their old time friend. 



THOMAS ROBERT HASTINGS, M. D., 
Oph. D. 

The medical fraternity has few men 
among its younger members who ha\'e at- 
tained the degree of success possessed by 
the gentleman above named. He has been 
a practitioner comparatively few years, but 
his skillful management of cases entrusted 
to his care, and his progressive nature have 
gained him an excellent practice and as- 
sured his future. He is a man of deep 
thought and intelligence, and does not cease 
his studies with the beginning of his prac- 
tice, but is perfecting himself in all of the 
better methods known to the profession, and 
the people in the vicinity of Lime Ridge, 
Sauk county, know him as a faithful physi- 
cian who stands at the head of his profes- 
sion. 

Our subject was born in New Jerusalem, 
New Brunswick, February 17, 1859, and 
was the son of Thomas and Emily (Lourie) 
FTastings, who are now residents of Massa- 
chusetts. His paternal grandparents, Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Gilanders) Hastings, were 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



427 



natives of Birmin?-ham, England, and tlie 
grandfather was a mnsic teacher and tailur. 
He emigrated to a farm in New Brunswick, 
about 1825, where the father of our subject 
also engaged in farming. Emily Hastings, 
the mother of our subject, was born in New 
Brunswick, and was a daughter of Robert 
and Mary Ann (Rennick) Lourie. Her 
father was a Scotchman, wlio went from 
Argyle to Armagh, Ireland, where he mar- 
ried and soon after removed to New Bruns- 
wick, in 1825. 

Thomas R. Hastings as a youth had in- 
dependent ideas, and, although his parents 
intended to fit him for commercial life, he 
decided to follow a professional career. Af- 
ter attaining his majority he went to Boston, 
and the following year to Ridgeway, Penn- 
sylvania, where he spent four years in the 
study of medicine, and a part of the time he 
spent in studying with his brother. Dr. J. 
W". Hastings, of New Georgetown, Ohio. 
Returning to Boston he studied architecture 
at Wells Memorial Institute, and was 
awarded some high commendations for ex- 
cellent work in that line, but the medical 
profession was his aim, and he accordingly 
went to Chicago and entered the Physio- 
IMedical College, graduating with the class 
of 1897. In April of that year he located 
at Lime Ridge, where he has continued to 
practice with ever increasing patronage. He 
has taken a course at the McCormick 0]iti- 
cal College, of Chicago, and gives special 
attention to treatment of the eye. He car- 
ries his own dispensary, and his residence 
and office erected in 1899 is one of the finest 
buildings in the village of Lime Ridge. 

Our subject was married July 16, 1890, 
to Christina Douglas, daughter of Robert 
and Charlotte Douglas, at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts. Mrs. Hastings was born in New Je- 
rusalem, New Brunswick, where her parents 
still reside. Three children have been born 
to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hast- 



ings, named as follows : Ima Columbia, 
Delia Josephine and Charlotte Emily. Air. 
Hastings is a member of Forest Lodge, No. 
106, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at 
Lime Ridge, and also the Modern Wood- 
men of America. He is well known as a 
physician, and holds membership in the Illi- 
nois Physio-Medical Society. He is inde- 
pendent in political views. 



EMMONS TAYLOR, Deceased. 

This gentleman was for many years one 
of the most distinguished members of the 
bar of Columbia county, and one of the most 
exemplary and honored citizens. He was 
born in Rupert, Bennington county, Ver- 
mont, June 26, 1828, and died at Portage, 
Wisconsin, April 13, 1874. 

For a sketch of his jjarents see the bi- 
ography of his brother, Joseph B. Taylor. 
At the age of fifteen years our subject en- 
tered Williams College and graduated there 
four years later. He read law in the office 
of J. C. Hopkins, of Granville, New York, 
who was later United States judge for' the 
western district of \Msconsin. Our sub- 
ject was admitted to the liar in New York, 
and came to Portage, Wisconsin, in 1857. 
He became a partner of L. S. Dixon, who 
afterward liecame chief justice of ^Viscon- 
sin. In his latter years our subject was a 
partner of his brother, Hon. James B. Tay- 
lor, who at his death was serving as county 
judge of Columbia county. In 1868 Em- 
mons Taylor was elected district attorney 
of Columbia county, and served six years 
in that capacity. 

Mrs. Taylor passed away aljout a year 
prior to her husbaml. their only child dying 
a few months before the mother. In profes- 
sional and pri\ate life Mr. Taylor won 
manv lasting friends. The following quo- 



428 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



tations from some of the eulogies pro- 
nounced upon his character by those who 
knew him well are best descriptive of his 
life. "Xature was bountiful in her gifts to 
Mr. Taylor. She ga\e him so full a love 
of justice that it was the guiding star of all 
his actions. She bestowed on him the gift 
of oratory, and an intellect of no common 
power, accompanied liy an ambition that se- 
cured their careful and generous culture. 
Victory never elated him so as to make him 
forget the amenities of the profession or 
the courtesy due to the losing party, nor did 
defeat e\'er make him unjust to the court, to 
the jury, or to an opposing counsel. In 
short, his bearing and conduct, imder all 
circumstances, were so commendable that 
tlie man seemed greater than the lawyer." 
"His great abilities and acquirements placed 
him in the very front rank of all his profes- 
sion. As an advocate he had few superiors, if 
any, at the l)ar." "In social life he was most 
eminently fitted to both ornament and in- 
fluence society, and his friendships were 
well chosen, most intimate, strong and last- 
ing. * * * He was so attached to the 
scenes, associations and labors of his home, 
that it was with great reluctance and effort 
that he was e\'er induced to go al)road and 
enlarge the sphere of his acquaintance, in- 
fluence and professional practice and tri- 
umphs. It was owing to these local and 
friendly attachments, more than to anything 
else, that his appreciation and his fame were 
not as great throughout the country as in 
his own state and in the county of Colum- 
bia." Mr. Taylor was very prominent in 
the Masonic fraternity, being at the time of 
his death right eminent grand commander 
of the state for the Knights Templar. Mem- 
bers of the order came in special trans from 
most of the principal cities of the state to 
attend the funeral services, nearly one hun- 
dred members attending from Milwaukee 
alone. Among those who participated in the 



ceremonies were : Henry L. Palmer, past 
grand master K. T. of the U. S. ; Past 
Grand Commander Alvin B. Alden ; Past 
Grand Commander A. V. H. Carpenter, and 
several justices of the supreme court of 
Wisconsin, and other prominent members 
of the bar. 

April 30, 1 86 1, the day previous to the 
departure of the Portage Light Guard for 
the field, Mr. Taylor presented them with a 
banner on behalf of the ladies of Portage, 
on which occasion he delivered a patriotic 
address which compares favorably with the 
ablest efforts of Patrick Henry or James 
Otis. A few lines are quoted herewith : 
'The important, the momentous hour has 
come which must determine whether the 
best government on earth shall stand or fall. 
Everything is at stake and at stake now. 
Honor, Interest and Duty, with one united 
voice, call on us for a vigorous and manly 
exertion. If we should fail, then indeed, 
has the decree of Omnipotence gone forth 
that freedom shall find no permanent rest- 
ing place on earth. Then shall we have 
tasted its sweets only to make more bitter 
the cup of our wretchedness, then shall Op- 
pression rivet anew her chains, while Liber- 
ty, pouring out her tears o\'er a land mi- 
worthy of her blessing, shall spread her 
wings and speed her final flight to her native 
heavens." 



GEORGE L. SWARTZ. 

George L. Swartz, proprietor and pub- 
lisher of the "Press," of Poynette, has lieen 
a resident of Columbia county for over 
a decade of years, and is one of the ablest 
editors of that region. He is also connect- 
ed with other business interests, and is one 
of the wide-awake men of the city, and en- 
joys the respect of his fellow men. 

Mr. Swartz was born at Newtown, Penn- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



429 



sylvania, August 5, 1856, and is a son of 
D. L. and Frances (Phillips) Swartz. His 
father was born in Newtown, in 1831, and 
was a blacksmith liy trade. He served in 
the Civil war and enlisted in one of the first 
regiments to enter the service. He went to 
the front as a member of Company C, Third 
Regiment, known as Governor Curtin Re- 
serve Corps, and served about fourteen 
months, when he was discharged at Harri- 
son's Landing on account of disability. 
The mother of our suliject was born in 1830. 
and his parents came to Wisconsin in the 
fall of 1877. and are now residents of Co- 
lumbia county. Six children were born to 
them, three of whom are now living, as 
follows: George L., uur subject; D. L., a 
resident of Columbia county; and W. G., 
now residing in the state of Washington. 
The subject of this review received his 
education in Pennsylvania, and engaged to 
some extent in farming, antl learned his 
trade in the "Xewtown Enterprise" office. 
He came to Wisconsin in 1877, and after a 
Slav of two years returned to his Pennsyl- 
vania home. He again came to this state 
in November, 1889, and purchased the pa- 
per which he now owns and edits. It is 
a weekly sheet, published Friday, and is 
widely circulated. It is spicy, and is con- 
sidered among the best of the newspaper ex- 
changes, and under Mr. Swartz' owner- 
ship is gaining ground steadily. Our sub- 
ject was admitted to the bar of Columbia 
county December 5, 1899, and is also inter- 
ested in the insurance business,, and is 
netary public and city clerk. He joined 
the Pennsylvania State Miltia, and was first 
corporal of Company K, Sixteenth Regi- 
ment, and during the riots in 1877 was with 
his regiment when it assisted in quelling the 
disturbance. 

Mr. Swartz was married in Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania. December j8. 1887, to 
Jdiss Mary Drake, a native of Wisconsin, 



who was born in Columlxa county. April 
21. 1857. One son and one daughter have 
been born to ^Nlr. and ^^Irs. Swartz: Davis 
Watson, born Xovemlier 8. I888: and 
Hanna, born August 29, 1890. Our sub- 
ject is prominent in local affairs. He has 
passed all the chairs in the Indepeiident 
Order of Odd Fellows, both of the subor- 
dinate and encampment branches, and is now 
secretary of Poynette Lodge, No. 173, A. 
F. & A. M. He is a member and recording 
steward of the Methodist church. He is a 
gentleman of the highest character. In po- 
litical sentiment he is a Republican and 
stands firmly for his convictions. He advo- 
cates progression, and in all matters pertain- 
ing to the welfare of his county and state 
will be found on the side of right and jus- 
tice. He performs his duties to his com- 
munity with fidelity, and is one of the in- 
fluential citizens of the village of Poynette. 



JOHN BARTON, Sr. 

John Barton, Sr., whose pleasant and 
inviting home has been found for many 
years on section 15, tow^nship of Colburn, 
has long been known as one of the fore- 
most citizens of Adams county. He was 
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, four 
miles east of Zanesville, September 25, 181S, 
and the earlier oortion of his life was spent 
in his native state. In the course of the 
years he has applied his hand to many labors, 
and prospered in all ; and now as the sunset 
of life draws near, he can look back with 
something like satisfaction over his eighty 
}"ears of honorable and successful labors. 

Mr. Barton was married to Mary E. 
Erelsford, at \\'est Alexander, Pennsyl- 
vania, April 7, 1836, and spent the next 
seventeen years of his life in farming in 
^Morgan countv, Ohio. He had a coal mine 



430 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



on his land, which lie wnri-ced winters; and 
also built a saw-mill, which he operated 
some five years. In 1857 he transferred 
himself and all his belongings and appur- 
tenances to .\dams ■ county, Wisconsin, 
v/here the year before he had bought eight 
hundred acres of the government. Of this 
extensive tract he now holds four hundred 
acres, and with assiduous tillage has con- 
verted it into a model Wisconsin farm. 
He lives in a handsome stone house, and has 
ample and sufficient outlniildings of every 
kind and character. 

Mr. Barton bought an interest in a 
water power and saw-nfiU on the big 
Roacha-Cree creek, and built a grist-mill at 
that place in 1863. He carried on these en- 
terprises for some five years, when he sold 
out to John Comer and returned to his 
Adams county farm, where he has main- 
tained his home to the present time. Here 
he has taken much interest in st(->ck raising, 
and every year puts up a vast amount of 
hay, not only for use, but for sale. He 
brought clover seed with him from Ohio, 
and it was the first e\er sowed on Indian 
land north of the Fox ri\-er. He has raised 
it continuously, since that time, and thinks 
very highly of it as a stock food. He baled 
and shipped to Steven's Point the first bale 
of hay ever put up and sent from Adams 
county. In the season he has frequently 
cut a hundred tons of tame hay. and as 
much more of wild from his place. 

In his time Mr. Barton has filled many 
important local positions, though he has set 
his face against ofiice seeking. He was 
county commissioner in 1864, and has filled 
the various town offices in succession. He 
was chairman of the town board manv 
years and has exercised a marked infiuence 
on town and county affairs. He is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic order, and his name is 
inscribed on the charter of ^^'automa lodge. 
Later he was transferred to Edwards Lodee 



at Hancock. ' He is much re\'ered in the 
mystic circles, and for years be was an effi- 
cient and hard-working member of the or- 
der. He is now a Republican, and in early 
life was a Whig. He voted for General 
Harrison in 1840 and has many interesting 
memories of politics in those early days. 

John Barton, the father of the subject of 
this article, was born in eastern Virginia, 
where he married Frances Anderson in 
1816. They removed soon after their wed- 
ding to Ohio, where they spent their lives 
in farming. He was a soldier in the war 
of 1812, and wtis in the battle of Bladens- 
burg. He was at Washington when the 
British looted the capitol. Levi Barton, the 
grandfather of John, was born in eastern 
Virginia, and was a representative farmer 
and a leading spirit in the Revolutionary 
struggle. He was one of the lirst men to 
take up arms against the English, and one 
of the last to put them tlown. He served 
throughout the war with distinction, and 
he was long a leading character In his own 
community. 

Mr. and Mrs. Barton are the parents 
of twenty children, eight of whom are now 
living: Nancy Jane, Margaret Ann, Hayes, 
Andrew, Laura, Charles Edward, Ihomas 
and John, Jr. They had two sons in the 
Civil war, William F. and Hayes. John, 
Jr., is in the Philippines. 



BREMXER BROS. 

Bremner Bros., proprietors of the Plant- 
ers' Hotel at Portage, are recognized as 
being among the most popular, enterprising 
and progressive pul)lic caterers in the state 
of Wisconsin. Their house is constantly 
filled with respectable ladies and gentlemen 
who have only words of praise and approval 
for the management of the estal^lishment 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



431 



and wlio are continually extending- its repu- 
latinn thi-dughnut the Cduntry. In a com- 
paratively short period of time these two 
g-entlemen have demonstrated the practica- 
bility of profitably conducting a first-class 
hotel at popular prices. This has been ac- 
complished in the face of sharp competition 
on the part of experienced hotel men and 
without the aid of a bar or other auxiliaries, 
which are often considered necessary in 
order to carry on a public house at a profit. 
The secret of their success lies in furnish- 
ing clean, comfortable accommodations antl 
according courteous treatment to their 
guests at all times, i he house was erectetl 
in 1897 at an expense of o\'er fourteen 
thousand dollars, is a suljstantial, three- 
story brick l.]uildmg, eciuipped with all 
modern con\"enienc^s and conducted in the 
most respectable and business-like manner. 

George Henry Bremner, the senior part- 
ner of the firm, was born in the town of 
BufYalo, Marquette county, Wisconsin, De- 
cember ij, 1864. His father, John Brem- 
ner, is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and 
came with his parents to America when a 
boy of tweKe years. The family located 
near Racine, Wiscunsin, in 1844, and, two 
years later, settletl in Marquette coun.ty, 
which is still the home of John Bremner. 
He is one of the oldest surviving pioneers 
of that county, where he owns a farm of 
three hundretl and sixty acres. He is in- 
terested to a considerable extent in live 
stock and has devoted much of his atten- 
tion in recent years to the breeding of cattle, 
his herd being one of the best in a locality 
which is famous for the improved quality 
of its dairy stock. Though he has nearly 
attained the age of three score and ten, JMr. 
Bremner is still hale and hearty and noted 
for the rugged hospitality which charac- 
i/es the home of the Scotch-American 
farmer. 

Adaline Davis, who became the wife of 



the last named gentleman, was born in In- 
diana. She departed this life, March 16, 
1 88 1, at the age of thirty-five years. 

Of the seven children born to John and 
Adaline Bremner, two died in childhood. 
The names of the others were as follows: 
George li., Charles \., Adaline (Mrs. 
Frank Carnegie), Jennie (Mrs. George 
Kerr) and Leslie. Mrs. Carnegie is now 
deceased, and the others, except Leslie, live 
in Portage. 

Upon reaching manhood. George H. 
Bremner became associated with his father 
and brother in the operation of threshing 
machines, an enterprise which he success- 
fully continued for a number of years. In 
1893 he located in Portage. In March of 
the following year he formed a new part- 
nership with his brother, Charles, in the 
purchase of the Farmers Hotel. They ap- 
plied themselves to this enterprise with the 
same interest and vigor which had made 
their previous undertakings uniformly suc- 
cessful and sdtin found the meager capacities 
of this building insufficient to accommodate 
their growing custom. .Vccordingly the 
Planters" Hotel was built, as previously 
stated, and its popularity was ensured from 
the start. Both proprietors possess the 
happy faculty of making their guests feel 
at home immediately on their arrival, and 
the numerous details (.>f the business are 
managed witli care and intelligence. 

George H. Bremner was married, March 
2^, 1894, to Miss Katheri'ue OAIaley, 
daughter of John and Julia O'Maley, of 
Marquette county, Wiscdusin. Mrs. Brem- 
ner, who is an industrious and capable 
landlady, is the mother of two bright chil- 
dren, Grace and Hazel. Mr. Bremner is 
identified with McOueeney Lodge, No. 104, 
Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican 
in political princi|)les, lint is not gi\en to 
the discussiiin nf pdlitics. 

Charles .\lbcrt P>remner, junior member 



432 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



of the firm, is also a native of Marquette 
county, born on the 8th day of June, 1869. 
His early years were divided between farm 
labor and attendance at the district school. 
At the age of eighteen he entered into a 
partnership with his father and his brother 
George in the purchase of a steam thresh- 
ing machine, which they operated for some 
time. The brothers bought out their fa- 
ther's interest and eventually added another 
machine to their outfit, doing a prosperous 
business in connection with their other farm 
work. In the fall of 1893 lis liecame a resi- 
dent of Portage and spent the following 
winter in the employ of a contractor who 
was engaged in constructing locks on the 
canal for the United States government. 
The next spriug he joined his brother in the 
operation of the hotel business, as previously 
stated in this article. He has ever since 
been connected with that enterprise, though 
he has spent more or less time as local agent 
for harvesting machines. Whatever luisi- 
ness he undertakes is carried on with faith- 
ful and conscientious care and he enjnvs the 
confidence of his associates in an unmeas- 
ured degree. He is independent in political 
thought and action, and the only fraternal 
organization with which he is connected is 
Winona Lodge, Xo. 132, Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows. 



ROBERT T. IvIXG. 

Robert T. King, a well-known citizen of 
Cambria, has varied financial interests in Co- 
lumbia county, where he has resided 
throughout his career. He was born in Fort 
\\'innebago township, Columbia county, 
^V'isconsin, June i. 1S63. and is a son of 
William and Janet (Weir) King, both of 
whiim were natixes of Scotland. 

The father of our subject was a son of 



Robert King, of Lugton Ridge. The family 
is one of the oldest in Scotland, some of its 
early members having suffered martyrdom 
or. account of their religious views. Robert 
King sprung from the Kings of Giffin Mill, 
which was in possession of the farm as early 
as 1640, and two hundred years or more 
thereafter. A number of the members of the 
King family have been prominent in busi- 
ness and professional life. Several were 
ministers in Glasgow, Montrose and other 
c'ties. David King, LL. D., was a United 
Presliyterian of Gray Parish church in Glas- 
gow. He married Elizabeth Th(_>mass(jn, a 
sister of Lord Kelvin. Another prominent 
ancestor was an electrical engineer, wIkt was 
drowned in the wreck of the La Plata in 
the Bay of Biscay. The father of our sub- 
ject was born at Beith, Ayrshire, Scotland, 
January 6, 1810. He learned the carpen- 
ter's trade and in 1840 came to America 
and li\e(.l in New York City until 1843, 
when he came to Wisconsin, and k.icated in 
the town of Caledonia, Columbia county, 
and became one of the pioneers of the town- 
ship. He spent four years in Caledonia 
tLW"nship and then removed to Scott town- 
ship, where he entered a claim to govern- 
ment lantl on Portage Prairie, where he 
lived several years. He went to California 
\'ia Panama, and spent four years mining 
with good success, and upon his return to 
Wisc(jnsin sold his farm in Scott townshijj 
and purchased land near Portage, .\fter 
two years there he again went to Scott 
township and bought a farm at Centerville 
and another tract of hnul near Cambria, 
which was his home until his death, Jan- 
uary 10, 1899. He owned about four hun- 
dred acres of land, and had the best farm on 
Portage Prairie and conducted farming ex- 
tensively there. He engaged in raising 
Clydesdale horses and dealt in other horses. 
He conducted an extensi\'e loan business 
and l)ecame a stockholder of the Ctv Bank 




WILLIAM KIHG. (Deceased 




MRS. WILLIAM KIHG. (Deceased.) 



COMPENDIUM or BIOGRAPHY. 



437 



of Portage, in which he was interested until 
his death. He was a man of charitable 
deeds and was a liberal contributor to many 
undertakings, and always relieved the suf- 
fering when appealed to for aid. Among 
other benefices he donated a bell to the Pres- 
byterian church of Cambria. He was a man 
of unpretentious appearance, and enjoyed 
physical activity until the last years of his 
life. The mother of our subject, whose 
maiden name was Janet Weir, was a native 
of Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and was 
a daughter of John and Barbara Weir. She 
survived her husband until October 12, 1900, 
when she^ too, passed to her rest. The 
parents of our subject had a family of three 
sons and three daughters, who were as fol- 
lows : Janet, now Mrs. Matthew Kerr, of 
Bath, South Dakota ; Agnes, now Mrs. 
George Hartman, of I-'ardee\ille; Marion, 
who died at the age of si.\ years; William, 
deceased, wh(j left one cliilil, Anna; Robert 
T. ; and George, of Colorado Springs, Colo- 
rado. 

Robert T. King attended the public 
schools of Columbia county and ueceixed a 
liberal education. He has followed agri- 
cultural pursuits most of his life, and also 
was engaged in the loan business. He con- 
ducted a harness business at Grand Rapids 
for about three years. He I milt a modern 
and pleasant residence in Camljria in 1895, 
where he has since resided, and is surround- 
ed by all the comforts of life. 

Our suljject was married in 1895 to Miss 
Vinna Blanchard, daughter of Calvin and 
Jane Blanchard. Mrs. King is a highly ac- 
complished lady and is a native of Lamar- 
tine. Fond du Lac count)', Wisconsin. She 
is a graduate of the high school at Grand 
Rapids, Wisconsin, and taught nine years in 
Wood countv, earning- the reputation iif be- 
ing one of the l)est teachers of the county. 
Since residing in Camljria she has been active 
ii; religious and other public works, and was 



one of the chief promoters of the Star Liter- 
ary Society, the first organization of that 
character founded in Cambria. She and Mr. 
King are connected with the Presbyterian 
church and Mrs. King is a leader in Sunday 
school work, and all social functions of the 
church. Mrs. King's father, Calvin Blanch- 
ard, was born in Dexter, Maine, and went 
to Wisconsin in 1854. He resided in Mon- 
ticello, Minnesota, at the time of the great 
Sioux massacre in 1862, but is now a resi- 
dent of Cambria. He has attained the ad- 
vanced age of eighty years. The maternal 
ancestors of Mr. Blanchard were named 
Johnson and they came to America in the 
Mayflower. His grandfather ser\-ed in the 
Revolutionary war. Mrs. King's mother 
was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, and was a 
daughter of Horace Shaw, who came from 
Scotland. His grandfather, George Shaw, 
was a S(jn of a wealthy nobleman, and came 
to New York City and afterwards married 
a German woman. He dietl in Ohio and 
never received the inheritance due him. 

Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Iving, repre- 
sentative types of the pioneers of the state, 
are shown elsewhere in this volume, and will 
largely enhance its value to a large circle 
of friends and acquaintances throughout this 
part of the state. 



JOHN GOMAN. 

John Goman, one of the most conscien- 
tious and reliable citizens of Dellona town- 
ship, Sauk county, Wisconsin, was born 
near Montreal, Canada, February 15, 1840, 
a son of Abraham and Sophia (Martin) 
Goman, nati\-es of the same locality and of 
French descent. In 1847 the family came 
tu \^■i.sconsin. after having first spent three 
years in New York state, and in 1859 took 
up their residence in Sauk county. 1 he fa- 
ther, who was a devout meml)er of the 



438 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Catholic cliurch, died in Viroqua, Wiscon- 
sin, in 1S72, aged fifty-eigiit years, and the 
mother, surviving him many years, died in 
Barron county, ^^'isconsin, in 1896, at the 
age of seventy-nine. To them were born 
thirteen children, of whom eleven reached 
years of maturity. Besides our subject, one 
brother, Nelson, li\-es in the village of Del- 
ton, Sauk county, and another, Thomas, 
makes his home in Juneau county, Wis- 
consin. 

John Goman was only a small boy when 
he came wth his parents to this state and 
for a dozen years or more he lived in Ra- 
cine county, where his father operated a rented 
farm. Since 1859 lie has made his home 
ir. Sauk county and has been actively identi- 
fied with its agricultural interests. During 
the Civil war he enlisted, August 16, 1862, 
in Company F, Twenty-third Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, which was a part of 
the department of the Gulf under the com- 
mand of Generals Smith and McClernand. 
He participated in the battles of Chickasaw 
Bayou, Arkansas Post, Greenville, Cypress 
Bend, Port Gibson, Champion Hills, Black 
River Bridge, the sieges of Vicksburg and 
Jackson, the engagements at Carrion Crow 
Bayou, Sabine Cross Roads, Caine River 
and Jackson, Louisiana, and the sieges of 
Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, Alabama. 
After the return of peace the regiment was 
stationed at Mobile until honorably dis- 
charged July 4, 1865. Mr. Goman had many 
narrow escapes from death and capture, es- 
pecially at Carrion Crow Bayou, where 
most of his brigade were taken jjrisoners. 
He did not hear the order to retreat and 
was deserted by most of his comrades before 
aware of it. For several years after the 
war he lived in Reedsburg, but in the fall of 
1882 purchased his present farm of eighty 
acres on section 24, Dellona township, on 
which he has since resided. When he lo- 
cated thereon it was all wild land, Init he 



has since cleared and placed under cultiva- 
tion one-half of the amount, has made many 
other improvements, and in connection with 
general farming gives some attention to 
fruit culture. 

In 1867, Mr. Goman married Miss Lois 
Charlotte Jones, who was born in New York 
and died in Reedsburg, November 24, 1880, 
at the age of forty-three years, leaving 
four children, viz. : Adelbert Grant, who 
lives upon the home farm; Lilly, wife of 
Albert Hide, of Dellona township; James 
Sherman, of Rockford, Illinois; and Rachel 
Sophia, wife of Fred Mash, of Delton, Wis- 
consin. Mr. Goman was again married 
June 22, 1883, his second union being with 
Miss Elizabeth Ellis, a native of Watertown, 
Wisconsin. Her parents are Joseph and 
Wilhelmina (Henneman) Ellis, natives of 
England and Germany, respectively. Her 
father owned and operated a woolen mill 
in Baraboo, Wisconsin, for several years, 
but is now living in Delton. By his sec- 
ond marriage our subject has seven chil- 
dren : Amelia L, Andrew John, Harrison 
Logan, Ira Jeremiah, Minnie Louise, Abra- 
ham L. and William D. 

In politics Mr. Goman is a Republcan, 
but has ne\er been an active partisan. He 
is a true and earnest Christian, a convert 
of the faith of The Church of God, a new 
organization in his neighlxirhood, and he 
trusts implicitly in the Lord for his spirit- 
ual and temjjoral welfare and that of his 
family. 



HENRY GETHERS. 

Henry Gethers, a practical and enter- 
prising agriculturist of Richfield township, 
Adams county, owns and operates a well- 
improved and highly cultivated farm of one 
liundred and eighty-nine acres on section 12. 
He is a native of Pennsvlvania, born in 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



43C> 



Venango connty. Jnly 12, 1836, and is a 
son of Henry and Betsy E. (Slepy) 
Gethers. The fatlier died when our sul)- 
ject was a small boy, and the mother mar- 
ried again, her second husband being John 
Hopper, who brought the family to Adams 
county, Wisconsin, in 1849, ^'^J after buy- 
ing and selling se\'eral farms, he finally lo- 
cated at what is now Coloma Corners, where 
he owned several hundred acres of land. 

Air. Gethers accompanied the family 
on their remo\-al to Wisconsin and in Adams 
county he grew to manhood, early becom- 
ing familiar with the arduous duties which 
fall to the lot of the pioneer farmer. He is 
now the owner of a good farm of one hun- 
dred and eighty-nine acres, of which eighty- 
five acres are under cultivation, and has 
erected thereon a good substantial residence, 
it being the second house built upontheplace. 
He is an enterprising and progressive agri- 
culturist, and is meeting with fair success 
in his labors. 

On the 17th of September, 1S65, Mr. 
Gethers married Miss Esther Ann Parks, of 
Richfield township, Adams county, a daugh- 
ter of William and Mary (Meade) Parks, 
of Waushara county, Wisconsin. Her fa- 
ther enlisted at Richford, during the Civil 
war, in C(jnipany E, Si.xteenth Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded in 
the head at the battle of Shiloh. When last 
seen he had started for the creek to wash 
the blood from his face, after which all trace 
of him was lost. Our subject and his wife 
have a family of six children living, name- 
ly : Charles, Malona J., John William, 
Mary E., Henry and Roy S. 

Mr. Gethers was also among the boys 
in blue during the Rebellion, a member of 
Company E, Seventh Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, which was a part of the "Iron 
Brigade."' He was the first to enlist at Co- 
loma Corners, and he participated in the bat- 
tles of Fredericksburg, Gainesville, the sec- 



ond battle of Bull Run, and the engagement 
al South Mountain where he was wounded 
in the left shoulder. He was sent to Queen 
Street Newnet University Hospital, Balti- 
more, Maryland, from which he was hon- 
orably discharged on account of disability 
December 17, 1862. His residence in 
Adams county, covering a period of over 
half a century, has numbered him among its 
valued citizens who have been devoted to 
the public welfare. He has manifested the 
same loyalty in days of peace as in days of 
war, and all wlio know him have for him 
the highest regard. 



LYMAN A. MURRAY. 

The motto "merit always commands its 
reward," is well exemplified in the career of 
our subject. He early learned that knowl- 
edge is the key with which the poor bov on 
the farm could open the store house of the 
world and cull its choicest fruits. The re- 
sult is that he is now one of the most success- 
ful business men of Kilbourn City, and is es- 
sentially the architect of his own fortune. 

A native of Sauk county, Mr. Murray 
was born in Dellona township, Xoxxmber 
28, 1852, and is the oldest son of Alexan- 
der and Charlotte L. (Montgomery) Mur- 
ray, natives of Scotland and New Xork. re- 
spectively, who were married in Wisconsin 
in 1849. The maternal grandfather was 
William Montgomery. The father was born 
in Greenock, Scotland, July 28, 18 17, and in 
early life was a sailor, the last three years 
of his service being with the government in 
the Mexican war. In 1849 he came to 
Sauk county, Wisconsin, and entered one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in the north- 
ern part of Dellona township, which he 
cleared, broke and improved with good 
buildings. As the greater part of his life 
lias been spent up(in the water, his first at- 



440 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



tempt at farming was somewhat amusing. 
His first team was a yoke of oxen, which he 
hitclied by placing the yoke wrong side up 
and attached them to the plow with an 
eleven-foot chain. The team being so far 
in advance of the plow the furrows w-ere 
ver}^ deep. His first attempt at mowing 
was also ludicrous, the scythe being thrust 
into the ground and bent double. But 
being a verj- intelligent man, he soon learned 
the mysteries of farming, and became a suc- 
cessful agriculturist. He afterward bought 
eighty-five acres of land fi\e miles from 
Reedsburg, \\'isconsin, which he improved 
in a substantial manner He served his 
town in an official capacity, and was ac- 
counted a very competent officer. His death 
occurred August 27, 1900. His wife died 
in Dellona township. Sauk county. ^March 
II, 1895. 

During his boyhood Lyman A. Murra^• 
attended the common schools of Sauk county 
and the high school of Reedsburg, and com- 
pleted his education at the State University 
of \\'isconsin, making his own way through 
college by working on the farm, teaching 
school in Sauk county, and harvesting in 
Minnesota. He was verj' industrious and 
enterprising, and his success in life is due 
e::tire]y to his own efforts. After leaving 
the universit}- he was principal of the school 
al Delton for a time, and for one year was 
principal of the high school at Prairie du 
Sac. He was again chosen for the latter 
position, but on account of ill-health was 
obliged to resign, and in 1882 accepted the 
position of state agent for a school supply 
company, selUng school charts. He later 
sold a line of general school supplies, and 
thoroughly canvassed both Minnesota and 
^\'isconsin until 1888, when having gained 
some very valuable experience he was able 
to build up a business of his own along the 
same line. By perseverance and strict at- 
tention to his business he has built up an ex- 



cellent trade as a manufacturer, importer 
and dealer in school supplies, his orders 
coming from far and near. Since May, 
1884, he has made his home in Kilbourn 
Cit}^, Columbia county, where he purchased 
lots 16, 17 and 18, block 74, on Capital 
street, and has erected thereon a good resi- 
dence and office. 

On the 1st of January, 1880, ]\Ir. Mur- 
ra)- married Miss Robinnia Murray, of Kil- 
bourn City, who was born in Sterling, Scot- 
land, September 12, 1846, and in 1851 was 
brought to America by her parents, Thomas 
and Isabella Murray. After residing for 
five years in Oswego, Xew York, the family 
came west and settled at Old Town, New- 
port, Sauk county, \\'isconsin, in its palm- 
iest days. 

^Ir. ^lurra}' is of a studious disposition, 
and, although he takes no active part in po- 
litical affairs, keeps well informed on the 
questions and issues of the day, and during 
the campaign of 1896 made many speeches 
in the interest of free silver. His business 
has made him well known in many states, 
and he commands the respect and confidence 
of all with whom he comes in contact. 



THOMAS HOWLAXD. 

Thomas Howland. an esteemed veteran 
of the great Civil war, residing at Reeds- 
burg, was born in the town of Laurens, Ot- 
sego county, Xew York, June 30, 1832. His 
parents were ^^'ilham C. and Abigail (El- 
dred) Howland. His grandfather, Charles 
Howland, came from Dutchess county, X'ew 
York, and was a scion of an English Quaker 
family which located in xme of the Xew 
England colonies at an early date. His 
wife's name was Sarah Irish. 

William C. Howland was a native of 
Xew Lisbon. Xew York, and spent his life 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



441 



in Otsego county, reaching tlie age of 
seventy-nine years. He was a wlieelwright 
by trade, the chief products of his skill being 
spinning wheels, quill wheels, etc.. for which 
there was a considerable Incal demand in his 
time. He had learned the art from his fa- 
ther and was known as a competent work- 
man and exemplary citizen. Mrs. Abigail 
Howland died at the age of forty-four years 
in the town of Tompkins, Delaware county, 
New York. Her father, Thomas Eldred, 
was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, in 
which a number of his relatives also par- 
ticipated. After his death, his widow, 
whose maiden name was W'eatherly, mar- 
ried Joshua Card, who had served his coun- 
try in tlie war of 1812. 

Thomas Howdand is the eldest of a fam- 
ily whidi comprises six sons and three 
daughters, all of whom are now li\'ing. Be- 
side the public school, he spent a short time 
at a select school in his native town, making 
the most of his opportunities and, as he was 
blessed with a remarkable memory, he has 
retained most of the information gleaned in 
liis boyhood. He taught for six winters, 
working at the carpenter trade in summer, 
and subsecjuently learned the trade of mill- 
wright with Darwin Feltor, since superin- 
tendent of water works at Binghamton, 
New York, for many years. 

In 1868 Air. Howland came to Wiscon- 
sin, locating at Cazenovia, Richland coun- 
ty; there he carried on a farm and also fol- 
lowed the carpenter trade. He also spent 
some time at Merrill, Wisconsin, as mill- 
wright and carpenter. Since 1894 he has 
been a resident of Reedsburg, and though 
he has nearly reached the allotted age of 
man, he is still conspicuous for his physical 
and intellectual activity. 

While a young man he joined the New 
\ork militia, and was for seven years a 
member of Company E, Forty-first Regi- 
ment, Nineteenth Brigade, of that organiza- 



tion. August 16, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany A, One Hundred and Forty-fourth 
New York Volunteer Infantry, and served 
to the close of the great Civil war, being 
honora1)ly discharged on June 26, 1865. 
Ihough he repeatedly declined any promo- 
tion, he was appointed a cor]3oral Novem- 
ber 21, 1864. Among the engagements in 
which he participated may be mentioned the 
siege of Suftolk, Virginia, the siege of 
Charleston, South Carolina, liattle of John's 
Island, battle of James' Island, siege of Fort 
Wagner, and the expedition against Ander- 
sonville. South Carolina. July 9, 1863, 
while on a forced march to \Varrenton Junc- 
tion, he received a light sunstroke, from the 
effects of which he was temporarily dis- 
abled. July 9, 1864, at John's Island, South 
Carolina, he headed a Ijand of seven volun- 
teers to tear up a bridge in close proximity 
to the enemy. Four of the number were 
shot and their bodies fell into the river, while 
he received three bullet wounds in dift'erent 
parts of his body almost simultaneously. 
None of his wounds were very dangerous, 
and he continued to discharge his duty faith- 
fully until the close of the conflict, though 
suffering considerably from fever and ague. 
One quite exciting experience in which he 
and his comrades indulged was a hunt of 
wild hogs on Bull's Island, near Charles- 
ton. 

Mr. Howland was married January i, 
1857, to Lydia George, daughter of John 
and Mary George, of Laurens, New York. 
Mr. George was a silk weaver, who came to 
the United States from England in 1830. 
Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. How- 
land : Franklin Eugene, a well-known ar- 
chitect and business man of Reedsburg, born 
September 13, 18^7; and Burton Chauncey, 
born October 25. 1859, and died April 21, 
1897, at Rat Portage, Ontario, in wdiich 
province he had been engaged in prospecting 
for gold. Air. Howland is not connected 



44i 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



with any civil organization except the Grand 
Army of the Republic. He has been a Repub- 
lican since casting his first presidential bal- 
lot for Fremont in 1856. 



FLOYD A. FIELD. 

Floyd A. Field, one of the leading busi- 
ness men of Kilbourn City, Columbia coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, has shown in his successful 
business career that he has the ability to 
plan wisely and execute with energy, a com- 
bination which, when possessed by men in 
any walk of life, never fails to effect notable 
results. He is now successfully engaged in 
the lumber business, and is also interested in 
several other enterprises which ha\e been 
of material benefit to his town and county. 

A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Field was 
born in Plainville, Adams county, August 3, 
1858, and is the oldest living son of Henry 
and Olive Field, of whom further mention 
is made on another page of this volume. He 
was educated in the common and graded 
schools of Kilbourn, and at the age of 
twenty-one years began his business career 
in that city as a dealer in grain and farm 
produce, in which he was successfully en- 
gaged for eight years. In 1886 he bought 
the pleasure steamers plying between Kil- 
bourn and the Dells of the Wisconsin river, 
consisting of three boats, the "Eola," "Alex- 
ander M." and "Dell Queen," which he im- 
proved. He put the business on a good pay- 
ing basis and continued his connection with 
it until 1892, when he sold out to the Dells 
Resort Company. In 1896 he established 
a lumber yard in Kilbourn, and now han- 
dles a full line of building materials. He 
also owns a cheese factory and grist mill, 
and lots 9, 10, block 75, Capitol street, all of 
which property has been acquired through 
his own well-directed efforts, good business 
ability and sound judgment. 



On the 9th of July, 1892, \h. Field was 
united in marriage with ]\Iiss Ella Kane, 
who was born in New Haven township, Ad- 
ams county, Wisconsin, in April, 1863, and 
was educated in the common schools. Her 
parents are Timothy and Mary Kane, of 
that township. Our subject and his wife 
have two children: Henry A., born March 
6, 1894: and Floyd A., Jr., born August 30, 
1896. 

Politically Mr. Field is a stanch Republi- 
can, never swerving in his allegiance to the 
men and measures of that party, and as a 
good citizen he takes a deep and commend- 
able interest in public affairs, but has never 
aspired to official honors. He is a cjuiet and 
unassuming man, but a deep thinker and 
shrewd business man who commands the re- 
spect and confidence of all with whom he 
comes in contact, either in business or social 
life. 



WILLIS PHELPS. 

Willis Phelps, a well-known farmer re- 
siding on section 21, Lincoln township, Ad- 
ams county, is one of the heroes of the war 
of the Rebellion, and is deserving of spe- 
cial mention in the annals of his county, 
state and nation, for the part he has played as 
a patriotic citizen. A native of New York, 
he was born in Hastings, Oswego county, 
December 3, 1842, and is a son of Edwin D. 
and Sally A. (Keeler) Phelps, the former 
born in Vermont in 1818, the latter in New 
York in 1820. The father, who was a 
cooper by trade, came to Adams county, 
W'isconsin, in 1851, and throughout the re- 
mainder of his life engaeed in agricultural 
pursuits. Fraternally he was a member of 
the Patrons of Husbandry, and politically 
was a supporter of the Republican party. 
He was a recognized leader in his town, took 
an active and prominent jiart in public af- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



443 



fairs and filled several local offices, includ- 
ing that of chairman. 

The subject of this sketch still resides 
en the homestead of thirty-five acres, being 
a part of the farm patented to his father by 
the government, of which most is now under 
cultivation, and as a systematic and thor- 
ough agriculturist he is meeting with well- 
deserved success in the operation of the 
farm. On the 8th of February, 1864, he 
laid aside all personal interests to enter the 
service of his country, enlisting in the Eighth 
Wisconsin Light Artillery, under Captain 
H. E. Stiles. He was honorably discharged 
August 16, i86^, and is now an active mem- 
ber of Badger Post, No. 122, G. A. R., of 
Friendship. In connection with farming he 
now carries on blacksmithing and does gen- 
eral repair work. In politics he is an ardent 
Repulilican, and cast his first vote for Abra- 
l;ani Lincoln. 

Mr. Phelps was married .\pril 12, 1894, 
in Lincoln township, to Mrs. Nannie M. 
Jackson, formerly Miss Hartson, and to them 
have been born three children: Willis E., 
Rudolph H. and Edward C. Mrs. Phelps 
was born in New Chester township, Adams 
county, December 15, 1862, and here she 
has spent almost her entire life, though in 
1870 she removed with her parents, Orrin 
J. and Minerva (Stevens) Hartson, to Wal- 
worth county, this state, and remamed there 
ten years. Subsequently she spent some 
time in Hebron, McHenry county, Illinois, 
but in 1893 she returned to Adams county, 
Wisconsin, where she has since made her 
home. 

Orrin J. Hartson, the father of Mrs. 
Phelps, was born in the town of Howland, 
Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1832. During 
the dark days of the Civil war he enlisted 
February 29, 1864, as a private in Com- 
pany C, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, which was assigned to the First 
Brigade, Second Division, Second Army 



Corps, and he Was discharged at Jefferson- 
ville, Ind., July 12, 1865. He participated 
in the liattles of the Wilderness, Cold Har- 
bor, North Anna, Shell Hollow, Boydton 
Road, Hatchie's Run and Petersburg. Dur- 
ing the last named engagement he was 
wounded, and at Ream's Station he was 
taken prisoner, but managed to escape and 
returned to his regiment in a suit of rebel 
clothes. His companions then gave him 
the nickname of Johnny. He was present 
at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox 
Court House, and is now an honored mem- 
ber of G. J. Miller Post, No. 145, G. A. R., 
of Oxford, Marquette count}', Wisconsin. 
His wife was born in Ogdensburg, New 
York, September 22, 1842, and with her 
grandfather came to Adams county, Wis- 
consin, at the age of nine years, remaining 
here until 1870, when the family moved to 
Walworth county, where she died April 15, 
1880. 

By his first marriage Mr. Phelps had five 
children, two now living, Ellen M. and 
Emma. By Mrs. Phelps" first marriage she 
has two children living : Florence AL, born 
February 12, 1882, now the wife of Jerome 
Paddock, a farmer of Adams Center; and 
Garner A., born August 10, 1887. 



CHARLES C. -CLARIv. 

Among the energetic and successful 
farmers and stock raisers of Columbia coun- 
ty, who thoroughly understand the occu- 
pation which they follow, is the gentleman 
v.hose name introduces this sketch. He is 
actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in 
Fort Winnebago township, where he owns 
a well improved farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres. 

Mr. Clark was Ixirn in Sandwich, New 
Hampshire, July 29, 1855, and is a son of 



444 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



Edwin and Olive (Roberts) Clark, also na- 
tives of that state, and probably of English 
and Welsh descent, respectively. Both 
grandfathers of our subject spent their en- 
tire lives as farmers in New Hampshire. 
During his boyhood the father engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, but later was em- 
ployed in a machine shop at Laconia, New 
Hampshire, for some years. On coming 
v.'est in i8()8 be spent a few montlis in Dow- 
ner's drove, Illinois, and tb.en located in 
Marquette C(.iunty, ^\'isc(:lnsin, where he pur- 
chased a farm in Moundville township. 
Nine years later he came to Fort Winnebago 
towmship, Columbia county, and in 1892 
removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he died 
in January, 1895, ^t the age of seventy-five 
years. In New Hampshire be was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church, but after com- 
ing to this state he attended the Presbyte- 
rian church. PoHtically he was a lifelong- 
Democrat. His estimable wife died in Fort 
\Vinnebago township, July 26, 1892, at the 
age of seventy-two years. In the family of 
this worthy couple were only two sons : 
Harrison, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio ; and 
Charles C, our subject. 

Charles C. Clark was about thirteen 
years of age when the family came to Wis- 
consin, and he was educated in the district 
schools, but coukl ne\-er endure the confine- 
ment of the school room. He remained 
with his parents until the mother's death, 
having purchased the farm in partnership 
with his father, and finally bought his 
brother's interest in the place after his fa- 
ther's death. In 1896 he erected a fine resi- 
dence thereon, and has made many other 
impro\ements which add greatly to the value 
and attractive appearance of the farm. He 
gives special attention to stock raising. He 
is a Democrat in principle, but at lucal elec- 
tions votes for the man whom he believes 
best qualified to fill the office regardless of 
])arty lines. 



On the 27th of December, 1882, Mr. 
Clark married Miss Agnes Rodger, a na- 
tive of Moundville, Marquette county, Wis- 
consin, where her parents, Alexander and 
Margaret (Gregg) Rodger, are still living. 
Both of the latter are natives of Scotland, 
and emigrated to the United States in 1850, 
ai which time they took up their residence in 
Marquette county, Wisconsin. The father 
i.- now nearly eighty years of age, and the 
mother over seventy, but both are very active 
for their years. Mrs. Clark's paternal 
grandmother also came to this state, where 
she died at an advanced age. Our subject 
and his wife have four children : Pearl, 
Ivie, Harold and Grace. 

Mr. and Mrs. Clark have Iieen consist- 
ent and faithful meml)ers of the Presbyterian 
church of Oxford from yi.iuth, and are high- 
1\' respected by all who know them. 



FRANK DAVID HULBURT, M. D. 

Frank David Hulburt, M. D., is rec- 
ognized as one of the most influential citizens 
of Reedsburg, and has achieved consider- 
able distinction in his profession. He rep- 
resents one of the pioneer families of Sauk 
county, as well as of the United States, being 
a descendant of the seventh generation from 
Thomas Hurlbut, who landed in this coun- 
try in 1635. Chronological records show 
tliat Hulburt, Hurlbut, Hobart, Hubbard, 
and some others, are modifications of the 
original name, Hubert, and as far as known 
all bearing these names are remotely de- 
scended from "De Hubert," an officer in 
the army of William the Conqueror, who 
took an active part in the subjug"ation of 
England and received an extensive grant of 
land as a reward for his services. 

Thomas Hurlbut was a native of Scot- 
land, born in 1610. He entered the British 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



445 



army and came to New England nnder com- 
mand of Lyon Gardiner, who 1)nilt and com- 
n-ianded Fort Saybrook, Connecticut. Thom- 
as Hnrlbut was wounded in the Pequot war, 
but survived and settled at Wethersfield. 
Connecticut, where he led an honorable and 
useful life, filling a number of civil offices 
under the Colonial government. A bio- 
graphical sketch of Honorable D. B. Hul- 
burt, the father of the subject of these para- 
graphs, appears elsewhere in this volume, to 
which the reader is referred. 

Dr. Frank D. Hulburt, whose name 
heads this article, was born at Loganville, 
December 23. 185^. His early life was 
spent ujMn the farm, and though his edu- 
cational instruction was mainly limited to 
the common schools, he gained an ample 
knowledge of the ways of the world, and this 
experience, backed by a goodly store of cour- 
age and common sense, fitted him for un- 
dertaking almost any practical line of busi- 
ness. While a young man he entered a drug 
store at New Boston, Illinois, and later was 
employed in the same line of business at 
Reedsburg, spending five years altogether 
and becoming a registered pharmacist in 
1882. He then took a course at Rush Col- 
lege in Chicago, receiving his diploma from 
that famous institution in 1884. He began 
practice at Loganville, but, two years later, 
removed to Reedsburg where he has since 
carried on the general practice of medicine 
and surgery, winning the confidence of the 
people in his professional skill in a very 
marked degree. He is examining surgeon 
for a number of insurance companies, and 
for five years held the position of visiting 
physician to the Sauk County Lisane Asy- 
lum. 

He was married, February 13, 1887, to 

Miss Mina Markee, daughter of Asa E. 

ar.d Caroline M. Markee, of Reedsburg, 

which is the birthplace of Mrs. Hulburt. She 

is the mother of two bright boys: Arthur 
24 



M. and Milton F. The family enjoy the 
Ijest of social connections. The Doctor is 
identified with the Masonic order and other 
fraternal organizations. He is also a mem- 
ber of Wisconsin Chapter. Sons of the 
American Kevtilution, and of the Wiscon- 
sin and the Wisconsin Central Medical As- 
sociations. He has served as mayor of the 
city of Reedsburg and in other local posi- 
tions of trust and responsibility. He is a 
gentleman of easy manners and genial na- 
ture, and when occasion rec^uires is capable 
of expressing his views on any subject in 
public or private in an eloquent, forcible and 
logical manner. 



CHESTER W. S^HTH. 

Chester W. Smith, principal of the Kil- 
bourn city high school, and one of the most 
prominent educators of central Wisconsin, 
is a native of this state, born in Nepeuskun 
township, Winnebago county, April 24, 
1857, and is the oldest son of William C. 
and Sarah (Foote) Smith, who, in 1848, 
were the first couple married in that town- 
ship. His paternal grandfather was Will- 
iam C. Smith, Sr., of Genesee, New York, 
and his maternal grandfather was Percival 
Foote, a cousin of Solomon Foote, United 
States senator from New Hampshire and a 
contemporary of Daniel Webster. The 
Foote family can trace their ancestry back to 
the one bearing that name who defended 
King Charles I of England. They possessetl 
a coat of arms. 

During his boyhood our subject attended 
school in Omro, Wisconsin, where he pur- 
sued his studies under the direction of Pro- 
fessor O. T. Bright, now superintendent of 
public schools for Cook county, Illinois. He 
afterward graduated from the Berlin high 
school, and now holds a life state certificate 
as a teacher. At the age of seventeen he 



440 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



tauglit for one year in tlie district schools of 
\Vinnel)ago county, and after graduating- 
from the Berhn liigh school, he taught in 
that city for two years. In 1876 he went 
to Winneconne as principal of the schools 
of that place, and remained there for eleven 
years. He then established the "Winne- 
conne Enterprise," which he edited for one 
year, and afterward bought the "Omro Stal- 
wart," of Omro, Wisconsin, which he con- 
ducted for the same length of time. The 
following year he again taught in \Vinne- 
conne, and in 1891 accepted the position of 
principal of the Kilbourn City high school, 
which he has since so creditably and accept- 
ably filled. In 1898 he was placed on the 
force of state institute conductors, and has 
met with most excellent success as a teacher 
and conductor of summer schools. jNIt. 
Smith is an artist of considerable ability, and 
while engaged in newspaper work he illus- 
trated his own journals, his engraving at- 
tracting much favorable comment. He is 
a member of the Good Templars Society, 
and is a great temperance worker, having 
delivered many lectures on that subject. Re- 
ligiously he is a prominent member of the 
Presbyterian church, of Kilbourn City, and 
politically is identified with the Republican 
party. 

On the 30th of June, 1878, Mr. Smith 
was united in marriage w^itli Miss Clara L. 
Daggett, who was born in Attleboro, Mas- 
sachusetts, January 8, 1851, a daughter of 
Pliny and Annie Daggett. Her uncle, 
John Daggett, was chairman of the Repub- 
lican state central committee of Massachu- 
setts for many years. She was educated in 
the high school of Avoca, Wisconsin, and 
the academy of Attleboro, Massachusetts, 
and in 1874 commenced teaching in the pub- 
lic schools of Berlin, Wisconsin. She suc- 
cessfully followed that profession at difi^er- 
ent places for ten years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have four children. 



as follows: Ella R., born April 6, 1880, 
is an accomplished musician who is now 
teaching in Downer College, at Milwaukee, 
\\'isconsin. She studied one year at Osh- 
kosh, under the direction of Dunning P. 
Jones and Mrs. R. H. Edward, and at Mil- 
waukee, under the instruction of Julius 
Klauser. Grace, born July 7, 1882, has 
taught for one year in the public schools of 
Adams county, after ha\'ing graduated from 
the Kilbourn high school, and is now attend- 
ing" the Milwaukee Normal, where she will 
graduate at the end of the present school 
year. Russell L., born March 22, 1884, is 
also a graduate of the Kilbourn City high 
school, and is now bookkeeper in the store 
of A. C. Dixon & Sons, of that place. Keith 
D., born May 16, 1892. is still attending 
school in Kilbourn City. 



REV. MARTIN HASZ. 

Rev. Martin Hasz, pastor of St. John's 
Evangelical Lutheran church, in Ouincy, 
Adams county, was born at Loganville, Sauk 
county, Wisconsin, June 4, 1871. He is 
the son of Nicholas and Maria (Luehrsenl 
Hasz, of Hanover, Germany, who emigrated 
to the United States about forty years ago. 
The family located in Loganville during 
the early days of Wisconsin's history, and 
the father engaged in farming, and is still 
a resident of Loganville. 

Of a family of eight children our sub- 
ject was the fifth in order of birth, and until 
about fifteen years of age he attended the 
parochial school at Loganville. He then 
w^ent to Milwaukee, and for six years at- 
tended the Concordia College of the Evan- 
gelical Lutheran synod, of Missouri, Ohio 
and other states, where he finished the Latiii 
and classical course. He then attended 
Concordia Seminary at St. Louis three vearS,' 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



447 



devoting himself to tlieology. He was in- 
stalled as pastor of St. John's chnrch, of 
Ouincy, August 9, 1895, and is also mission- 
ary to the Evangelical Lutheran parishes of 
Oxford, in Marquette county; Lyndon, in 
Juneau county; Necedah, Juncfiu county; 
Cartolville, Adams county; and the church 
in Springville township, Adams county. The 
work extends o\-er a large stretch of coun- 
try, requiring a drive of about one hundred 
and fifty miles a week. Mr. Hasz holds 
confirmation classes, and instructs about 
four days each week. Since accepting his 
charge he has met with excellent success, 
and has organized the churches at Necedah 
and Springville, and has built the churches 
in Ouincy and Lyndon. 

Mr. Hasz was married September 14, 
1898, to Emma Gefifert, daughter of John 
and Dorathea (Dargel) Gefifert, of Reeds- 
burg, Sauk county. IMrs. Hasz's father 
was born at Barum, Hanover, Germany, and 
came to America about r854 and settled in 
Reedsburg, and purchased land for farm- 
ing, part of which lies within the city limits. 
The mother of Mrs. Hasz was born in Vo- 
kel, Hanover, Germany, and came to the 
United States about 1861, and was married 
to John Gefifert at Reedsburg in 1864. Njne 
children were lx)rn to Mr. and Mrs. Gefifert, 
Mrs. Hasz being their fifth child in order 
of birth. 

Rev. Hasz is yet a young man, but his 
labors have already reaped a ])i:)untiful har- 
vest, and he is devoted to the cause for 
which he consecrated his life, and under his 
guidance the prosperity of his church is as- 
sured, and the world made better by his 
teachings. He has gained many friends in 
his circuit, and is popular with his people 
and honored by them. He is deserving of 
much praise for what he has accomplished, 
and is a man of earnest, practical nature, and 
has infused new life into the church, and it 
is flourishing under his fosterins: care. It 



is a pleasure to meet a man whose heart and 
soul are in his work, when the chosen labors 
are fraught with benevolence and kindness, 
and such an one is the subject of this re- 
view. Withiiut a tJKHight for his own com- 
forts he goes the round of his parishes, per- 
forming his duties with cheerfulness and 
love, and thinking only of the good result- 
ing to mankind. 



WILLIAM HURLBUT HOPKINS. 

\Villiani Hurlbut Hopkins is one of the 
popular and successful young men of Bara- 
boo, Wisconsin. The business interests of 
the city are well represented by him, and 
whether in public or private life, he is al- 
ways a courteous, genial gentleman, well de- 
serving the high regard in which he is held. 

Mr. Hopkins was born in Baraboo, De- 
cember 15, 1865, a son of Charles Henry and 
Felicia (Hurlbut) Hopkins. The first of 
the family in iVmerica of whom a record has 
been preserved was Moses Hopkins, who 
was born March 13, 1751, and died in Great 
Barrington, Massachusetts, March 9, 1838. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Anna Whiting, was born November 8, 1754, 
and died July 22, 1834. Their third child, 
Mark Hopkins, was born J-une 29, 1779, and 
died in St. Clair, Michigan, November 27, 
1828. He married Tracy Lukins Kellogg, 
at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and one 
of their sons was Samuel F. Hopkins, grand- 
father of our subject. He was born in 
Hinsdale, Massachusetts, September 15, 
1803, and died in St. Clair, Michigan, June 
21, 1884. By occunation he was a carpen- . 
ter. He married Miss Mary Ann Kenney, 
and among their children was Orrin K., a 
sharpshooter in the Civil war. 

Charles H. Hopkins, another son of that 
worthy coiq)le and the father of our sub- 
ject, was liorn in I'almcr, now St. Clair, 



448 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Michigan, and about 1861 came to Baraboo, 
Wisconsin, where, in company with his 
brother, Mark Hopkins, he buih and oper- 
ated a sawmill. Subsequently he followed 
the carpenter's trade. He died at Baraboo, 
August 20, 1872, at the age of thirty-eight 
years. He was married at Wyocena, Wis- 
consin, April 30, 1863, to Miss Felicia Hurl- 
but, who died in Baraboo, July 19, 1884, 
aged forty-six years. She was a native of 
Clayton, New York, and a daughter of 
Henry Hurlbut, who located in Baraboo 
abut 1858, and here engaged first in lumber- 
ing and later in the hardware trade. In 
the family of Charles H. and Felicia Hop- 
kins were two sons : Harry, who was born 
in February, 1864, and died at the age of 
eighteen months; and William H., of this 
sketch. 

Our subject attended the public schools, 
ai;d later the Wayland Academy at Beaver 
Dam, Wisconsin, but owing to his mother's 
ili-health he was obliged to return home be- 
fore completing the course at that institu- 
tion. At the age of twenty-one he acquired 
an interest in the Island Woolen Mills, with 
which he was connected for several years, 
and in -May, 1892, bought a controlling in- 
terest in the Baraboo Gas & Electric Light 
Company, and assumed the management of 
the same. He is now practically sole pro- 
prietor of the establishment, which furnishes 
illumination for the entire town, lighting 
streets and buildings, and employing five 
people in the operation of the plant. Mr. 
Hopkins is a wide-awake, progressive busi- 
ness man of known reliability, and in his un- 
dertakings he has met with marked success. 
Besides the property already mentioned, he 
owns a brick block in the business portion of 
the town, and is interested in real estate in 
West Superior, Wisconsin, and Everett, 
Washington. 

On the 20th of December, 1886, Mr. 
Hopkins was united in marriage with Miss 



Ellen F. Watson, a native of Abelman, Wis- 
consin, and a daughter of Edward C. and 
Laura E. (Abelman) Watson, of Baraboo, 
who were ])ioneers of Sauk county. The 
onlv child born of this union died in infancv. 



WILLIAM CARL AUGUST MEYER. 

William Carl August Meyer, one of the 
most intelligent and progressive citizens of 
Fort Winnebago township, Columbia coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, whose time and attention are 
devoted to agricultural pursuits, was born 
on the /th of June, 1838, in Buessow by 
Colberg, province of Coslin, Ponierania, 
Prussia, and is a son of Kaspar and Louise 
(Gantz) Meyer, also natives of Buessow, 
where they spent their entire li\-es. The 
father served as sergeant in the commissary 
department of the German army during the 
Napoleonic wars from 1812 to 1815, being 
a member of a cavalry regiment. During 
an engagement his pistol was shot from his 
hand and the stock shattered, but he leaped 
from his horse and recovered the weapon, 
which is now in possession of his descend- 
ants in Germany. He was head shepherd 
on a large estate, overseeing the work of a 
large number of men, and the maternal 
grandfather of our sul)ject held a similar 
position. 

In his native land William C. A. Meyer 
received a fair common school education, and 
remained at home until twenty-one years of 
age, when he entered tlie German army, 
serving four years on the Polish frontier. 
In 1866 he emigrated to the United States, 
being five weeks in crossing the Atlantic 
from Hamburg to New York. He first lo- 
cated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he 
worked on a farm for one season, and for a 
few months he attended an English school, 
there acquiring a fair knowledge of our Ian- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



449 



On coming to Columbia county, Mr. 
j\Ieyer worked at such em])loyment as he 
could obtain until Octolier, 1867, when he 
bought one hundred and twenty acres of 
land in Fort Winnebago township, of which 
only twenty acres were then under cultiva- 
tion, but no buildings had been erected 
thereon. He subsequently purchased ad- 
joining land, until he now has four hundred 
and eighty acres, which he has transformed 
into a highly cultivated and productive farm, 
an^l has improN-ed by the erection of a good 
set of farm buildings. He has a fine herd 
of high grade Jersev cattle, a flock of Shrop- 
shire sheep, and other live stiick, and now 
gives particular attention to the dairy busi- 
ness, having a good milk route in the city 
of Portage for the past twelve years. He 
is an enterprising, wide-awake business man, 
and has -met with well-deserved success since 
coming to this country. 

In 1867 Mr. Meyer was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Otilla Kutz, who was born 
in Warlang, province of Coelen, Pomerania, 
and came to the new world in 1867 with her 
parents, William and Augusta (Jsberner) 
Kutz, locating in Columbia county, Wiscon- 
sin. Her father died upon his farm in Fort 
Winnebago township at the ripe old age of 
eighty-three years. Of the children born to 
our subject and his wife one died in infancy, 
and the others are as follows : Reinhold, 
who is employed in a store in Portage; 
Anna, wife of Professor C. Haase, of Mil- 
waukee; Otto, who is also a clerk in Port- 
age; William, at home; Paul, a teacher of 
Stone Bridge, Ontario, Canada ; Louise, at 
home ; Hugo, who is a teacher at Atwater, 
Minnesota; Louisand Edward, bothat home. 
They also have one grandchild. The chil- 
dren have all been provided with good edu- 
cational ad\'antages, and their home is one 
of culture and refinement. 

Since becoming a citizen of this coun- 
trv, Mr. Mever has affiliated with the Re- 



publican party, and has held several local 
offices, serving as township supervisor, and 
as township treasurer for four years. He 
has been interested in the fire insurance Inisi- 
ness for some years. With his family he 
is connected with St. John's Lutheran 
church, of Portage, of which he was a trus- 
tee two years, and vice-president of the cdh- 
gregation for a number of years past. He 
takes an active interest in promoting the 
v, elfare of his township and county, encour- 
aging and aiding all enterprises tending to 
benefit the ]niblic, and enjoys in a high de- 
gree the ccjufidence and esteem of his fellow 
men. 



THOMAS J. WILLL\MS. 

Thomas J. Williams is a native of Co- 
lumbia county, Wisconsin, born in Caledo- 
nia township, November 16, 1864, and is a 
son of David J. and Margaret (Jenkins) 
Williams. The father was a native of An- 
glesea, Wales, and was a son of David and 
Milcah Williams, who spent their entire 
lives in that country. Two of their sons, 
however, came to America, the other, besides 
the father of our subject, being Hugh T. 
Williams, who has spent most of his life in 
Caledonia township, but is now li\-ing in 
Baraboo, Wisconsin. It was in 1851 that 
David J. Williams crossed the Atlantic and 
took up his residence in Racine, Wisconsin, 
where he made his home for six years, 
though a part of the time was spent in the 
Wisconsin pineries. About 1855 he vi.s- 
ited Columbia county, and secured a claim 
ijf one hundred and sixty acres in Caledonia 
township, but did not locate thereon until 
the spring of 1857, removing from Sheboy- 
gan county, with an ox team and bringing 
with him (.mc or two cows. He at once 
commenced to ini]>rove and cultivate his 
Irnd, and during the thirtv years he made 



450 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



that farm his home he added to it from time 
to time until he had five hundred and sixt)' 
acres. In connection with farming he gave 
consideraljle attention to the Uve stock busi- 
ness, and in both undertakings steadily pros- 
pered, becoming quite well-to-do. In 1887, 
owing to ill-liealth he remo\-ed to Portage, 
where he spent the remainder of his life in 
retirement from active labor, dying there 
February 9, 1890, at the age of sixty-seven 
years. He was a consistent and faithful 
member of the Presbyterian church of that 
city, and was a Republican in politics. While 
a resident of Caledonia township he served 
as assessor and su]3ervisor. His estimable 
wife passed away March 24, 1887, at the age 
of sixty years. She was a native of Cardi- 
ganshire, Wales, and a daughter of \\'ill- 
iam and Ann Jenkins, who came to the 
Unietd States with their family, in 1847, '^^''d 
settled in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, 
where they lived as farming people until 
called from this life. Our subject is the fifth 
in order of birth in a family of six children, 
the others being: William, who lives on 
the old homestead in Caledonia township; 
Sarah, a resident of Portage ; Griffith, of 
Caledonia township ; Hugh, who died at the 
age of twelve years ; and John C, a physi- 
cian of Chicago, Illinois. 

Thomas J. Williams acquired his edu- 
cation in the district schools of Caledonia 
township, and remained at home until he 
attained his majority, after which he spent 
two or three years in traveling in Minne- 
sota, Iowa and the Dakotas. In 1889 he 
located in Portage, and two years later com- 
menced dealing in produce, making a spe- 
cialty of potatoes, poultry and dairy prod- 
ucts. His business steadily increased, and 
he shipped large quantities of poultry and 
dairy products to Boston, while his pota- 
toes were mostly shipped south. He sold 
out his business June i, 1900. He is a 
wide-awake, progressive business man, and 



has met with well-merited success in his 
labors. He has always affiliated with the 
Republican party, and attends many politi- 
cal gatherings, but has never been a candi- 
date for official honors. 



MARION JACOBS. 

The fine and well-ordered farm lielong- 
ing to this gentleman, near Reedsburg, is 
conspicuous for the manner in which it has 
been improved and cultivated, and is evi- 
dently the homestead of one of the most en- 
terprising and progressive agriculturists of 
Sauk county. A native of Pennsylvania, 
he was born in Amitv, Erie county. May 3, 
1842, and is a son of Galen E. and Martha 
M. (Wadsworth) Jacobs. The father was 
a native of upper Canada and a son of Gus- 
tavus Jacobs, who removed to that country 
from Vermont and later to New York. He 
lived to be over ninety years of age and died 
at Platteville, Wisconsin. For some years 
he worked as a stone mason and boat builder 
on the Erie canal at Rochester, New York. 
His grandparents came to America from 
France, probably from the province of Al- 
sace. The father of Gustavus Jacobs, who 
bore the same name, was a member of Col- 
onel Stark's command at the battle of Ben- 
nington during the Revolutionary war, and 
he also reached the advanced age of over 
ninety years. Our subject's father came 
with his family to Wisconsin in 1855, and 
settled in the town of Honey Creek, Sauk 
county, where in connection with the opera- 
tion of his farm he also worked at the car- 
penter's trade. He died at North Freedom, 
in the fall of 1894, at the age of seventy- 
seven years, honored and respected by all 
wdio knew him. His wife, who is still liv- 
ing at that i)lace, was Ijorn near Attica, 
New York, April 19, 181 7, and is a daugh- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



451 



ter cif Rodney \Va(ls\vortIi. a caliinet maker, 
who was eng'at;eil in the manufacture of 
chairs by hand at Attica. His father was 
a native of Ireland, and durino- iiis residence 
in tliis country made his home at .Vttica, 
where his death occurred. Two great- 
uncles of oirr subject, William and John Ja- 
cobs, were soldiers in the Mexican war. 

Marion Jacobs accompanied his [larents 
on their removal to Sauk county, and here 
grew to manhood. Prompted by a spirit of 
i;atriotism, he enlisted on the 4th of January, 
1862, in Company F, Twenty-third Wis- 
consin \'olunteer Infantry, for service in the 
Civil war, and was in the department of the 
Gulf, under the command, at different times, 
of Generals Grant, Sherman, Banks and Mc- 
Clernand. He participated in the battle of 
Fort Donelson, the siege of Vicksburg- and 
Eanks' disastrous expedition up the Red 
river. Though never w>junded or taken 
prisoner, his health was entirely broken 
down, and after his return to New Orleans 
from Banks" expedition he was confined to 
the hospital at that place, and later at Vicks- 
burg, Jefferson Barracks and Prairie du 
Chien, Wisconsin, being finally discharged 
June 26, 1865. He has never recovered his 
heal.tli, but suffers constantly from chronic 
diarrhea. 

After the war Mr. Jacobs worked for a 
time in a sawmill, and continued to make his 
home in Honey Creek township until 1891, 
when he bought a farm in Reedslnrrg town- 
ship, where he now resides. He is the 
owner of two fine farms, aggregating tw'O 
hundred and forty acres of tillable and hay 
land, and also has an eighty-acre timber 
tract. Potatoes and grain are his chief 
crops, but he also gives some attention to the 
breeding of Jersey cattle for his dairy. He 
has built large barns and has commodious 
accommodations for his stock, and every- 
thing ab<.>ut his place betokens the thrift and 
irdustry of a progressive owner. 



On the loth of April, 1870, Mr. Ja- 
col.)s married Miss Anna M. Voss, wdio died 
in April, 1871, leaving an infant daugh- 
ter, Anna, now Mrs. Walter Carpenter, of 
North Freedom. He was again married 
November 8, 1873, his second union being 
with Miss Louise AmljJer, who was born in 
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and in 1853 
came to Sauk county, Wisconsin, with her 
parents, Thomas antl Abigail Ambler, wdio 
located in Troy. The father died in Chicago, 
Illinois, and the mother at Trov, Wisconsin. 
Bv this marriage Mr. Jacobs has two sons: 
Galen M., a resident of Seattle, Washing- 
ton ; and Seth, on the home farm. He also 
has one grandchild. 

Fraternally Mr. Jacobs is an honored 
member of H. A. Tator Post, G. A. R., and 
politically has been a lifelong Republican, 
casting his first vote for Abraham Lin- 
coln in 1864. while in the Union army dur- 
ing the war of the Rel)ellion. He has never 
been an aspirant for jjolitical honors, though 
for two years he acceptably served as as- 
sessor of Honey Creek township. 



JOHN ENOCH McMAHON. 

John Enoch McMahon, a leading citizen 
of Columbia county, has his pleasant and at- 
tractive home in k'ountain Prairie township, 
on section 18, antl is now enjoying the peace 
and rest that follow the strenuous years of 
an honorable and busy life. He is a son 
of Edward and Rosy McMahon, mention of 
whom is made in the biography of Hugh 
McMahon, brother of our subject. He has 
only one other brcjther living, Philip Mc- 
Mahon. of Rio. Thei'e is one sister, who is 
the wife of Patrick Connery, of Doyles- 
town. 

(jur subject came to this end of the coun- 
ty long fiefore the arrivrd of the railroad. 



452 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



This was in 1849, ^"'1 I'P to the hreaking 
out of the Civil war lie worked on a farm. 
He was among the first to respond to the ap- 
" peal of the nation for help, and enlisted May 
18, 1 86 1, in Company B, Seventh Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was 
sent directly to Camp Lyons, Maryland, with 
orders to join the Army of the Potomac. 
IMcMahon participated in many of the fierc- 
est battles of the war. He was wounded 
at Gainesville, August 28, 1862, a bullet 
passing through his left hip and taking 
away two and a half inches of the hip bone 
in its course. He was sent to Ebenezer Hos- 
pital at Washington, D. C, and after a long 
and painful illness was discharged from the 
service as unfitted by his wound for farther 
duty. The natural severity of such a wound 
was greatly aggravated by the fact that after 
it was received he lay on the battlefield with- 
out aid for six days and seven nights. It is 
a wonder that he came through alive. Af- 
ter leaving the hospital Mr. McMahon re- 
turned to Columbia county, and for more 
than a year was totally unable to work. Af- 
ter a time, however, he was able to resume 
farming, and it has continued to be his life 
work. 

John Enoch McMahon and Miss Eliza- 
beth A. Starr were married November 16, 
1864. She is a daughter of Deloss C. and 
Susannah Starr, of Kentucky. Her grand- 
mother, who had four brothers in the Revo- 
lutionary war, was over one hundred years 
at the time of her demise. Mr and Mrs. Mc- 
I\Iahon have eight living children: Susan, 
who is the wife of ^Villiam Kennedy, has her 
home in Fountain I'rairic; Jdsephine is Mrs. 
Charles Higgins, and lives in Chicago; 
^^'illiam is at Doylestown ; Edward is in 
the same village; Steven is at Madison; 
Mary is Mrs. Frank Baker, at Mt. Horeb, 
\\'isconsin; Martha Naomi and Ever are at 
home. Our subject is a devoted Republi- 
can, and has frcduentlv been elected to im- 



portant local and county offices. He is the 
present chairman of the town laoard of 
Fountain Prairie. He is an earnest and 
wise friend of the public-school system, and 
helps along every public movement. He 
belongs to the George H. Brayton Post, 
Grand Army of the Republic, and the Win- 
nebago Commandery, K. T. He is an 
active and energetic man, and in spite of the 
ad\'ancing years still plays the part of a 
man in the great drama of life. 



WILLIAM R. EVANS, Dece.\sed. 

William R. Evans, deceased, was for 
more than forty years one of the most highly 
esteemed citizens of the town of Caledonia, 
Columbia county. He was distinguished for 
I'iis industrious habits and exemplary moral 
character, these qualities, together with his 
simple tastes and quiet disposition, contrib- 
uting to make his home one of peace and 
happiness. 

Mr. Evans was born on a farm called 
"Plas Clocasnog," near Rhuthen, Denbigh- 
shire, Wales, January, 1824, and his death 
occurred at his home in Caledonia, Septem- 
ber 2, 1893. ^'-it 'itt'e 's known of his par- 
ents or ancestry, but he was doubtless reared 
to agricultural ])ursuits, and his intellectual 
training was full}- equal to the advantages 
enjoyed by the average Welsh lad in the first 
half of the nineteenth century. In 1850 he 
left the land of his nati\'ity and came to seek 
his fortune on this side of the Atlantic 
ocean, led, no doubt, by the prospect of ac- 
c[uiring a home at nominal expense, and in 
this commendable ambition he was destined 
to meet with gratifying success. After 
spending a year or so in Pennsylvania and 
Ohio, he came to Columbia county, \Viscon- 
sin, and secured a nice piece of land in the 
t(jwn of Caledonia. It required no small 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



453 



amount of patient toil to make of tliis a till- 
able farm, but he diil not hesitate at the task, 
and eventually had the pleasure of making 
it a well improved farm. At lirst the near- 
est market for his products was at Madison, 
a point only to be reached l)y a tedious jour- 
ney, but he was seldom away from home on 
any errand but business with the exception 
of one trip to the home of his childhood. 

Though he had little inclination to par- 
ticipate in public matters, Mr. Evans always 
aimed to discharge his duty as a citizen ac- 
cording to the best of his knowledge. He 
became identified with the Republican party 
in the infancy of that organization, and al- 
ways gave conscientious support to its prin- 
ciples. He aimed to give his family the best 
educational and social advantages that his 
means would allow, and was always ready 
to assist the needy and deserving who 
sought to better their condition in life by 
honest "efifort. 

One of the few errands which called Mr. 
Evans from home in the early days was the 
seeking of a helpmeet to share his humble 
home. The lady who became his bride was 
Miss Laura Roberts, daughter of (jriffith 
and Ann (Richards) Roberts. She was 
born at Hendre, Llandanog, Merionethshire, 
Wales, and came alone to the United States 
in 1 85 1. She stopped for a short time at 
Portage, but soon went to La Crosse, being 
a passenger on the first trip made over a 
stage route opened between those places. 
1 he jovtrney consumed three days, and the 
fare was five dollars. She found employ- 
ment at La Crosse, and Mr. Evans went 
thither from Caledonia on foot to visit her 
during their courtship. The date of their 
marriage was September 2, 1854. Mrs. 
Evans, who still resides upon the homestead 
farm, relates a number of interesting anec- 
dotes of pioneer days. She became house- 
keeping in a small log cabin, but her present 
home is a commodious dwelling with all 



modern conveniences and luxurious furnish- 
ings. Of her seven children, but three sur- 
vive, though eight children call her grand- 
mother. The record of her children fol- 
lows: Anne (Mrs. Griffith E. Davis) was 
born September 29, 1855, and died at the 
age of twenty-three years ; John, born April 
16, 1857, died at six years of age; Eliza- 
beth and Griffith both died in infancy ; Mar- 
garet (Mrs. John Davis) lives at Manches- 
ter, Green Lake county, Wisconsin; Laura 
June is the widow of John Rowlands and 
lives on the homestead in Caledonia; and 
Clara is the wife of Dr. Charles Smith, of 
Boody, Illinois. She is a graduate of the 
Woman's Medical College, Chicago, and 
practiced the healing art for some time. 



DAVID NOAH BACON, Deceased. 

The community in which a good man 
passes his life suft'ers a loss in his death, al- 
though he may leave an influence that widens 
as the years roll by, through the better lives 
of those who were directly benefited by 
him. When the late David N. Bacon was 
called from his life work many felt a per- 
sonal sense of loss, due to a knowledge of 
his good citizenship, and habits of indus- 
try and prudence. He was an early settler 
of Wisconsin, and for many years resided 
in Adams county, where he was proprietor 
of a pleasant estate near Point BlutT. He 
had become known to a large circle, and had 
pursued a career that had won an al.nmdant 
reward in a financial sense. 

Mr. Bacon was born in Bath, Steuben 
county. New York, March 26, 1834, and 
was the .son of Noah B. and Charlotte 
(York) Bacon, both natives of Steuben 
county. His father went to \\'ahvorth coun- 
t\', Wisconsin, in 1843, '^''"1 later moved to 
White Creek, Adams county, where he pur- 



454 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



chased a farm and lived there until about 
1855, when he sold his land and purchased 
a residence in White Creek, where he re- 
sided until the death of his wife in 1877. He 
now resides with his son, E. F. Bacon, in 
Des Moines, Iowa, and reached his one hun- 
dredth birthday December 19, 1899. He 
possesses good health, and is able to enjoy 
his life. 

Our subject came with his parents to 
Wisconsin, and attended school and assisted 
with the work on the farm until he reached 
his twentieth year. He was fitted for any 
kind of business, and was well educated and 
capable. He learned the trade of black- 
smith, which he followed in White Creek 
until alxjut thirty-live years of age. He 
then purchased a mercantile business in that 
place which he conducted three years, and, 
on account of failing health, disposed of his 
business interests and purchased a farm at 
Point Bluff, which is now in possession of 
Mrs. Bacon. 

Mr. Bacon was married in 1855 to Caro- 
line Dewing, of Sugar Creek. Mrs. Ba- 
con died in 1861, leaving two children: Ad- 
dison, born in 1856, now an agriculturist of 
Springville township; and May L., born in 
1 86 1, now ]Mrs. G. Reynolds, of Spring- 
ville. ]\Ir. Bacon married Mrs. Sarah L. 
Coulson. widow of Irani Coulson, of Au- 
rora, Illinois. February 17, 1864, who still 
survives him. 

Mr. Bacon was for over twelve years 
postmaster of the village of Point Bluff, and 
was an efficient and ])opular man. He 
served as sheriff two years, and was treas- 
m"er of his township and chairman of the 
board, serving in \arious capacities for 
about eighteen years. He discharged the 
duties of the several positions faithfully and 
well, and gained the confidence of the peo- 
ple whom he served. In political sentiment 
he was a Republican, and took an active part 
in the affairs of his party. He was public- 



spirited, loyal, intelligent and progressive. 
His death occurred April 16, 1898, and he 
was laid to rest at White Creek. The state 
and community was better for his having 
lived, and his career afforded a striking ex- 
ample of what can be accomplished by the 
judicious use of the traits of character which 
dominated his career. 



JOHN ROWLANDS, Deceased. 

The death of this gentleman, which oc- 
curred at his home in the town of Caledonia, 
Columbia county, on the 12th day of Janu- 
ary, 1895, depri\-ed the community of one of 
its most upright and respected citizens, and 
affords one of the saddest instances which 
the historian is called upon to record. 

Mr. Rowlands was born at Pen Bryn, 
Llwyn, near Llanrhaeder, Denbighshire, 
Wales, March 16, 1857. He was a second 
cousin of Henry M. Stanley, the famous Af- 
rican explorer, and sprang of goodly ances- 
tors, from whom he inherited many lofty 
ideals and manly qualities. His father, Ed- 
ward Rowlands, was a Welsh farmer, who 
li\'ed and died in his native land, and his 
mother, whose maiden name was Ann 
Evans, was called from earth during the in- 
fancy of the son. Though deprived of a 
mother's care, the latter enjoyed excellent 
schooling advantages, and learned at an 
early age to put the same to practical use. 
When sixteen years old he went to Liver- 
pool and secured employment in a wholesale 
grocery and provision establishment. Here 
he remained until 1880, when, owing to his 
father's death, he returned for a time to his 
former lidme. In 1881 he tirst came to 
America, spending the first season at De- 
troit, Michigan. From there he came to 
Wisconsin, and passed the next year in the 
town (if Caledonia. A few months more 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



455 



were devoted to business in IMihvaukee, but 
in 1884 be became a permanent citizen of 
Columbia county, and spent the balance of 
his life in the improvement and cultivation 
of the farm which had been originally set- 
tled by his father-in-law, William R. Evans. 
He entertained the most exalted moral con- 
ceptions, and this fact, together with his 
genial manners and general stability of char- 
acter, rapidly won the confidence and good 
will of his new neighbors. He was a mem- 
ber of the \\"elsh Calvinistic Methodist 
church, and about one year previous to bis 
demise was appointed a deacon of that so- 
ciety. A Republican in principle, he did 
not concern himself with the distribution of 
political honors. 

October i, 1884, occurred the wedding 
of Mr. Rowlands with Miss Laura J. Evans, 
daughter of William R. and Laura Evans, 
of whom further notice api^ears elsewhere in 
this viilunie. Mrs. Rowlands, who is a lady 
of culture and refinement, has exhibited 
commendable strength of character in her 
untimely bereavement, and displays note- 
worthy tact and business capacity in the 
management of her farm and the rearing of 
her three children, who are named, respect- 
ively; Edward Evans, \\'illiani E. and 
Anna Laura. 



JACOB HYMAN REIGHARD, De- 
ceased. 

Jacob Hyman Reighard, deceased, was 
for many j^ears one of the respected and 
prosperous farmers of Sauk county. His 
home was on one of the fine farms of West- 
field township, and the family residence was 
on section 7. The estate is now conducted. 
by his son, Ellis W. Reighard, and has all 
the adjuncts of a model country home. 

Jacob H. Reighard was born in Will- 
iamsport, Pennsylvania, April 24. 1824, and 
was a son of Jacob and Lucy (ITyman) 



Reighard. His father was a blacksmith and 
conducted the business in Williamsport, 
Pennsylvania, and later kept a hotel at Jer- 
sey Shore, Pennsylvania. He died at La 
Porte, Indiana, at the age of sixty-eight 
years. His wife survived him several years, 
her death occurring at -La Porte, Indiana, 
aged over seventy years. The father was a 
member of the Methodist church and a man 
of exemplary character. 

Our subject attended the pulilic schools 
at Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, and after 
completing his education learned the ma- 
chinist's trade at Wheeling, West Virginia. 
He started a flint glass works at Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania, where he continued until the 
breaking out of the Civil war. In the fall 
of 1 86 1 he enlisted in Company G, Four- 
teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was com- 
missioned first lieutenant. He spent about 
two years in West Virginia in opposition 
to the noted Confederate leader, Mosby, in 
the campaigns about W'inchester and Low- 
den Heights. He was injured by his horse 
falling upon him, and never fully recovered 
from the accident. He resigned his com- 
mission and was discharged from the serv- 
ice, antl when sufficiently recovered was en- 
gaged as manager of the flint glass works 
at Wheeling, Virginia, wherein he contin- 
ued his interests for a number of years. 
He purchased a tract of two hundred acres 
of wild land in Westfield township, Sauk 
county, W'isconsin, in 1854, and from time 
to time added improvements to the place, 
and about 1875 'i^oved onto the estate. He 
conducted farming and also dealt in farming 
implements on his place until his death. 

Mr. Reighard was married October 2, 
1S44, at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, to 
Caroline Dorneck, daughter of John and 
Mary (Palmer) Dorneck, of Lock Ffa\en. 
Mrs. Reigbard's father was born in Phila- 
delphia, and was of German or Prussian 
and English descent. His father was an 



456 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



importer of indigo and was lost at sea while 
on a voyage to India. His mother bore the 
maiden name of EHza Wilson. ]\lrs. 
Reighard's father carried on the saddlery 
business at Salona, Pennsyh'ania, many 
years, and later moved to Ohio, and fr(.)m 
thence to Sauk county, Wisconsin, where he 
died in 1870, aged over seventy-three years. 
Mrs. Reighard's mother was born in Mary- 
land and lived for some years in Baltimore, 
and died in Flushing, Ohio, early in the 
'60s. Mrs. Caroline Reighard was born in 
Lancaster county, Pennsyh'ania, March 15. 
.1825, and is still enjoying good health, and 
is active in mind and body. Mr. and Mrs. 
Reighard were the parents of three chil- 
dren, two of whom died in infancy. The 
-only surviving child, Ellis W., now con- 
-ducts the homestead farm. Jacob H. Reigh- 
ard passed away in Westfield township, 
Sauk county, November 19, 1888. He was 
respected as an earnest worker and loyal 
■citizen, and his death was mourned by a 
large circle of friends. 

Ellis W. Reighard was Ixjrn at Jersey 
Shore, Pennsylvania, January 9, 1846. He 
was educated in the public schools of Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania, and at the age of thir- 
teen years became shipping clerk in a whole- 
sale establishment at Pittsburg. When the 
Civil war broke out, although he was but 
fifteen years of age, he was almost a man 
in stature and was enthused with the Union 
cause. He accordingly enlisted in the 
Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Init 
his father declined his consent to his going 
into the service. Soon after, however, he 
ran away from home and in Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, assisted in recruiting Company A, 
Nineteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. 
He was entitled to a lieutenant's commis- 
sion, but the governor of Indiana, learning 
his extreme youth, refused to grant the com- 
mission. He soon after joined his father 
and spent one year in the field. After the 



close of the war he returned to Wisconsin, 
since which time he has conducted the home 
farm, with the exception of three years spent 
as bookkeeper for the wholesale hardware 
firm of A. J. Tucker & Company, of Grand 
Rapids, Michigan. 

Mr. Reighard introduced the steam 
thresher into Sauk county, and continued 
the operation of a machine for twenty years. 
The farm which he now conducts covers 
one hundred and sixty acres and is well 
adapted to general farming. The family 
residence is situated on an eminence com- 
manding a charming view of Narrows 
Prairie, and in both exterior and interior 
appointments bespeaks the taste and culture 
of its inmates. 

Ellis W. Reighard was married in 1868 
to Ada Holmes, daughter of Joshua and 
Rosy Holmes, of Sandusky, Sauk county, 
Wisconsin. Mrs. Reighard's father was a 
native of Ohio, and lier mother was born 
in New York. They were early settlers of 
Sauk county, and her father died at San- 
dusky in 1862, aged forty-tive years. The 
mother died about 1892, aged sixty-four 
years. Two children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Reighard, as follows: Clyde and 
Grace. Mr. Reighard is an active member of 
his community, and has held office on the 
school board for the paij^t sixteen years. He 
is a Republican in political sentiment, hold- 
irig the views advocated by his father. He 
has attended as delegate numerous county 
conventions and three congressional con- 
ventions. He is a man of broad mind and 
good character and highly respected in his 
communitv. 



OSCAR ATCHERSON. 

Oscar Atcherson, an influential and 
well-to-do member of the farming com- 
munity of Plainville township, where his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



457 



homestead is located on sections 5 and 8, is 
one of the early settlers of Adams county. 
He is from a long-lived family, who were 
without exception prominent citizens in the 
community in which they resided, and from 
whom he inherited the excellent character- 
istics which have influenced him through- 
out his career to the betterment of his fel- 
low men. 

Mr. Atcherson was b(jrn in Rockingham, 
\'ermont, September 10, 1822, and was the 
son of Thomas and Charlotte (Johnson) 
Atcherson. The father's family had resided 
in that vicinity since the Revolutionary war, 
and the mother of our subject was from 
Petersham, Massachusetts, where the family 
was well known. Our subject's father fol- 
lowed farming as an occupation, and came 
to Adams county, Wisconsin, in 1856, where 
he purchased land, but on account of his ad- 
vanced age did not actively engage in farm- 
ing, but lived in retirement until his death. 
He passed away at Plainville, February 3, 
1873, aged ninety years, and his wife in 
Plainville August 2, 1869, aged iseventy- 
nine years, and both were laid to rest in 
Plainville cemetery. 

Our subject until twenty years of age 
attended school and worked on the farm 
with his father. He then went to work in 
the woolen factories at Cambridgeport, Ver- 
mont, where he learned the trade, and after- 
word worked in various other mills in New 
Hampshire and ^Massachusetts. He gave 
up the work at the age of thirty-three years, 
and having two brothers, Walter and War- 
ren, located at Plainville, Wisconsin, de- 
cided to purchase lapd and live near them. 
He bought one hundred and twenty acres 
on sections 5 and 8, and which form his 
present homestead. His son, John, now 
engages in farming the land. 

Mr. Atcherson enlisted March 7, 1865, 
at Kilbourn, Wisconsin, in the Fifty-second 
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantrv, and was de- 



tailed as guard on the Pacific Railroad, which 
v.-as then building from St. Louis to Kansas 
City. He. was discharged from the service 
August 5, 1865, at Leavenworth, Kansas. 

Our subject was married at Brattleboro, 
Vermont, January 13, 1848, to Mary A. 
Mixer, daughter of John M. and Olive 
(Richardson) Mixer, of Brattleboro, Ver- 
mont. Mrs. Atcherson's parents were early 
settlers of that vicinity, and passed away 
there. To Mr. and Mrs. Atcherson three 
children were born, as follows: Flora E., 
born January 29, 1852, now Mrs. J. Fo- 
gerty, of Tomahawk, Wisconsin; Ada A., 
born September 22, 1858, now Mrs. C. 
ISIiner, of Guilford, Vermont; John iL, 
born May 29, i860, now residing on the 
home farm. The son was married October 
24, 1883, to Abbie F. Billings, of Spring- 
ville. 

Our subject is a member of John Gil- 
lispie Post, No. 50, G. A. R. He has held 
numerous township offices, and has been as- 
sessor, supervisor, and as an interested 
worker for education has served as clerk 
and school director for a number of years. 
He takes an active interest in local affairs, 
and is among the foremost men of his town- 
ship. Although seventy-eight years of age, 
he enjoys the best of health, is active and 
ix)ssessed of all his faculties. During the 
winter of 1898 he paid a visit to his daugh- 
ter in Guilford, Vermont, and spent some 
time visiting the scenes of his boyhood. 



JOHN HASEY. 

John Hasey, an honored pioneer and 
highly respected citizen of Columbus, Co- 
lumbia county. Wisconsin, was born in 
Londonderry, Vermont, April 6, 181 7, and 
is a son of John and Rhoda (Emmons) 
Hasey, also natives of Londonderry. The 



458 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Hase_v family is of English origin. The 
paternal grandfather of our subject, who 
also bore the name of John Hasey, was one 
of the pioneers of Londonderry, Vermont, 
having removed thither from Maine at a 
very early day. He aided the colonies in 
their struggle for independence as a soldier 
of the Continental army during the Revo- 
lutionary \\ar, and the father of our subject 
took arms against the mother country in 
the war of 1812, ])articipating in the battle 
of Plattsburg. He was born January 10, 
1794, and (lied in Columbus, Wisconsin, 
January 10, 1876. He came to this state in 
1844 and settled in York, Dane county, be- 
coming one of its representative and promi- 
nent citizens. He was one of the leading 
Democrats in his community, and was a 
member of the general assembly from Dane 
county. His wife, Vv'ho was born December 
22, 1792, also died at Columbus, Wisconsin, 
May 25, 1866. The children of this worthy 
couple were John, our subject; Alfred, 
Samuel and Austin D., all residents of Co- 
lumbus, except Austin D., who was killed in 
a railroad accident at Albany, Illinois, April 
21, 1881. 

The subject of this sketch was a lad of 
eleven years when the family removed from 
Vermont to Genesee county. New York, 
and located on a farm in the town of Cov- 
ington, which he assisted in improving and 
cultivating. In 1845 he came to Wiscon- 
sin, and after three years spent in Dodge 
county, took up his residence on a farm 
in Columbus township, Columbia county, 
where he engaged in agricultural pursuits 
for ten years. Since then he has made his 
home in the city of Columbus, and for 
twenty years dealt quite extensively in grain 
and farm produce, since which time he has 
practically lived retired, enjoying the fruits 
of his former toil, free from the cares and 
responsibilities of business life. 

In 1843 Mr. Hasey married Miss Al- 



bina S. Farnham, a native of Auburn, New 
York, and a daughter of Frederick Chapin 
and Mary (Andrews) Farnham, of Genesee 
county, that state. Her father, a native of 
Vermont, came to Wisconsin in 1857 from 
New York, and died in Columbus, in De- 
cember, 1879, at the advanced age of eighty- 
nine. He was also a veteran of the war of 
1 81 2, and had taken part in the battle of 
Plattsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Hasey are active 
and prominent members of the Universalist 
church of Columbus, which they helped to 
organize, and he has ser\-ed as treasurer of 
the society for the past twenty-five years. 
After a useful and honorable career he can 
well afford to lay aside all business cares 
and live in ease and retirement, surround- 
ed by a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
ances who esteem him highly for his sterl- 
ing worth. 



EDWARD ROSE BROWN. 

Edward Rose Brown, an honored vet- 
eran of the Civil war and a highly esteemed 
citizen of Portage, Columbia county, Wis- 
consin, was born in Lower Canada, August 
I, 1827, a son of David H. and Lucinda 
(Batchelor) Brown, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania and New York, respectively. The pa- 
ternal grandfather, Jesse Brown, a mill- 
wright by trade, was also born in Pennsyl- 
vania, while his wife was a native of Ger- 
many. When a young man the father went 
to New York, where he was married, and 
in 1827 removed to Canada, but after a 
few months spent there he took up his resi- 
dence in Macomb county, Michigan, where 
he spent the remainder of his life upon a 
farm near the present village of Utica, dying 
there in 1865, at the age of seventy-two 
years. He was an active member of the 
Baptist church and influential in local pol- 
itics, first as a Whig and later as a Demo- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



459 



crat. He filled several offices of honor and 
trust. The mother of our subject tlied near 
Utica, Michigan, about 1834. 

Edward R. Brown is the imly mie in the 
family of six children living in Wisconsin. 
He received a common-school education and 
during his youth learned the carpenter's 
trade, at which he woi-ked at intervals 
throughout life. In 1853 he first came to 
Portage, Wisconsin, where he spent one 
winter in the pineries, and then engaged in 
farming in Adams county for aljmit twelve 
years, after which he located in Lewiston, 
Columbia county. Selling his property here 
in 1881, he went to Dakota, but not finding 
a suitable location he returned to Wiscon- 
sin. In 1884, however, he removed with 
his family to Walworth county, South Da- 
kota, where he took up a homestead claim 
and lived for about eight years, dividing his 
attention between the cultivation of grain 
and stock raising. Since June, 1892, he has 
made his home in Portage, Wisconsin, and 
has followed the carpenter's trade. 

On the 1st of October, 1864, Mr. Brown 
enlisted in Company F, Forty-fourth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, and with his 
command reached Nashville in time to take 
part in the battle at that place, under General 
Thomas, against General Hood. There the 
regiment was ordered to take a position one 
morning at daybreak in the front of the 
lines, but was soon afterward replaced by a 
colored regiment, nearly all of whom fell 
victims to a Confederate battery wdiich 
opened fire on that part of the works a few 
niinutes later. Tlie Forty-fourth Wiscon- 
sin supported Fort Negley during that en- 
gagement. Just previous to the battle a de- 
tachment of one hundred men, including 
Mr. Brown, were ordered to take a drove of 
fifteen hundred head of cattle to Pulaski, 
Tennessee, through a district infested by 
bushwhackers, but they were able to avoid 
them by information given by the negroes 



along the way. They were two weeks in 
reaching Pulaski, and then returned to 
Nashville by rail. From there the regiment 
went to Paducah, Kentucky, and were finally 
discharged in Septemljer, 1865. 

Mr. Brown was married Ma}' 31, 1853, 
to Miss Sarah C. Worden, a native of Wil- 
loughby, Ohio, and a daughter of Holley G. 
and Mary (Warner) Worden, of Portage, 
who came to this state in 1851. Of the eight 
children born to our subject and his wife 
four are now deceased : Ella, who died at 
the age of eight years ; Charles, who died 
at the age of five; Herbert, who died at the 
age of seven ; and Kinney at the age of six- 
teen. Those living are Albert, a resident 
of Walworth county. South Dakota ; and 
Uzell E., \\'innie M. and Hol.ley N., all of 
Portage. The family are connected with 
the Baptist church, and Mr. Brown is an 
honored member of the Grand Army Post 
of Portage, in which he has served as ad- 
jutant. He is independent in politics and 
has filled a number of local offices, serving 
as town clerk and assessor in Jackson, 
Adams county, Wisconsin ; supervisor in 
Lewiston, Wisconsin; and justice of the 
peace in Walworth county, South Dakota. 
He proved a very efficient and capable offi- 
cer and in all the relations of life has been 
found true to every trust reposed in him. 



CHARLES MARTL\. 

Charles Martin iis one of the leading 
citizens and active business men of Dell 
Prairie township, Adams county, wdio op- 
erates a well-drilling machine and deals in 
windmills. Until a short time ago he owned 
a large and well-improved farm of three 
hundred acres of land, forty-seven acres of 
which was the homestead farm and was 
known as the L. S. Carter place, the latter 



460 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



being one of the earliest settlers of the 
county. Our subject improved the property 
and made a model farm of it, but sold it 
in the early spring of 1900. 

Mr. Martin was born in Newark, Lick- 
ing county, Ohio, March 29, 1854, and was 
the son of William and Sarah (Showman) 
Martin. His father moved from Maryland 
to Ohio, and was one of the early settlers 
of that state. He was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, and in 1861 went to Elkhart, Indiana, 
v.'here he followed his calling until his death 
in December, 1864. His wife survived him 
twenty-five years and upon her death, July 
8, 1890, was laid to rest beside her husband 
at Elkhart. 

Our subject early began to assist in 
the support of his mother and the family 
of children, but did not slight his oppor- 
tunities for education. He was an apt pupil 
and possessed a studious nature, and made 
use of every chance to improve his condition. 
At the age of nineteen years he came to 
Dell Prairie, Adams county, Wisconsin, and 
was employed by B. S. Bement, one of the 
prominent farmers of the county. After 
leaving his employ he purchased and sold 
land for some time, and then located on the 
farm mentioned above, which is situated in 
the best part of Dell Prairie township. Since 
about 1892 he has conducted a well-drill- 
ing, pump and windmill business, and finds 
all the work which two men can do. The 
labor and overseeing of the business calls him 
from home a great part of the time, and a 
comfortable income results from his work. 

Mr. Martin was married July 27, 1873, 
to Libbie Carter, daughter of Lyman S. and 
Elizabeth Carter, of Dell Prairie township, 
who came to this region from Pennsylvania 
at an early day. Mrs. Martin's parents were 
married February 3, 1837, in Washington 
county, Maryland. Her mother died May 
3, 1885, and her father died August 5, 1890, 
and both were buried at Kilbourn, Wis- 



consin. Mr. and Mrs. Martin are the par- 
ents of six children, as follows : Sarah, now 
Mrs. E. Barton, of Hancock, Adams county, 
Wisconsin; Leslie, in partnership with his 
father in the pump business; Lottie, Louis, 
Clarence and Minnie. The four yotmgest 
children are at home with their parents. 
Mr. Martin is a Democrat in political senti- 
ment, but does not take an active part in 
the movements of his party, nor accept any 
public offices, his business claiming his at- 
tention from his home district so often. 
He is interested in the welfare of his com- 
munity, and has done all in his power to 
further its development and is one of the 
upright citizens of Dell Prairie township. 
He has resided among the people of that vi- 
cinity long enough to gain from them their 
respect, and they willingly accord him a 
name as a gentleman of excellent character 
and business ability. His home is one of 
the pleasant places within that fertile dis- 
trict, and he has devoted much time in the 
improvement of his property, and he accepts 
advanced ideas, and uses modern methods 
and machinery in every available way. He 
\z progressive, industrious and honest, and 
well merits his success and good reputation. 



CARL SCHNEIDER. 

Carl Schneider, an influential and promi- 
nent citizen of Columbia county, Wiscon- 
sin, now living at Portage, in practical re- 
tirement, was born near Mainz, Germany, 
December 15, 1824, a son of John and 
Catherine (Stoll) Schneider. The paternal 
grandfather was John Peter Schneider, a 
farmer near Mainz, and the maternal grand- 
father, whose name was Stoll,was a cabinet- 
maker. The father, who had been a forester 
in the employ of the government of Hesse- 
Darmstadt, came to the United States in 
1840, and located at New York City, but 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



461 



worked at Groton Point, W'estclicster comi- 
ty. New York, where he lodk charge of a 
nursery. He (hed in Xew York City in 
1853, at the age of eighty-four years, and 
his wife passed away ni 1S51, at the age of 
eighty-one. 

Carl Schneider received a common- 
school education in his nati\e land and after 
ccming- to Xew York attended an evening 
school for a time, thus acquiring a good 
knowledge of the English language. While 
a \-oung man he enlisted in the Washington 
Rifles, Thirty-eighth Regiment Xew Y'ork 
Militia. His only serxdce was in garrison- 
ing Fort Hamilton during the absence of the 
regular troops in the Mexican war, and in 
suppressing a riot between the Catholics 
and Orangemen in New York Cit3^ He was 
employed as state inspector on the enlarge- 
ment of the Erie canal, near Rome, New 
York, and subsecjilently became foreman for 
the contractor. During the four years de- 
\oted to that enterprise he became per- 
sonally acquainted with Governtir Horatio 
Seymour and other state officers. In 1859, 
by the advice of the Governor, he came to 
Wisconsin, expecting to secure employment 
on the Fox and Wisconsin river improve- 
ments, but when he arrived in Portage the 
company having the work in charge had 
become bankrupt and work was suspended. 

Mr. Schneider then opened an eating 
house in Portage, in connection with the 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway sta- 
tion, but soon afterward the building was 
burned with all its contents and he lost three 
thousand doll.ars — his entire capital. He then 
pre-empted forty acres of land on the bank 
of Silver Lake, within the city limits of Port- 
age, and to the improvement of this wild 
tract he at once turned his attention, erect- 
ing substantial buildings and planting a 
vineyard and small fruits. He now raises 
considerable fruit, which he sells to the city 
markets. 



In 1848 Mr. Schneider married INIiss 
Lucetta Mehrhof, a native of Hesse-Darm- 
sladt, Germany, and a daughter of Philip 
and Catherine Mehrhof, of Groton Point, 
Xew York. She died in Portage in 1849, 
at the age of thirty-two years, leaving five 
children, namely : Catherine, now the de- 
ceased wife of Henry Smith, of Hacken- 
sack, Xew Jersey; Eliza, wife of Washburn 
Snow, of Portage; Amelia, wife of T. C. 
Cunningham, ex-secretary of state of Wis- 
sin, and a resident of Chippewa Falls; Isa- 
bel, a resident of the same city; and Charles, 
a railroad contluctor, who was accidentally 
killed at Water N'alley, Mississippi. Mr. 
Schneider was again married in 1859, his 
second union being with Elizabeth Burbach, 
who was born in Braunfels, Germany, and 
came to the United States in 1855. To them 
were born seven children, three sons and 
four daughters: William; Louise, now the 
wife of Andrew Kiefer, a railroad mail clerk 
of Portage; Lillie, wife of Rev. Hermann 
Breckner, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; 
John, who died in 1886, at the age of twen- 
ty-three; Louis, who died in 1895 at the age 
of twenty-six; Helen, a teacher of Portage, 
and Jessie, who died in 1885, at the age of 
eleven years. The children were provided 
with good high school educations, and 
Amelia, Lillie and Helen have all been suc- 
cessful teachers. Mr. Schneider also has ten 
grandchildren li\-ing. 

In 1863 he was app(.)inted by the United 
States government engineer as overseer of 
construction on the Wisconsin and Fox 
river improvements, and spent four years 
in that capacity, constructing dams, locks, 
etc., between Portage, Sauk City and Prince- 
ton, Wisconsin. He served as an alderman 
in Portage for four years, highway com- 
missioner two years, city marshal two years, 
and in 1877, ^^79 ^""^ ^^^7 had charge of 
the documents of the Wisconsin assembly, 
and held a similar position in the state sen- 



4G2 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ate in 1893. He has discharged his various 
official duties with promptness and fitlehty 
and tu the entire satisfaction of all con- 
cerned, and his public and pri\ate life are 
alike above repr(iach. He is a consistent 
and faithful member of the Presbyterian 
church, while some of his family attend the 
German Trinity church. He cast his first 
presidential vote for Zachary Taylor in 
1848, but since the organization of the Re- 
publican party has been one of its stanch sup- 
porters, taking an active part in its work 
and doing all in his power to insure its suc- 
cess. He has learned by observation and 
practical experience that the prosperity of 
the country depends largely upon the policy 
of the government, in regard to revenue and 
has witnessed the disastrous results of a 
low tariff several times. He has always been 
a close student and extensive reader and has 
accumulated a well-selected library, with 
the contents of which he is familiar. 



GUS DRAGER. 

Gus Drager, a well-known conductor on 
the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and 
a worthy citizen of Baraboo, has made his 
own way in the world from an early age and 
now holds an honorable position with one 
of the greatest railroad corporations in the 
United States. He was born in Jefferson, 
Wisconsin, December 25, 1864, and is a son 
of John and Rosa (Drager) Drager, na- 
tives of Germany, who came to the new 
world in 1850 and located near Jefferson, 
Wisconsin, where the father died upon his 
farm during the infancy of our subject. 
The mother died at Fort Atkinson, Wis- 
consin, October 20, 1896, aged seventy 
years. Her father, Frederick Drager, died 
in Jefferson, Wisconsin, about 1872, at the 
advanced age of ninety-six years. He was 



acti\e and vigorous up to the time of his 
death. 

The early boyhood of our subject was 
spent with his [laternal grandfather and an 
uncle in Jefferson, anil at the age of ten 
years he began earning his tiwn livelihood 
Ity working on a farm. Three years later he 
entered the chain factory at Fort Atkinson, 
where he was employed until attaining his 
majority, and then secured a position as 
brakeman with the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad Company, with which corpora- 
tion he has been continued almost continu- 
ously since. In 1891 he was made con- 
ductor, and most of the time has run a 
train on the Madison division of the line. 

j\lr. Drager was married, in 1891, to 
Miss Nellie Niland, a daughter of Patrick 
and Ellen (Boyle) Niland, of Fort Atkin- 
S(_)n. Her parents were both nati^•es of 
Dublin, Ireland, and came to the United 
States in 1823. After living for some 
years in Vermont, they came to Wisconsin 
about 1856. The father died in Fort At- 
kinson, August 8, 1875, aged fifty-three 
years, and the mother died in the same place 
September 30, 1896, aged seventy-two. Mrs. 
Drager is a member of St. Patrick's Cath- 
olic church of Baraboo. Politically our sub- 
ject is independent, and fraternally has been 
a member of the Order of Railway Con- 
ductors since 1898. His success in life is 
due to his integrity of character and faithful 
performance of duty, and he is held in high 
regard by all win;) know him. 



MARTIN R. WOODRUFF. 

I 

Martin R. Woodruff, a native of A\-on, 
Hartford county, Connecticut, born April 
8, 1827, is one of the pioneer settlers of 
Adams county, Wisconsin, and has done 
much to promote its growth. He is a resi- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



46B 



<lcnt of Ouincy township, and has gatliered 
about him an estate, and a competence to 
tide him through his declining years. He 
is a progressive agriculturist, and his farm 
bears evidence of modern methods for the 
tilling of the soil and the care of his prod- 
ucts. He engages extensively in stock rais- 
ing, and has some fine specimens of sheep 
and hogs. He has erected a comfortable 
residence and commodious l.iarns, and every 
detail of the work is dune with the least 
labor possible and in the most approved 
method. 

Mr. Woodruff was the son of Romanty 
and Nancy (Robbins) Woodrufif. His ma- 
ternal grandfather, John Robbins, fought in 
the Revolutionary war. His father was born 
v.\ Avon, Connecticut, of English extraction, 
and the mother of our subject was born in 
Wethersfield, Connecticut. The father died 
in Avon, Connecticut, in 1839, and the 
mother's death occurred in the same town 
in 1880, aged about eighty years, and both 
were buried in Avon. 

Martin \\'oodrufif attended school and 
assisted his father on the farm until his 
twenty-second year, wdien he took a farm 
of Benjamin Sedgwick, of Goshen, Connecti- 
cut, father of General Sedgwick, which he 
conducted for about three years. In 1854 he 
decided to try his fortune in the west, and 
accordingly came to Wisconsin, and engaged 
in lumbering above Steven's Point and on 
the Yellow river. He stayed for a short 
time with his brother, Julius R., of Baraboo, 
a prominent farmer of Sauk county, and in 
1880 came to Ouincy township, Adams coun- 
ty, and purchased about five hundred. 
acres, on which he makes his present home. 
Mr. Woodruff was married, December 
25, 1869, to Mrs. Mary Chase, of Ouin- 
cy, widow of Samuel Chase, and daughter 
of Winthrop and Roxanna (Sanborn) Had- 
lock, of Bath, New Hampshire. Mrs. W'ood- 
ruff was born in Bath, New Hampshire, 



September 12, 1837, and moved when 
twelve years of age with her parents from 
Hartford, Connecticut, to Quincy, Wiscon- 
sin. They went by way of the lakes to Mil- 
waukee and thence by ox team, one week 
being required for the overland trip. The 
country around (Quincy was a wilderness, 
and there were hut three white families in 
that vicinity. They went to Portage for 
mail and provisions. Bear and deer were 
plentiful, and other evidences of wild life 
were to be found. The Indians were nu- 
merous, but quiet, and no difficulties were ex- 
perienced on their account. Her parents 
built a log house about two miles from 
where she now has her home, and there were 
no schools, but before going to Wisconsin 
she had learned to read and write, and con- 
tinued her studies alone and gained a good 
education. \\'hen eighteen years of age, 
February 6, 1857, she married Samuel 
Chase, of Ouincy. Mr. Chase enlisted in 
the Civil war, and went to New Orleans, 
where he died after three months' service. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Cdiase three children were 
born, as follows: Alvin, born May 3, 1859, 
residing at home; George, born Oct. 14, 
1861, mnv at home; and Samuel H., born 
November 20, 1863, now at work in the 
woods of Wisconsin. Mrs. \Voodruff"s fa- 
ther met his death in a sawmill a short time 
prior to the death of the mother, who died 
in Delton, Sauk county, in March, 1893. 
She was the tlaughter of Benjamin and 
Marin Sanborn, of Bath, New Hampshire. 
Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff are the parents 
of three children, as follows: Alice M., 
born August 26, 1868, now Mrs J. Austin, 
of Vernon, Waukesha county, Wisconsin ; 
Annie, born July 4, 1871 ; and Winthrop, 
born August 20, 1873, a mechanic, employed 
in the machine shops in Chicago, Mr. 
Woodruff is a memlicr of Ouincy Lodge, 
No. 72, \. F. & .\. M. In political faith 
he is a free silver man ;uid well versed on the 



464 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



topics of tlie day. He has been called upon 
to fill various township offices, and in every 
possible way has promoted the general wel- 
fare of Adams county. He is well kmnvn 
and has a host of friends wlio hold him in 
the hishest esteem. 



ALFRED ERXEST VAX AERXA.M. 

Alfred Ernest Van .Vernam, an influ- 
ential citizen of Rio, Columbia O'unty, Wis- 
consin, represents one of the pioneer fam- 
ilies of that thriving village. Pie was Ijorn 
in the t(.iwn of Otsego, August 30, 1853, and 
is a son of Abram and Helen F. (Knight) 
\'an Acrnam. An ancestor of the family 
came from Holland and settled in the jNIo- 
hawk valley. Abram \'an Aernam was born 
in Easton, Xew York, and died in Rio, Jan- 
uar)' 2j, 1868, aged sixty. While a boy he 
was taken by his parents to Cattaraugus 
county, Xew York, where he grew to man- 
hood on a farm. He was the oldest of ten 
children, and as his father was in poor 
health much of the care of the family early 
fell on his shoulders. When grown up he 
went to Virginia where he became an ex- 
tensive contractor on public works. He 
settled in W'isconsin, in 1845, ^"d found a 
home in Racine county, where his brother, 
Nathaniel Van Aernam, was already located. 
Some two years later he removed to \Vater- 
loo and engaged in the tnanufacture of fan- 
ning mills, being associated with a Mr. Ely 
imder the firm name of Van Aernam & Ely. 
In 1850 he sold out, and, coming into Co- 
lumbia county, took up government land, and 
made a home for his declining years on the 
southeast quarter of section 6, Otsego town- 
ship. He put up the largest barn in the 
countv at that time. It was 48x60 feet, 
and he li\ ed in a part of it for a few months 
until lie could erect a handsome and com- 



modious frame house. The house is still 
standing, but the liarn was struck Ijy light- 
ning in i8q2 and consumed Iiy fire. He 
Iiecame the owner of live hundred acres of 
land and carried his agricultural operations 
on an extensive scale. He was a stanch 
Republican, and has filled several of the 
town offices. He was a generous and pub- 
lic-spirited man, and he donated the right 
of way through his farm to the Chicago, 
^Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad on condi- 
tion that a station be maintained in the pres- 
ent village of Rio. He also guaranteed the 
site for the station. His father's family 
included seven sons, ' he being the oldest : 
Abram. X^athaniel, John, William, Lafay- 
ette, Hiram, Henry and two daughters. 
Henry became a prominent physician at 
Franklinville, New York. He was a strong 
Republican, and represented his district for 
two terms in Congress. William and John 
\\ent to California in 1849 ^"<-l '^■'^d there. 
Mrs. Helen Van Aernam still lives in South 
Milwaukee at the age of sixty-three. After 
the death of Mr. Van Aernam she mar- 
ried G. C. Bush. She was born in 
Rennsylvania. Ller father, Cyrus Knight, 
came to this state about 1848, locating at 
Lake Mills. Later in life he removed to 
Minnesota, and died in that state at the age 
of sixty. Abram and Helen Van Aernam 
were the parents of three sons: Alfred E. ; ■ 
Judson, who died in infancy; and Charles 
A., of Rio. 

Alfred E. Van Aernam was born in his 
father's barn, while it was being used tem- 
porarily as a house, according to the notation 
above. The farm has always been his home 
with the exception of about one year, wdren 
he tried Minnesota. This was shortly after 
h.is twenty-first birthda}'. He came back 
to his birthplace and took charge of the 
homestead farm. He now owns one hundred 
and twenty-eight acres, and is a careful and 
successful farmer. He gives much atten- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



405 



tion to tlie culti\'ation of tobacco and the 
raising of potatoes. He is, howex-er, a gen- 
era! farmer, and has his land in fine condi- 
tion. He is a Repnljlican and has served 
as a delegate to tiie county and state coinen- 
tions on several occasions. He has been 
president of the village, assessor, treasurer 
and other officers as the times seemed to 
demand. He was married in 1879 to Miss 
E\-a A. Rice. She was born in Xeosha, 
Wisconsin, and her parents died during her 
early childhood. She is the mother of three 
children, one tlying in infancy; the others 
are: Blanche R. and Harold H. Mr. \'an 
Aernam is a memlier of the Modern Wood- 
men of America and a charter memlier of 
the Equitable Fraternal Aid. 



GEORGE PERRY STAXTOX. 

George Perry Stanton, a retiretl farmer, 
and a resident of Fall River, Columbia cnun- 
ty, Wisconsin, is a son of Ledyard and 
Laura (Buck) Stanton, and was born in 
Constantia, Oswego county, Xew York, in 
1842. His father was born in Connecticut, 
and when (piite young was taken by his 
parents to Xew York. They were sturdy, 
honest people, and stood well in the com- 
munity. The .grandmother of our subject 
was a cousin of the illustrious Commodore 
Perry. The lines of the family history can 
be easily traced as far back as 1600. Led- 
yard Stanton and his family came west in 
1848, and made their first stopiiing place 
i.i Whitewater, \\'isconsin. Their stay here 
was brief, however, as they came to Foim- 
tain Prairie in the fall of that year, and 
bought government land. From that time 
they continued in Columbia county and here 
they spent their lives. He died June 29, 
1871, and his wife April 12, 1899, aged 
eighty-seven years. 



i\Ir. Stanton had his early education in 
the F'all River schools, and within a very 
few days after the breaking (jut of the Civil 
war he enlisted, IMay ir, 1861, in Company 
B, Se\'enth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. 
The regiment was sent directly to the na- 
tional capital, and was there incoriioratetl 
with the Army of the Potomac. Mr. Stan- 
ton was in the liattle of Gainesville. He es- 
caped ludiurt, but shortly afterwards was 
prostrated with a se\-ere sunstroke. He re- 
mained with the arm\', howe\'er, and com- 
])leted his service. He was mustered out 
October 28, 1865, and made an honurable 
record, of which his friends are proud. Just 
before his return home he was seized with 
a se\xre fe\er, and \\hen he reached Wiscon- 
sin he weighed less than one hundretl 
pounds. He worked on the farm after his 
health was regained, and in 1876 married 
Adelia F. Montville, a ladv of French de- 
scent. She died July 19, 1886, leaving one 
son, Perry, born in 1877. Mr. Stanton was 
remarried in 1892 to Airs. Mary A. Buck. 
By a f(jrmer marriage she was the mother 
of two children : \\'illiam G. Buck, Marion, 
Iiiwa, in the ser\'ice of the ^Milwaukee Rail- 
road; and Susie M., the wife of Will 
Swarthout, an engineer on the Soo road. 
With the exception of two years, which, he 
spent in a saw-mill in Clark county, Wis- 
consin, Mr. Stanton has always been a resi- 
dent of Columbia county. He was appoint- 
ed postmaster in Fall River under President 
Harrison, and served from 1889 to 1893. 
He has been town clerk se\'eral terms, jus- 
tice of the peace fourteen years, and is now 
a notary public. He has been a Republi- 
can since he attained voting age, and is en- 
thusiastic in support of its principles. He 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and serves as its trustee and record- 
ing steward. He is associated with the 
Modern Woodmen of .America. Columbia 
Camp 436, and of George A. Brayton Post, 



4G6 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of the Grand Army of the Repuljhc. This 
is a brief and inadetjuate notice of a ni)ble 
hfe, though modest and hum1)Ie, yet always 
true and genuine. He has been an hi)n- 
orable and useful member of the community, 
and has well served his sreneration. 



WILLIAM STEVENS. 

William Stexens, a native of New 
Hampshire, born in Meredith, July iQ, 
1S19, has contributed much to the prosperity 
and good citizenship of .Vdams county, 
Wisconsin, by his hdeht}' to principles of 
■right and justice, and his industry, energy 
and good management. 

William Stevens was the only child lx)rn 
to John and Sarah Ann (St. Clair) Stevens. 
His father was of Scotch descent and his 
mother's family were English. The Stevens 
family settled in Maine at an early day, anil 
his father became a sailor, making many 
voyages from Boston, New York and other 
leading eastern ports. When William 
Stevens was Ijut three days old his mother 
died, and the father died when the child 
had reached the age of nine years. On 
the death of his parents he was placed 
in the care of an aunt (Elizaljeth St. Clair), 
and he remained with her until he was 
twelve years of age. After that he lived 
about three years with an uncle at Cabot, 
\ ermont. His education was somewhat 
neglected in those early days, ancf at the age 
of sixteen years he went to sea. During 
the four years that followed he made many 
trips from New York, a number of voyages 
to the West Indies, and two trips to Liver- 
pool. England. He was also in a fishing 
fleet off the banks of Newfoundland. 
^^"hen he was about twenty years old he 
became a boatman on the Erie canal a:id 
followed that calling for seven ^'ears. In 



1850 he made a trip to California, .giving i;y 
way of the Isthmus, and the vessel was Icist 
near Acapulco, and the passengers were de- 
tained there about \\\o months. Mr. 
Stevens returned to New York in 1855, and 
soon after again rtarted for California, this 
trip taking about three months. He remained 
in California about five years this time, and 
engaged in mining, with fair success. He 
then returned to New York, and immediate- 
ly left for Dane county, Wisconsin, in i860. 
He purchased a farm of eighty acres near 
Oregon. .After living there seven years 
he left the farm to his son, Weston O. 
Stevens, and came to .-Vclams county. 

Mr. Stevens settled on section 3 1 , near 
the village of Easton, in 1867, where he has 
since resided. He is the owner of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres of e.xcellent land, en- 
hanced by valuable improvements, a fine 
residence and a large barn. He has been a 
prosperous agriculturist, and his thrift, good 
judgment and honesty ha\'e won for him 
not only a valuable property, but the con- 
fidence and esteem of the entire community 
in which he resides. 

Mr. Stevens enlisted in November, 1863, 
in Company I, Second Wisconsin Cavalry. 
He saw severe service around Vicksburg 
and endured much privation and hardship. 
He was never wanting in courage, and bore 
his trials without complaint. He was Imn- 
oraldy discharged in January, 1865, at 
.\ustin, Te.xas. 

Decernber i, 1840, occurred the mar- 
riage of Mr. Stevens to Miss Sarah Ann, 
daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth 
(Smith) De Remmer. Their marriage was 
celebrated in Genesee county. New York. 
To this union three children have been liorn, 
named in order of birth as follows : Weston 
O., born October 12, 1843, "ow farming 
near Glidden, Iowa; Charles H., born No- 
vember 17, 1848, now in the state of Wash- 
ir.gton; George W., born Septem'ier, 1858, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



467 



nenv operating the homestead farm. Though 
a man of many and varied experiences, and 
one who has enchnx-d great hardship at vari- 
iius times in his hfe.he retains liis mental and 
physical vigor with wonderful tenacity. His 
eye is still bright and his step steady and 
strong, and liis four score years seem to set 
lightly upon his shoulders. He is a mem- 
ber of the G. A. R. Post, No. 122, at Friend- 
ship, and in political faith has always been 
a Repulilican since the party was organized. 



J.VAIES HENRY HASEY. 

James Henry Hasey, the present chair- 
man of the town board of Hamixlen, Co- 
lumbia county, and one of the most active 
and enterprising young farmers to be found 
in that region, is a son of Samuel and Mary 
(Anderson) Hasey, and was born in Dan- 
ville, Wisconsin, May 5, 1853. 

]\lr. Hasey comes of good ancestry. 
His father is a native of \'ermont, and his 
mother of New York. His paternal grand- 
father, John Hasey, was a soldier in the 
war of 1812, and his ashes fill an honoretl 
grave in the cemetery at Columbus. Mr. 
Samuel Hasey came to Wisconsin In 1845, 
and was among the earliest settlers of the 
central part of the state. He located in 
Dodge county, and after a few years moved 
into the city (.>f Columbus. Mr. Hasev was 
reared a farmer, and finding a two-hundred- 
forty-acre tract of good land in Hampden 
ujjon the market, he bought it, and made the 
family home there for many years. .Vbout 
1880 the family returned to Columlnis, and 
their residence has since been maintained 
in that thriving city. Three children have 
lieen b< .rn to this excellent couple : James, 
the subject of this article; George E., a 
mining man, whose headquarters are at Colo- 
rado Springs, Colorado ; and Mary Rhoda, 



n.ow Mrs. Erank Austin, of Columbus. Mr. 
and Mrs.Haseyand their children, alike, com- 
mand the friendship of the entire community 
by their strict integrity, unswerving hon- 
esty anil genial and hospitable spirit. They 
are well advanced in years and their declin- 
ing days are brightened by the high standing 
of their children and the warm regard of 
a host of friends. 

James Henry Hasey was educated at 
Dan\ ille, and attended the Jefferson Liberal 
Institute. He accompanied h'is parents 
when thev settled on the llam]3den farm, 
and when they returned to town took 
charge of it, presently bought it. and now 
owns one of the finest farms in the county. 
When he began farming for himself his 
principal capital was a stock of courage and 
a good name. He has not feared hard work 
and, being saving, out of the passing years 
he has won a success. He was married Oc- 
ti'ber I, 1879, to Miss Lizzie McBurnie, a 
daughter of Robert and Agnes (Wilson) 
McBurnie, natives of Scotland, and among 
the earliest settlers of Hampden. Here they 
lis-ed and died, leaving an enviable record 
of honest labor antl good name. ^Irs. 
Hasey"s father died August 23, 18^7, at 
the age of eighty-two, and her mother 
March 21, 1899, aged eighty-two. She 
has proved in every way a capable associate 
with her husband in the art and science of 
life, and is a lady of many amialile and 
attractive (|ualities. She is a member of a 
family of nine children: Mary and William 
are living in Hampden ; Alice is Mrs. 
Charles Hoton, of Columbus; Thomas is at 
home; Agnes married Asa Baker, <jf \m- 
boy, ^Minnesota; Christina is dead: Robert 
is dead; Lizzie is the wife of the sul:>ject of 
this writing; and Margaret, who has been 
dead these many years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hasey are themselves the parents of four 
children : Ravmond, I""red, Mary Belle and 
George. i\Ir. Hasey i^; a -^triiiig Republican 



468 



COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHY. 



and from time to time has been called t(j 
fill many of the town oftlces. lie has been 
clerk of the school board for many years, 
and is mnch interested in the successful ad- 
ministration of the educational institutic)ns 
of the time. He is popular in the com- 
munity. 



FREDERIC CHURCHILL CCRTIS. 

Frederic Churchill Curtis is amoni;' the 
most esteemed pioneers of the town of Lnw- 
ville, Columliia county, which has been his 
home since 1847. He is a progTessi\'e 
farmer and dairyman and is now li\-ing' 
in practical retirement from the acti\e labors 
of life, and has his home in the neighbor- 
hood known as Rocky Run. He represents 
the ninth generation of his family in this 
country, and traces his lineage throug-h 
Reyolutionary and colonial sources. 

Mr. Curtis was born in Stockhridge. 
Massachusetts, September 3, 1819, and is a 
son of Har\-ey and Fanny ( Warner) Curtis. 
\\'hen he was se\en _\'ears old he went to 
li\'e with his grandfather, Lupton Warner, 
who died eight years later. He was a strong 
and sturdy lad. and at that time felt able 
to take the burden of his own support upon 
himself. At Pittslield, Massachusetts, he 
learned the trade of harnessmaker. with 
which he subsequently combined that of 
saddlery and upholstery. In 1839 he went 
to Columbia, South Carolina, to take a posi- 
tion as foreman in a large saddlery estab- 
lishment. For a portiou of the }-ear he 
was to tra\'el through the south as a sales- 
man. In this way he spent the next seyen 
years, and becoming utterly disgusted with 
sla\-ery and the politics of the south he re- 
turned to Xew England in 1846. He did 
not intend to remain long in his nati\'e land, 
and the following }-ear he arrived in Wis- 
consin, and located in the town of Lowville. 



The country was yery wild at that tiiue, 
settlers were few and far between, but hope 
was high and hearts were strong. He built 
a log cabin, and then started back for the 
east, where he was engaged to be married 
at a certain time. Money which was due 
him failed to arrive, and he walked to Mil- 
waukee, a distance of ninety miles, and 
worked his way on the lakes to Buffalo. 
He was married, as he deser\-ed to be, and in 
due time returned to Wisconsin, began 
housekeeping on the Lowxnlle farm, which 
has continued to be his home to the present 
time. The buildings on his place are main- 
ly built of stone, so well and ilurably con- 
structed that they will long remain monu- 
ments to this energetic pioneer. 

To Mr. Curtis belongs the credit of put- 
ting down the first drilled well in Columbia 
county, and possibly the first drilled through 
rock in the state. It is one hundred and 
twenty-two feet deep. He had tools made 
from his own designs, and though he had 
ne\'er seen an}' rock drilling done, his de- 
signs were correct, and he n()t onl\' drilled 
his own wells but many others in the neigh- 
borhood. These tools cost him alwut twenty- 
h\'e dollars, a \er_\- considerable outlay in 
tliose days, but it was money wisely expend- 
ed. Mr. Curtis became in time the (.nvner 
of a very large estate. ]\luch of his land, 
liowe\er, he has sold, but still holds a farm 
of three hundred acres. For many years he 
gave active attention to dairying, and was 
one of the pioneers in that industry' in Co- 
lumbia county. He de\-ise(l a box churn, 
and began the manufacture of granular but- 
ter. He originated the idea of deep setting 
for raising cream, and for many years was 
one of the most prominent dairymen of the 
state. He was a frecjuent lecturer on dairy- 
ir.g at farm institutes and dairymen's con- 
\entions. He never patented any of his de- 
vices, Init aroused much antipathy on the 
part of the manufacturers of dairy goods, 




F. C. CURTIS. 




MRS. F. CMRETias. CURTIS. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



478 



by his simple and clear statements of facts. 
The governors of the state have recog- 
nized his ability and standing by appoint- 
ing him on four different occasions to serve 
as representative of the state in farmers' 
national congresses, held at St. Paul, Min- 
nesota; Fort Worth, Texas; Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. 
He is a valued contributor of many farm 
journals, and he is a recognized authority 
on dairy matters. 

Mr. Curtis and Miss Elizabeth Lea \vere 
married October i8, 1847. She was a 
daughter of George and Eleanor ( Hollen- 
beckj Lea, and was a lady of much more 
than the usual gifts of heart and mind. She 
was born at Athens, New \\)rk, April 4, 
1823, and died in Rocky Run February 10, 
1892. Her father was a native of York- 
shire, England, and during the war of 1812 
was pressed into the English navy. When 
the war was closed he was released and set- 
tied on a farm near Athens, New York, 
where he spent the rest of his life, and died 
at the age of eighty-four. He was a mem- 
ber of the Society of Friends, and was a 
gentleman of high character. Eleanor Hol- 
lenbeck was born in Athens, New York, and 
her ancestors came from Holland. Her 
family is one of the best known along the 
Hudson ri\-er. Air. Curtis is the father of 
five children, (jue of whom died in infancy; 
Anna AL is Mrs. Orx'is; Emma was the 
wife of the Re\'erend A. II. Carman, and 
dietl at Fairmont, North Dakota. Jaiuiary 
10, 1899, at the age of forty-live years; 
Ella C. is Mrs. J. L. Farrington, uf Rocky 
Run; and Lizzie. He has four grandchil- 
dren. 

Mr. Curtis has been a member of the 
Wisconsin Dairymen's Association for many 
3'ears, and a lifelong member of the Colum- 
bia County Agricultural Society, which he 
helped to organize in 185 1. It is the oldest 
agricultural societ}- in the state, having a 



continuous existence. He was also a mem- 
ber of the old Wisconsin Agricultural So- 
ciety until it was disbanded. He was chair- 
nian of the meeting at Janesville, Wiscon- 
sin, September 29, 1865, that organized the 
State Horticultural Society. He is a Demo- 
crat, and was nominated for state senator 
i:i 1856, and, though not elected, reduced the 
Republican majority alxnit one-half. For 
several years he was on the county board, 
and served as chairman on se\'eral occasions, 
though a large majority of the members were 
opposed to him in jjolitics. 

As noted aliove, the Curtis family has 
been native to the soil of America for many 
generations. The first representative of the 
family on this side of the ocean was Henry 
Curtis. He was born at Stratford-on-Avon, 
England, in 1621, and came to New Eng- 
land in 1643. He was the first person to 
be buried at Northampton, Massachusetts, 
where he died November 30, 1661. He 
married Elizabeth Abel in 1645, and his de- 
scendants in a direct line were (2) Nathan- 
iel; (3J Samuel, who married Lois Went- 
worth; (4) Elnathan, who bore the title of 
major; (5) Abel, who served in the Revo- 
lutionary army as a private, and died in 
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1829, in the 
eighty-ninth year of his age; (6) Harvey, 
v.ho was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 
and died in Canaan, New York, September 
5. 1852; and (7) F. C. Curtis, the subject 
of this sketch. 

The mother of (.)ur suliject, Fanny War- 
ner, was a direct descendant of Elder 
Brewster, wlii.) came o\er in the famous 
"Mayflower," antl wrote the compact which 
became the constitution of the new colonv. 
He died at Duxbur^• Massachusetts. ( 2 . 
Jonathan Brewster commanded at Sa\-- 
brook, Connecticut; (3) Benjamin; (4) 
Ruth, the wife of Thomas .Vdgate; (5) 
Matthew Adgate; (6) Lucy Adgate mar- 
ried Thomas Lord; (7) Anne Lord mar- 



474 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ried Lupton Warner; (8) Fanny Warner 
married Harvey Curtis. She was born at 
Canaan, New York, and died there March 
31, 1 86 1, at the age of seventy-one years. 
Joseph Lord represented the fifth genera- 
tion of his family in America. He was a 
descendant of Thomas Lord, who was born 
in England in i ^85. Rexerend Benjamin 
Lord, the father of Joseph, was a clergy- 
man, and was in the sacred desk on Sunday 
morning when the news of the battle of 
Lexington reached the church. Instead of a 
sermon he gave a patriotic address. Jo- 
sepli Lord was also a descendant of Governor 
John Haynes and Governor George Wyllis, 
of Connecticut. Lupton Warner represented 
the sixth generation of his family in Amer- 
ica, his ancestor, William Warner, coming 
from England, and settling in Ipswich, ^^Lts- 
sachusetts, in 1637. He was born in 
Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1758, and was 
taken to Canaan, New York, when only four 
years old. He served in the Revolution- 
ary war as a member of the organization of 
"Minute Men." His second wife, Polly 
Beecher, was an aunt of the famous Henry 
Ward Beecher. A nephew of Mr. Curtis, 
Dr. Fred C. Curtis, of Albany, New York, 
has attained a world-wide reputation among 
medical men as an expert on numicipal and 
state health. He, some years ago, in a re- 
port to the governor and legislature of New 
York, pointed out plainly the causes of ty- 
phoid fever at Port Jervis, and the remedy 
therefor, and his advice being followed at 
that and other points, the methods proved 
eminently successful. He was a ward of 
Hon. David Davis, of Illinois, senator and 
supreme judge, who took great pains with 
the young man's education, and was reward- 
ed by seeing his ward attain a very high 
place in his chosen profession. 

Portraits of Mr. Curtis and his most es- 
timable and honored wife are presented 
upon pages of this volume elsewhere, and will 



be highly appreciated by their large circle 
of friends and acfjuaintances throughout the 
state. 



HON. BENJAMIN GREENE PAD- 
DOCK, Deceased. 

Young men in the past have often been 
deterred from devoting theiuselves to a 
business life Ijecause of the wide-spread 
impression that such a life yields no op- 
portunity for the display of genius. The 
time, however, has gone by when, other 
things being equal, the business man takes 
secondary place to the lawyer, doctor, min- 
ister or editor. In fact, as a rule, let the 
business man be equally equipped by edu- 
cation and natural endowment and you will 
find lum to-day in every community exert- 
ing a wider influence and wielding a larger 
power than a man of equal capacity treatling 
other walks of life. The "men of affairs" 
have come to be in a large degree the men 
upon whom the country leans. The subject 
of this sketch was pre-eminently a "man of 
affairs." 

Mr. Paddock, who had long been a resi- 
dent of La\-alle, Sauk county, Wisconsin, 
was born in Vienna, Oneida county. New 
York, Novemljer 10, 18^7, and was a son of 
Daniel and Louise (Eggleston) Paddock, 
who spent their entire lives there, the father 
being engaged in business as a carijenter and 
joiner and also manufacturing wagons to 
some extent. He was quite a successful and 
prominent business man and served as jus- 
tice of the jjcace at \'ienna for many years. 
'I'he Paddock family is of English origin 
and was founded in this country about 1630 
by three brothers, one of whom settled in 
New England, the second in the mid- 
dle states, and the third in the south. 
The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
ject was a soldier of the Revolution- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



475 



ary war and lost a leg in the service. 
I'.oth g-randfather John D. Paddock and 
grandfather Eggleston were fanners of 
Oneida county, New York. 

Our subject comjjleted his education 
by two or three years' attendance at the 
Whitesboro Seminary, and began his busi- 
ness career as a clerk in a store first at IMc- 
Connellsville and later at Vienna and Clin- 
ton, New York. Coming to Sauk county, 
\\'isconsin, in 1858, he embarked in mercan- 
tile business on his own account at Ironton, 
as a member of the firm of Keith, & Pad- 
dock. 7 hey purchased a store which had 
been established there three years before, 
and for several years conducted the only 
store at that place, remaining in business 
there for eighteen years and hauling all their 
goods by wagon from Kilbourn, a distance 
of eighteen miles. In 1873, when the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railroad was built 
through the county, they opened another 
store at La\alle, and for some time con- 
ducted both. The firm dissolved partner- 
ship in 1876 and divided their property, 
which, besides their stores, included several 
farms. For some years they had operated 
stave mills at Reedsburg and Lavalle, and 
since 1872 ]\Ir. Paddock had purchased 
railroad ties for the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad Company at Lavalle, handling 
many thousands annually. His son, H. E. 
Paddock, now conducts the store at that 
place and enjoys a liberal patronage. 

On the loth of January, 1859, Mr. 
Paddock married Miss Harriet Ives, a 
daughter of Silas T. and Selinda (Beach) 
Ives, of Clinton, New York, where the fa- 
tlier conducted a meat market for many 
years. The mother was a native of Con- 
necticut. Our, subject and his wife had 
three children: Cora Luella, wife of Rich- 
ard Tennant, Jr., of Woodland township, 
Sauk county; Herbert Eugene, who is now 
connected with the store at Laxalle; and Car- 



rie Marie. The children have all been pro- 
vided with excellent school privileges, and 
the daughter is an artist of considerable 
talent, especially as an amateur photog- 
rapher. 

Mr. Paddock was a member of Reeds- 
burg Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Reedsburg 
Chapter, R. A. M. ; St. John's Command- 
ery K. T., and Wisconsin Consistory, Val- 
ley of Milwaukee, and has filled all the 
chairs in the blue lodge. Since supporting 
John C. Fremont for the presidency, in 1856, 
he was ever a stalwart RepubKcan, but for- 
merly was a"SiIas Wright Demccrat"while in 
New York. For a number of years he served 
as postmaster at Ironton, and later filled the 
same office at Lavalle. He was sheriff of 
Sauk county for two years from January, 
1871 : and in 1889 ably represented his dis- 
trict in the state legislature. He proved 
a most efficient and popular official, who 
discharged his various duties with a prompt- 
ness and fidelity worthy of all commenda- 
tion. His career had ever been such as to 
warrant the trust and confidence of his fel- 
low citizens, and he stood deservedly high 
in business, political and social affairs. He 
died March 2, 1900, at his home in La- 
valle. 



MARTIN G. SPERBECK, Deceased. 

In the death of this gentleman Adams 
county lost a worthy citizen and excellent 
business man and farmer. Pie had resided 
in the vicinity of Plainville township for 
over a cjuarter of a century, and his estate, 
upon which he passed his last days, was a 
model one, and evidenced careful manage- 
ment and painstaking care. He had erect- 
ed a commodious residence, in which he and 
his family were to enjoy the comforts of a 
home, when the angel beckoned him to the 
great beyond, ar.d he [lassed away fi-om their 



476 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



midst. He was well known throughout the 
county and surrounding country as a man 
of excellent ability, genial nature and mental 
strength. 

Mr. Sperbeck was born in Fairport, 
Monroe county, N. Y., August 24, 1834, and 
was the son of John and Betsy Sperbeck, of 
New York. He went to Michigan at the 
age of twenty years, where he engaged in 
the lumber business, and came to Wiscon- 
sin about 1865, again eng'aging in the 
handling of lumlter. The greater part of 
liis life passed in the lumber woods of 
Michigan and Wisconsin, antl for ten years 
he was in the employ of the Goodyear Lum- 
ber Company, of Marathon county, and had 
the entire supervision of the large interests 
of that company. His services were of the 
greatest value to the company, and his judg- 
ment displayed in the handling of the men 
under his supervision was remarkable, tie 
was liked by all with whom he came in con- 
tact, and had an ease of manner when deal- 
ing with employer and employe alike. He 
purchased a farm of one Innnlred acres in 
Plainville townsliii) in the spring of 1885. 
on which he erected commodious and sub- 
stantial dwellings and barns, and otherwise 
improved the proi)erty. The land was 
cleared for cultivation and the farm fur- 
nishes an ideal home. 

In ]86o our subject was married ti> 
Sybil Carter, daughter of Lyman S. Carter, 
of Dell Prairie, Wisconsin. Thev lived to- 
gether until 1878, when she died at the age 
of thirty-six years. They had no children. 
Our subject was married, April 24, 1879, 
to Lottie L. Atcherson, daughter of Thomas 
LI. and Lorenda (Stoddard) Atcherson, of 
Chesterfield, New Hampshire. jMrs. Sper- 
beck's parents came to Wisconsin in 1853, 
locating at Plain\'ille, Adams count}-, wjiere 
her father was known as one of the nn.ist 
progressive farmers of the vicinity. He 
died suddenly April 7, 1885. and was buried 



at Plainx'ille. The mother of Mrs. Sper- 
beck still survives, and makes her home 
with her daughter, Mrs. M. G. Sperbeck, 
of Plainville. She is remarkabh' active, 
although she has reached the advancetl age 
of eighty-five years, and is in the full en- 
joyment of her physical and mental facul- 
ties, and is even able to read without tlie 
aid of glasses. Two children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Sperbeck, as follows : x\lva, 
born May 27, 1880; and Fred, born April 
8, 1883. Both are at home and are gaining 
a liberal education. Mrs. Sperbeck resides 
on the homestead, and for the past seven 
years has had charge of the postofhce of 
Plain\-ille. Mr. Sperbeck's death was 
caused by heart disease, and occurred .\u- 
gust 24, 1888, aged fifty-four years. He 
I'lad just reached the meridian of life and 
was preparing to enjoy his declining years 
w hen the fatal stroke came. He was a prom- 
inent memlier of the Masonic fraternity, 
which order conducted his burial, mem- 
liers attending from the lodges at Tomah, 
Sparta and Kilbourn. Lie had taken 
the Kniglit Temjjlar degree, was a mem- 
ber of the Consistory, and was also a 
member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows. He li\ed an honorable 
and upright life, and had a host of friends, 
who mourned his death and felt a personal 
sense of loss. 



MILO G. TLXKER. 

Milo G. Tucker, a highly-esteemed citi- 
zen and able business man of Pardeeville, 
has become thoroughly identified with the 
enterprise and thrift of Columbia county, 
b.aving been a resident there for ovev thir- 
tv-fi\e vears. He was born in Cheshire, 
Berkshire county, Massachusetts. Novem- 
ber 8. 1843. ^"'l ^^"'is a son of Daniel G. and 
Eunice E. (Nye) Tucker. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



477 



The grandfatlier of our subject, Ephraim 
Tucker, was a native of Connecticut, and 
was a man of remarkaljle meclianical in- 
genuity. He died at Dalton, Massacliusetts, 
at the age of sixty-six years. Tlie father of 
our subject came to Wisconsin in 1866 and 
settled in the town of Spring\'ale, near the 
"Slab School House," where he lixxil for 
some years. He was a successful farmer 
and possessed remarkal)le executi\'e ability. 
His death occurred at I'ox I^ake, W'iscnnsin, 
in February, 1891, when he had readied 
the age of seventy-si^ years. The mcther 
of our subject was born in the town of 
Colerain, Franklin county, Massachusetts, 
and was a daughter of Daniel Nye, who was 
a wealthy farmer of his day. He died at 
Dalton, Massachusetts, at the age of sixty- 
eight years. Our subject's mother died Oc- 
tober 17, 1866, aged forty-five years antl 
two months. ■ 

Milo G. Tucker attended the ilistrict 
school at Dalton, Massachusetts, and also 
a. select school and academy at Jonesville, 
New York, and later completed a commer- 
cial course at Eastman's Business College 
a! Poughkeepsie, New York, graduating in 
1864. He taught in Berkshire Hills, at the 
age of seventeen years, antl in 1866 came 
to Wisconsin. He taught both the district 
and g-raded schools of Pardeeville and 
Cambria for several years and about 1871 
entered the employ of E. M. Harney in the 
compilation of county maps. He assisted 
in making maps and atlases of several coun- 
ties in Wisconsin and later became a part- 
ner in the business and spent about ten 
years at this work. For some years past 
he has conducted a fire-insurance business 
in connection with other business and en- 
joys the largest business of the kind in Par- 
deeville. He is notary pubhc and conducts 
a life insurance, real estate and loan business. 
Our subject was married October 22, 
1868, to Mary E. Briggs, a daughter of Jo- 



seph and Margaret (McGinley) Briggs. 
Mrs. Tucker's father was born near Fred- 
erick City, Maryland, and came to Wiscon- 
sin in 1852. He was closely identified with 
the history of old Fort Winnebago and was 
a master mechanic in the line that he repre- 
sented and died at Eau (Claire, Wisconsin, 
in 1884, aged seventy-six years. Her mother 
was of Sc(jtch lineage, and was a daughter 
of John and Mary I-llizaljeth McGinley. 
Mrs. Tucker's mother tlied at Medina, Ohio, 
at the age of thirty-one years. Mrs. Tucker 
was born at Pittsl)urg, Pennsylvania, and 
came to Wisconsin about 1852. One son 
has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, 
Louis J., who is a prominent teacher of Co- 
lumbia county and the state. He was assist- 
ant sergeant at arms in the Wisconsin state 
Republican convention in 1900. Mrs. 
Tucker had three brothers in the Union 
army during the Civil war, one of whom, 
James, was killed at the battle of Antietam. 
She is a member of the Woman's Relief 
Corps, and takes an active interest in all 
work pertaining to that organization. Our 
subject and wife are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, of wdiich denomina- 
tion Mr. Tucker has been a member since he 
was fourteen years of age. He is an active 
worker in that church and is a man of ex- 
emplary character and most highly honored 
by his fellows. In political sentiment he is 
a Republican, and cast his first vote for 
Abraham Lincijln on his twenty-first birth- 
day in 1864. He has filled the important 
ofifices in Wyocena township, and is a mem- 
ber of Pardee Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 



GEORGE DEAVOLD APPEL. 

George Deavold Appel is a prominent 
farmer of Sauk county, Wisconsin, now liv- 
ing retired near Reedsburg. Although born 



478 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



on the otlier side of the Atlantic, he is thor- 
oughly American in thoug'ht and feeling, 
and that he is patriotic and sincere in his 
love for the stars and stripes was manifest 
hy his service in the Uni(;in army during 
the Civil war. He \vas Ijorn near Stras- 
burg, Bavaria, Germany, March 29, 1841, 
a son of Deavold and Maria Elizabeth 
(Fotn"e) Appel. The father was also born 
near the same place and was drowned in 
the Rhine in 1848. For thirty years or more 
he served in the French army, being an 
officer part of the time, and he was with 
Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo, where 
he was shot through both legs. After his 
recovery he was employed as drill master, 
etc., in Italy and elsewhere. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject also served as 
an officer in the French army most of his 
life. The mother was born in France, just 
across the Rhine from Strasburg, Ger- 
many, and was a daughter of a farmer. 
She came to tlie United States in 1849, ^'''^^ 
died the same year in I^ennsylvania, at the 
age of sixty-six years. 

George D. Appel, of this review, is the 
youngest in a family of ten children, two 
of whom were drowned in Germany, but the 
others all came to America. He was in his 
ninth year when the family crossed the 
ocean and took u\) their residence in Ly- 
coming county. I-'ennsylvania, where he 
continued to reside until after the opening 
of the Civil war. In October, 1862, he of- 
fered his services to his adopted country, 
enlisting in Company I-C, Seventeenth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, which was as- 
signed to the department of the Mississippi, 
under command, first, of General McPher- 
son and, later, of General Blair, of the Sev- 
enteenth Army Corps. He participated in 
the siege of Vicksburg and was with Sher- 
man on his Atlanta campaign. After the 
capture of .\tlanta he was on detached duty 
guarding a wagon train from Iluntsville to 



Atlanta, and in a skirmish with Confeder- 
ate cavalry about twentv miles from the 
latter city, he was knocked from a wagon 
by a bursting shell and the wagon passed 
over his body. He was first sent to the hos- 
pital at Louisville, Kentucky; later to New 
Albany and Evansville, Indiana; was next 
transferred to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, 
Missouri ; and from there to Madison, Wis- 
consin, where he was finally discharged on 
account of disability in March, 1865. He 
has ne\-er fully recovered from his injuries, 
which still occasion him considerable suffer- 
ing- 

In the fall of 1868 Mr. Appel settled on 
a farm in Washington township, Sauk coun- 
ty, where he successfully engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits until the fall of 1892, when 
he rented the place and has since li\ed re- 
tired from active labor in the suburbs of 
Reedsburg. He was a thorough and sys- 
tematic farmer and prosperity crowned his 
well directed efforts. 

On the 2 1st of Ajjril, 1866, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Appel and Miss 
Miranda Grover, who was born in Carding- 
ton, Morrow county, Ohio, though then a 
part of Delaware county, and came to Sauk 
county, Wisconsin, in 1861. Of the three 
children born of this union, one died in 
childhood. Those living are Ldysses S., who 
is now engaged in farming on the homestead 
in Washington township. He married Lucy 
Sutton, who died at the birth of their first 
child in 1 89 1. He again married in 1895, 
his second wife being Miss Pearl Stroud. 
They have two children, Florence Lucile and 
George Irving: and Florence N., hving with 
her parents. Mrs. Appel's parents were 
William and Maria Grover, and the father, 
who was a farmer and shoemaker by occu- 
pation, died in Morrow count}', Ohio. Later 
the mother came to AVisconsin, and passed 
away in fronton township, Sauk county, in 
December, 1872. at the age of fift3'-two 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



479 



years. Her grandfather, John Rol)inson, a 
native of Edinburgh, Scotland, came to this 
country in colonial days and fought for 
American independence in the Revolution- 
ary war. He died at Pompey, New York, 
\\lien nearly eighty-eight years of age. His 
father participated in the trouhles between 
England and Scotland. \\'hile a younsj- 
iTian he had been a fellow student of one of 
the oiificers of the British army, and as a 
token of their peri)etual friendship they e.K- 
changed rings. This officer commanded an 
expedition sent to capture hini, but he es- 
caped by chmbing from the window into a 
treetop nearby, and his famil\- were spared 
r.pon exhibiting the ring. 

Mrs. Appel and her daughter are earnest 
members of the Presbyterian church, and 
the latter is connected with the Daughters 
of the Revolution. Socially our subject 
holds membership in the Masonic fraternity, 
being a Knight Templar Mason ; also be- 
longs to the Knights of Malta and the 
Grand Army of the Republic ; and for some 
years was also connected with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Most of 
his life he has afBliated with the Republi- 
can party, but of recent years he has voted 
independently. He has been called upon to 
fill nnmerous township offices of honor and 
trust, and as justice of the peace usually suc- 
ceeded in prevailing upon litigants to settle 
their differences without recourse to law. 
In this way he lost many a fee, but gained 
what is far more valuable — the friendship 
and esteem of his fellow citizens. 



J. MONROE BUSHNELL. 

J. Jklonroe Bushnell, a leading and in- 
fluential citizen of Wyocena, Columbia 
county, represents one of the pioneer fam- 
ilies of that village, and one which has been 
instrumental in moulding much of the public 
sentiment prevailing there. 



Our subject was born near the village 
of \\S'ocena, Columbia county, W^isconsin, 
July 14, 185 1, and was a son of Daniel 
Spencer and Sarah Ann (Brown) Bush- 
nell. His father was a native of Waitsfield. 
Vermont. His ancestors, h'rancis and Maria 
PiUshnell, left London in the ship "Planter" 
in June, 1635, and settled near Saybrook, 
Connecticut. Our snbject represents the 
eighth generation (jf their descendants. 
Their p(_)sterity is widely scattered at the 
present time. Am(_)ng those who have 
achieved distinction may be named Governor 
Bushnell, of Ohio, and Rev. Asa Bushnell, 
a noted Presbyterian divine of Saybrook, 
Connecticut. Members of the family were 
in the Revolutionary war. The grandfa- 
ther of our subject, Francis Bushnell, served 
in the war of 181 2. He was then living 
near Ticonderoga, New York, and heard 
the firing while in church and with other 
members of the congregation seized his 
musket and joined in the c<5nflict. He was 
a sailor in early life and, later, a farmer, and 
he reared a famil_y of eight sons and three 
daughters. Fie attained the age of over 
eighty-two years. Two sons, Daniel S. and 
William B., became residents of Wyocena, 
Wisconsin. The father of our subject left 
home at the age of twenty years and went 
to Jefferson county. New York, and from 
thence in 1848 drove overland to Walworth 
cc)untv, W'isconsin, taking his wife and four 
children thither. In the fall of 1848 he 
settled at Wyocena, where he spent the bal- 
ance of his life. He died September 8, 
1887, aged eighty- four years. He was a 
successful farmer of thrifty habits and was 
a stanch Republican from the organization 
of the party. He was reared in the Presby- 
terian faith, but when a young man became 
a Universalist and assisted in the organiza- 
tion of the Universalist Society at Wyocena 
and contributed to the sui)|)ort of that de- 
nomination until his death. The mother of 



480 



COMPISNDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



our subject died April 13, 1894, aged sev- 
enty-three years. She was 1)orn in Shingle 
Creek, St. Lawrence county, New York, 
and was a daughter of William Brown, pro- 
prietor of a saw-mill there. Our subject's 
father was twice married, his first wife being 
Ann Rogers, who died in Jefferson county, 
New York, leaving three children, who 
were as follows: Charles R., now residing 
in Santa Cruz, California, and is a retired 
civil engineer; Ophelia, who became the wife 
of Amasa Carpenter, and died at the age 
of twenty-eight years ; Maroa, now Mrs. L. 
J. Smith, of Pardeeville, Wisconsin. The 
following are the children of the second mar- 
riage: J. Monroe, our subject; Clovis died 
in 1864, while in the U. S. service in Com- 
pany B, Fortieth Wisconsin \'olunteer In- 
fantry, of typhoid fever at ]\Iemphis, 
Tennessee; Marietta, now Mrs. G. W. 
James, of Neillsville, Wisconsin ; and Ella 
widow of N. B. Mains, of Abbottsford, Wis- 
consin. 

J. Monroe Bushnell attended the public 
schools at Wyocena and spent some time 
in the Oshkosh Normal School and at the 
age of sixteen years went west and spent 
four years in travel, and afterward resumed 
his studies at Oshkosh and then taught 
about six years, four years in Columbia 
county, and was principal at Wyocena, Ran- 
dolph and Poynette successively. He spent 
four years as a contractor on the construc- 
tion of the C. M. & St. P. R. R., in Min- 
nesota and Dakota, and also on the B C. 
R. & N. R. R. He spent one year in mer- 
cantile pursuits in Cannon Falls, Minnesota ; 
since the fall of 1889 he has spent most 
of the time as traveling representative for a 
firm of manufacturing stationers, and has 
traveled through Wisconsin and also in 
other states. He owns the original home- 
stead farm and has made other investments 
in real estate. 

Our subject was married June 12, 1874, 



to Jennie M. Scott, a daughter of Samuel 
and Caroline Scott, of Rio, Wisconsin. Mrs. 
Bushnell died June 5, 1880, aged twenty- 
seven \ears. She was a member of the Uni- 
\ersalist church of Wyocena. Mr. Bush- 
nell was married to Ida A. Westcott Feb- 
ruary 28, 1884. Mrs. Bushnell is a daugh- 
ter of A. J. and Celia A. Westcott, of River 
Falls, \Visconsin. She was born in St. Law- 
rence county. New York. Mr. Bushnell is 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America and is the state consul for Wis- 
consin. He is also a member of the Rio 
Lodge, No. 43, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and also Fulton Lodge, No. i, of 
Fulton, Illinois, of the Mystic Workers of 
the World. He is serving his second term 
as chairman of the town board of Wyocena 
and in political matters of the Republican 
party takes a hearty interest and has been 
delegate twice to state conventions of his 
party. 



SHELDON W^\TSON RUDD, Deceased. 

Sheldon \\'atson Rudd, deceased, for- 
merly of Reedsburg, was for many years one 
of the most prominent and respected citizens 
of Sauk county. He w^as born in Willough- 
by. Lake count}', Ohio, March 2, 1828, and 
passed to his rest February 8, 1900. Within 
these limits is measured a noble life. He 
was the son of David and Julia (Bo3'ce) 
Rudd. They were married in Ohio, though 
both were natives of Massachusetts, aiid 
brought to the making of their western home 
the thrift and character of the east. They 
were intelligent and public-spirited, inter- 
ested in every move and measure that made 
for the general good. The paternal Rudd 
was born at Beckett, Massachusetts, and was 
of Scotch lineage. He came west when a 
young man, and was one of the pioneers of 
the W^illoughby settlement, where he lived 




SHELDOH WATSOH RUDD. (Deceased ) 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



483 



on a farm and did mucli to lielp in the trans- 
formation of tlie wilderness into a gartlen 
of civilisation. lie removed ttj this slate in 
NS54. and settled on a farm near the present 
city of Reedshnrg, and there he lived until 
his death in 1865. at the ripe old age of 
seventy-six years. Mrs. Julia Rudd survived 
her husband some seven years, and died in 
1S72. She was born in Blanford, Massa- 
cliuselts, and when quite young was brought 
by her parents to Lorain county, Ohio, 
'iiiere her father, David Boyce, spent the 
remaining years of his life, and died when 
o\-er eighty years of age. He served in the 
American army during the war of 1812, and 
was always a good neighbor and an upright 
man. 

Sheldon Watson Rudtl spent his early 
life on the Ohio farm, and grew to man- 
hood under the parental eye. \\'hen he 
reached the age of twenty-one he left the 
old h(3mestead to seek his fortune in what 
was then the w'ild and unbroken regions of 
Wisconsin. He drove seven head of cattle 
through from Ohio to Walworth county, 
in the southeastern part of the state, where 
he traded his cattle for two yoke of oxen. 
He had made the long journey on horseback, 
and showed a sturdy physique and a ready 
mind. He found a home in Sauk county, 
w here he bought a farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres in Excelsior township. Here 
was his home for many years, and here he 
made a name as a model farmer and an 
honorable man. Following his coming to 
this state he spent the greater part of three 
years in charge of a crew of loggers at 
Kudd's Mills, getting out timbers for the 
mills at that point under the charge of his 
brothers. 

Air. Rudd was a gallant soldier in the 
Union army, and did good service in the 
great struggle for liberty and the Union. 
He enlisted February 20, 1864, and was with 
the Army of the Potomac until the great 



Rebellion was finally crushed. He was 
assigned to Company B, Thirty-sixth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, and joined his 
ciimmand at the close of the liattle of Sixitt- 
syhania. He participated in every subse- 
quent engagement in which his regiment 
luire a hand, and made a good record. He 
was in the closing scenes at Appomattox, and 
with swelling heart marched in the Grand 
Review at Washington. He was one of 
seven men wdio enlisted in Madison on the 
same day, and of these seven three were 
killeil, one badly wounded, one died in the 
rebel prison, and one from disease. Mr. 
Rudd wiis the only one of the seven who re- 
turned home ali\e and uninjured. 

Mr. Rudd was married in March, 1858, 
to Miss Ann Tator, of Reedsburg. She was 
born in New York, and her father died at 
Delavan, Wisconsin, during her childhood. 
After his death her mother settled in Reeds- 
burg. Mrs. Rudd died in August, 1864. 
She was a member of the Congregational 
church, and left two children : Louis D., an 
extensive farmer of Excelsior township, and 
Julia L, formerly a stenographer in the ofifice 
of Governor Scofield, of Madison, now the 
wife of J. W. Hill, of Richland Center, Wis- 
consin. Mr. Rudd's second marriage was 
made in 1871 with Miss Emily Cady, of 
Buchanan. She died in 1884, leaving one 
son, Harry. He passed away in 1894, at the 
early age of twenty-two. 

Mr. Rudd was conspicuous for his genial 
disposition and affable manners, and took a 
prominent part in public affairs. He was 
deeply interested in religious matters, and 
helped to found the Congregational church 
ol I\eedsburg, to which he was always a 
liberal contributor. Li 1893 he sold his 
farm and moved into the city to spend his 
remaining years. He was a member of the 
H. A. Tator Post, of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, named in honor of his wife's 
brotlier, a gallant member of the Nineteenth 



484 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Wisconsin \"ulunteer Infantry. Mr. Riuld 
was an ardent Republican and a devoted 
friend of education. He held various im- 
portant local offices, and for two years was 
chairman of Excelsior township. Long will 
he be remembered by a host of friends for his 
many admirable qualities and kindly spirit. 
A portrait of him appears on another page 
of this volume. 



FRANCIS MARIOX ROUS. 

The calling to which this gentleman has 
devoted his attention is one of the honorable 
pursuits of men, and he has made a suc- 
cess through the exercise of the characteris- 
tic features of the vocation, perseverance, 
honesty, industry and kindness. His home 
is situated on section 20, in Monroe town- 
ship, and Adams county can boast no pleas- 
anter home or better improved farm. 

Mr. Rous was born in Otsego county, 
New York, May 10, 1854, and was the son 
of Israel C. and Margaret (Gardner) Rous. 
His father was a cooper by trade and also 
followed farming. He worked at his trade 
in Lawrence, New York, and in 1856 came 
to Adams county, Wisconsin, and located in 
Preston township. He purchased two hun- 
dred acres of wild land, and now has about 
one hundred acres under cultivation. He 
was among the earliest settlers of the town- 
ship, and still resides on his homestead, and 
er.gages in general farming. He has reached 
the advanced age of eighty-seven years, and 
enjoys good health, while his estimable wife 
is eighty-three years of age, and is pos- 
sessed of good health. Eight children were 
born to them, of whom our subject was the 
seventh in order of birth. 

Francis M. Rous attended school and 
later assisted his father on the farm until he 
reached his majority, when he moved into 
Big Flats township, and engaged in farm- 



ing there about three years. He then re- 
moved to Monroe township, and purchased 
one hundred and sixty acres of land, on sec- 
tion 20, which is his present home. He has 
about hfty acres under cultivation and has 
erected a substantial and commodious dwell- 
irg and barns, and engages in general farm- 
ing. His farm is nut among the largest in 
the vicinity, but for its size is one of the best, 
and a \-isit to the estate would at once con- 
vince one of his thrift and the care exercised 
in its management. 

Mr. Rous was married February 22, 
i-S^T,, to Charlotte Gleason, daughter of Ira 
and Eunice Gleason, of Monroe township. 
Ira Gleason was a farmer and removed with 
his family from Cattaraugus county, New 
"^'ork, to Adams county in the winter of 
1856. He settled down to farming, in which 
he prospered and continued during his life. 
He died in 1864, his wife preceding him to 
the grave three years. They had three chil- 
dren : Charlotte, Harriet and Eunice. The 
father married a second wife, Mary Bassett, 
by whom he had two children, Ira E. and 
Mariette. Mr. and Mrs. Rous are the par- 
ents of seven children, as follows : Charles 
L., residing in Mellon, Wisconsin; Clement 
R.; E. Winifred; Edna AI. ; B. Harry; Nye 
M.; and Mattie A, 

Mr. Rous is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America and is at present clerk 
of the Spring Creek Lodge of that order. 
In political faith he is a Republican and 
takes an active part in the affairs of his 
party, and has attended as delegate numer- 
ous conventions of the p^frty. He has hlled 
various offices of trust in his township, and 
is at present chairman of the township 
board, and has been clerk, aside from other 
positions. He wields an influence for good 
which is felt throughout his county, and 
his name would frequently occur in a his- 
tory of that vicinity. He is ever looking to 
the better interests of his communitv, and, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



485 



xilthougli lie does not seek public i^.\or, is 
well known and enjo}-s an excellent reputa- 
tion. 



JAMES E. JONES. 

James E. Jones, editor and proprietor of 
the "Kilbourn Mirror-Gazette," is a man of 
prominence in his profession. He was born 
in Lynchburg, A'irginia, in 1849, and was 
the son of Archibald ]\I. and Susan M. 
(Daly) Jones. 

James E. Jones was the youngest of a 
family consisting of three sons and three 
daughters, and attended school at Lynch- 
burg and other places in his native state. 
He enlisted in September, 1864, in Company 
C, Second Colorado, at Kansas City, where 
]ie had gone for the purpose of enlistment. 
He served about one year on garrison duty 
and frontier service in Kansas and Arkan- 
sas. In December, 1866, he enlisted at St. 
Louis, in the regular army, serving hve 
years in the Third L'^nited States Cavah}- 
Band, playing different instruments. He 
spent six more years in government topo- 
graphical work, covering all states and ter- 
ritories from the Missouri river t» the Pa- 
cific coast. He then went to Chicago, where 
he engaged in journalism, as proof reader 
on the "Daily News" for some time, and 
at other special work on different journals, 
and in 1884 came to Kilbourn, and estab- 
lished the "Mirror-Gazette," which he has 
since published. The "Mirror" was estab- 
lished in 1856, in the first building ever 
erected in the town. The paper flourished 
for a time, and when our subject took charge 
of it and became proprietor he revived it 
and soon after combined it with the "Ga- 
zette." It has a wide-spread circulation, and 
is considered one of the brightest exchanges 
of the newspai)er world. Mr. Jones is orig- 
inal in his writing and possesses a remark- 



able degree of distinctiveness of thought and 
language, and many of his articles are copied 
by leading journals of the state and nation. 
Our subject was married in 1888 to 
Anna Bauer, daughter of Fred and Helen 
Bauer, of Kilbourn. One daughter has 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones upon whom 
they have bestowed the name of Vera. Mr. 
Jones has been a consistent member of the 
Methodist church for a number of years, 
and takes an active part in the affairs of that 
denomination, and especially the choir work. 
He is active and prominent in secret society 
circles, holding membership in the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen, the Modern 
Woodmen of America, and John Gillespie 
Post, No. 51, G. A. R. In the last named 
he was commander three years, adjutant six 
years and chief of staff for the department of 
Wisconsin for two years, and an aide on 
the national staff for one year under Com- 
mander Weissert, of Milwaukee. He is ever 
ready to promote any movement for the ad- 
vancement and upl.iuilding of the town of 
Kilbourn and his county and state, and just 
ly occupies a prominent place in the minds 
of the people of Columbia county. 



AMOS COTTINGTON. 

Amos Cottington was for many years 
one of the leading and representative farm- 
ers of Winfield townsliip, Sauk county, \Vis- 
consin, but is now retired from the active 
labors of life and is enjoying a well earned 
rest. He was Ixjrn in Sussex, England, De- 
cember 14, 1838, and is a son of Jesse and 
Rebecca (Forward) Cottington, also na- 
tives of Sussex, who were among the most 
esteemed pioneers of Sauk county. On 
crossing the Atlantic in 1841 the family first 
settled in Madison county, New York. In 
his native land the father followed farming, 
making a specialtv of hop culture, in which 



486 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



branch of agriculture lie continued to en- 
gage during his residence in Xew York. In 
October, 1851, he came to Sauk county, Wis- 
consin, and settled on section 26, \\'infield 
township. To him is due the credit of hav- 
ing first introduceil the culture of hops in 
this county. The next year after his ar- 
rival here he imported roots from Water- 
ville, New York, and cultivated the crop 
successfully for manii- years, both before and 
after the crisis in the market, which oc- 
curred in 1868. ^lany (jf the first hop yards 
in the vicinit}' are propogated from roots 
Vvhich he furnished. He also gave some at- 
tention to improving the wild hops which 
grew in profusion about the woods, but did 
not obtain satisfactory results therefrom. 
Besides his own crops, he dealt more or less 
in hops and filled large contracts at Port- 
age and Madison, the price fluctuat- 
ing from six to sixty cents per pound. 
He was a prominent man in his community. 
a stanch Republican in politics and filled the 
principal offices in W'infield township. He 
died at Webster City, Iowa, May 26, 1893, 
aged seventy-seven years, but his wife, who 
was born in Ticehurst, Sussex, England, 
May 26, 181 5, is still living in Reedsburg 
and is cjuite active for one of her years. 

In the family of this worthy couple were 
four sons and three daughters, of whom 
three sons, including our subject, were sol- 
diers of the Civil war. Levi, now a resi- 
dent of Webster City, Iowa, was a member 
of Company F, Third Wisconsin Ca^'alry 
Jeremiah P., of Dallas, Brown county, Wis- 
con, enlisted in 1861, in Company B, Fourth 
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, later known 
as the Fourth Cavalry, and served all through 
the struggle. The other son is Robert, a 
physician of Bloomer, AVisconsin ; and the 
daughters were Mrs. Hannah Ellinwood; 
Agnes, who married O. F. Gregory and died 
in Carthage, Missouri, and Mrs. Mary 
Spaulding, of Webster Cit)', Iowa. 



Amos Cottington came with his parents 
to Sauk count}-, Wisconsin, in 1855, and was 
reared in much the usual manner of farmer 
lads in his day. He recei\-ed l)ut linnted ed- 
ucational advantages, but always made the 
most of his opportunities and has become a 
well-informed man. He purchased a farm 
adjoining his father's, where he still owns 
one hundred anti sixty acres, having sold a 
forty-acre timber tract which formerly be- 
longed to it. For many j-ears he was a \-ery 
strong, robust man, Init was injured Ijy the 
kick of a horse several years since, which 
finally resulted in the amputation of his 
right foot. 

On the 3d of December, 1862, Mr. Cot- 
tington was united in marriage with Miss 
Elmira M. Fish, who was born in Albany 
county. New York, July 19, 1836, and died 
January 17, 1896. Her parents were Elisha 
and Polly (King) Fish, the former also a 
native of Albany county, N. Y., and a mem- 
ber of the Society of Friends. Her mother 
lived to the advanced age of ninety years and 
twenty da}-s. To our subject and his wife 
were born two children : Orna E., of Win- 
field township; and Edna E., now ^Mrs. C. 
S. Powell, of the same township. 

In the spring of 1865 Mr. Cottington 
enlisted in Company F, Fifty-first Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the ser- 
vice until hostilities ceased. He is now a 
member of H. A. Tator Post, G. A. R., and 
the Modern Woodmen Camp at Reedsburg, 
in both of which he has held office, and has 
been a life member of the Sauk County Ag- 
ricultural Society at Baraboo for many years 
past. In his religious views he is liberal 
and in political sentiment is an ardent Re- 
publican, taking an active and prominent 
part in the work of his party and serving as 
a delegate in many of its county conventions. 
As one of the popular and influential citi- 
zens of his community he has been honored 
with several oflicial positions; has serx-ed as 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



'48 7 



chairman of the town of \\'infield for many 
years : as school treasin-er twenty-eight con- 
secutive years ; and a meml:)er of the United 
States jury at Madison for several terms. 
As a citizen he has always l)een true and 
faithful to every trust reposed in him, so 
that his loyalty is above question, being man- 
ifest in davs of peace as well as when he fol- 
lowed the old Hag to victory on southern 
battle fields. 



HUGH DONNELLY. 

Hugh Donnelly, an influential and lead- 
ing citizen of Springville township, Adams 
county, has earned his present prosperity by 
his energy, natural business ability, and his 
honesty and fairness in all his dealings. 
For more than a third of a century he has oc- 
cupied his present homestead, anil to him as 
much as to any other man is due the develop- 
ment of Adams county. 

]\lr. Donnelly was Ijorn in Lexington, 
Ohio, June nth or 13th, 1830. His par- 
ents, John and Sarah (O'Neill) Donnelly, 
v/ere natives of County Tyrone, Ireland, and 
came to the United States in 181 2, taking 
up their residence in Pennsylvania, near 
Harrisburg. They followed farming, and in 
about the year 1830 moved to Oliio. They 
died in that state in the city of Lexington. 

Hugh Donnelly was the first born of a 
family of four children. He remained at 
h.ome working for his father until he was 
twenty-three }-ears of age. He obtained a 
fair common school education, which he has 
extended l)y reading and observation. Up- 
on leaving home Hugh Donnelly worked 
for some time in the quarries at Lancaster, 
Oliio, and afterward for the Central Ohio 
Railway ConiDany for about' four years. 

In 1856 Mr. Donnelly determined to see 
what the west had to offer for a younc: 



man, and we find him in Wisconsin, where 
he finally determined to locate, taking up his 
residence in Adams county. He \vorked ior 
others for a few years, and it was in iSfj3 
that he purchased the farm which has since 
that time been his homestead. It consisted 
of one hundred and twenty acres at that 
time, but his hartl work and judicious man- 
agement of his estate ha\'e enabled him to 
add to it until he is now the owner of three 
liundred and sixty acres of excellent farming 
and pasture lands, aljout one hundred acres 
of whicli are cultivated annually. He con- 
ducts general farming, dev(.)ting much atten- 
tion to stock. He has made a success of his 
line of business, and his honesty, liberality 
and steadfastness of character have won him 
the respect of all those among whom he has 
lived so man}- years. 

Hugh Donnelly was married February 
18, 1848, to Mary Hinman, daughter of 
James anil Eliza (Seeley) Hinman. who/ 
came from the state of New York to Adams 
county aI)out 1850. To Mr. and Mrs. Don- 
nelly nine children have been liorn, eight 
of whom still survi\'e. John, now living 
in Waukesha, Wis.; Edgar; Frank, living 
in Waukesha, Wis. ; James, deceased, whose- 
death occurred in 1873; Sarah, now Mrs. 
J. Collins, of Waukesha, Wis. ; Joseph, at 
home : Thomas ; Hugh J. ; and Mary. The 
family are members of the Catholic church 
of Briggsville. In i.inlitical sentiment Mr. 
Donnelly is a Democrat, though he diies 
not take an acti\'e ])art in political affairs 
at the present time. He has held a num- 
ber of township offices, was chairman of the 
board five years, and has also held the ofiice 
of township treasurer. He has witnessed 
great changes in the condition of his coun- 
ty and state, and has himself been a potent 
factor in the advancement of all those in- 
terests which tend toward the general good. 
His name is inseparably connected with the 
history of his county. 



488 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



CECIL ROSSOU ERNSPERGER. 

Cecil Rossou Ernsperger, an enterpris- 
ing young business man of Cambria, Co- 
lumbia county, Wisconsin, was born in 
Rochester, Indiana, Septeml^er 19. 1863. 
His father was Frank B. Ernsperger, and 
was born at Rocky Forch ^^'(^od county, 
Ohio, October 14, 1839. The latter was the 
son of Christopher and Julia A. Ernsper- 
ger, natives of Maryland. The grandfa- 
th.er of Christopher Ernsperger came from 
Switzerland and settled in Maryland before 
the Revolutionary war. His son George, 
father of Christopher Ernsperger, served in 
that war, and in the war of 181 2. Soon 
after his marriage Christopher Ernsperger 
removed from Maryland to Wood cijunty, 
Ohio, and lived on a farm riear Sandusky 
for some years. In 1857 he went ti:i Ful- 
ton county, Indiana, wdiere he died in 1878, 
at the age of seventy-three }-ears. His wife, 
Julia A., also died at Rochester, Indiana, 
in 1896, aged eighty-five years. Her parents 
came from Maryland and died in Wyandotte 
county, Ohio. Frank B. Ernsperger, the 
father of our subject, received a common 
school education and spent one year at the 
University of Fremont, Ohio. At the age 
of fifteen years he entered a general store at 
Fremont. Ohio, and in the fall of 1859 he 
went to South Bend, Indiana, and two years 
later em])arked in business at Rochester, In- 
diana. In the fall of 1879 he came to Port- 
age, Wisconsin, where he carried on a mer- 
cantile business for about one year, then 
purchased a stock of goods at Cambria, and 
continued in business there mitil 1890. when 
he was elected county clerk of Columliia 
county on the Democratic ticket, and re- 
turned to Portage to live. At the exi)iration 
of his office he assumed management of the 
"Portage Democrat" and conducted it for 
three years. Since that time he has been jus- 
tice of the jieace, and is now serving his 



third term. He devotes most of his time to 
thebusiness that comes to him in this line. He 
has been a member of the Masonic fraternity 
since 1862. is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
and has filled the principal offices in the 
Masonic lodge. He was an active member 
of the I. O. O. F. for about thirty years, 
but has never affiliated with the local lodge. 

The mother of our subject was Mrs. 
Mary A. (Lyon) Ernsperger. She was born 
in Rochester, Indiana, the daughter of B. 
S. Lyon, a tailor and dealer in general mer- 
chandise at Rochester, and who sold his 
business to Mr. Ernsperp'er, and mnved to 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he died at an 
advanced age. Frank B. Ernsperger and 
Mary A. Ernsperger had four children, 
namely: Liljie \'. (now Mrs. Charles Leav- 
ens) ; Cecil R., the subject of th's sketch; 
Laura May, now Mrs. J. E. Williams ; and 
Edgar B., of Oakland, Californa. The 
mother died in 1893 at the age of fifty-five 
years. Frank B. Ernsperger was married in 
Indiana to Olivia A. Hebron, and has two 
sons by this marriage : Samuel B. and Frank 
E., of Portage. 

Cecil R. Ernsperger attended the Roches- 
ter common and high schools, completing the 
course at fifteen years of age. Then he came 
to Wisconsin and entered his father's store 
at Portage and later at Camljria. He spent 
two years as tra\-eling •representati\-e for a 
firm of implement manufacturers in Min- 
neapolis. He then returned to Portage and 
was employed for one year by J. Simon & 
Co., in a general store. He took charge of 
the grocery and crockery department of the 
great Bee Hive Department Store at Portage 
for two years, and in January 21, 1899, the 
firm of Scott & Ernsperger was formed, 
succeeding the firm of C. H. Green & Com- 
pany, at Cambria, in the general merchandise 
line. 

Mr. Ernsperger was married September 
I, 1890, to Maggie A. Andrew, daughter 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



489 



of Ivlward and Maji'daleiie Andrew, of Cam- 
l;ria. Mr. ami Mrs. iM-nspergcr have one 
child, Laura May. Kir. Ernsperger is a mem- 
ber of jMcQueeny Lodge, No. 104, K. of P., 
at Portage; Fidehty Camp, No. 1161, M. W. 
A., at Caml^ria ; Silver Lodge, No. 19, .\. O. 
U. \\'.. of Portage. Mr. and Mrs. Erns- 
perger are also connectetl with the Royal 
Neighbors, Juniata Lodge, No. -2051, of 
Cambria, and Mrs. Ernsperger is serving as 
marshal of the lotlge. Mr. Ernsperger is 
a. Democrat in political faith, and has always 
taken an actixx interest in i)ul)lic matters. 



JOSEPH TILLOTSON. 

Joseph Tillotson. one of the oldest con- 
ductors in years of continuous ser\'ice on the 
Matlisun division of the Chicago & North- 
western Railroad, now making his home in 
Baraboo, was born in Leeds, England, June 
4, 1844, and is a son of Joseph and Alice 
(Waite) Tillotson, also natives of the same 
place. When only six j^ears of age the fa- 
ther began work in a woolen factory of 
Leeds and was employed in the large indus- 
trial concerns of his native city until his em- 
igration to America. Having attained liis 
majority he married Alice Waite, the wed- 
ding taking place ]\Iarch 24. 1842. Her fa- 
ther was also employed in one of the fac- ' 
tories of Leeds, where he died at the age of 
thirty-five years. About 1849 J"seph Til- 
lotson, Sr., came with his family to America, 
locating in the town of Madison, Dane 
county, where he resided on a farm for many 
years, becoming one of the successful, prom- 
inent and inlluential agriculturists of the 
coninuniity. He spent the last two years of 
his life in Madison city, where he died April 
25, 1885, at the age of sixty-six years. He 
was a man of strong convictions and decided 
views, and neither fear or fa\'or could turn 



him from a course which he believed to be 
right. Of the Methodist church he was an 
acti\e niemi)er. and in politics he was a Re- 
publican for many years, but in later life 
voted with the Prohibition party. Although 
he resided in a Democratic township, he filled 
the office of town clerk and other official po- 
sitions, for all recognized his wdrth and 
abilit}-, and his fitlelitv to the trusts reposed 
in him. His wife, a most exemplary wnman 
and a dcxnut Christian, died in Madison 
April 25, 1887, in her sixty-seventh ^•ear. 
In their family were e:ght sons and six 
daughters, and eight are yet living. 

Joseph Tillotson, whose name heads this 
sketch, was only five vears old when he ac- 
companied his parents to Wisconsin. He 
early became familiar with all the duties and 
labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist 
and assisted in the work of the farm until 
.August 14, i8()2, when he enlisted in Cum- 
pany L Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry, 
being mustered out June 14, 1866, after 
three years and ten mimths of lo^al antl 
\aliant service. His regiment was assigned 
to the Deijartment of the Mississippi, and 
took part in the battles of Haines Bluff, 
Arkansas Post, and in the Vicksburg cam- 
paign, where 5,000 prisoners were captured. 
The regiment spent the winter of 1862-63 
in digging the famous canal near \'icksburg 
and then took part in the \'icksburg cam- 
paign of 1863, including the battles of Port 
(jibson, Ivaymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, 
Black River Bridge, and after the capture of 
Vicksburg participated in the expedition to 
Jackson, Mississippi. Later they were sta- 
tioned for two months at Vicksburg and 
were then transferred to the Department of 
the (nilf. .\t the liatile of Carrion Crow, 
the comiianv to which Mr. Tillotson be- 
longed was almost totally demolished, he 
being one (jf nine that was fit for duty at the 
close of the engagement, lie took ])ar.t in 
the Re<I ri\'er expedition under Ciencral 



490 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Eanks and the campaig'ii against Mobile, and 
later tiie regiment was statinned in Texas 
for two months, after wiiich it returned to 
New Orleans. Mr. TiUotson was made 
second lieutenant of Company I, Fiftieth 
Wisconsin Infanlr}-. and sent to Fort Rice 
where the Sioux Indians were still on the 
war path. He spent the winter of 1865-66 
at that post — the easiest service he found 
while in the army. He escaped wounds, al- 
though he was ne\er out of the ranks when 
there was dut\- to lie performed, and witii 
an honoralile military record he returneil 
home. 

After the war Mr. Tillotson engaged in 
farming in Iowa county, Wisconsin, for six 
years, and in 1876 entered the service of the 
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company, 
since which time he has been constantly in 
the train service, and for more than twentv 
years has served as conductor, being in 
charge of a train running between Baaiboo 
and Milwaukee at the jjresent time. His 
long ser\ice stands in unmistakable e\'idence 
of his ability and capable service. He is 
popular with the patrons of the ro.ld and has 
the entire confidence of the railroad officials 
under \vhom he works. 

Mr. Tillotson has resided in Baraboo 
since 1877, and in 1882 erected a pleasant 
home. He was married in October, 1869. 
to Sarah E., daughter of Henry and Sarah 
Higham, of the trnvn of Fitzburg, Dane 
county. She was Ijorn in New York and 
came with her parents to Wisconsin in 
1850. Mr. and Mrs. Hig:ham now reside 
with their daughter and both are eighty- 
five years of age. The former followed 
farming during his active business career. 
Mr. and Mrs. Tillotson have one child, 
Earle C, who is a graduate of the high 
school of Baraboo, of the Wisconsin Univer- 
sity, and of the law department of that in- 
stitution. He is now employed as cashier 
by a large manufacturing firm of Madison. 



The ]:)arents are members of the Methodist 
church of Baraboo, of which Mrs. Tillotson 
is serxing as steward, being also president of 
the Ladies' Aid Society. Air. Tillotson is 
a valued memljer of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, the .Vncient Order of United 
Workmen, and the Order of Railway 
Conductors. He is senior conductor and a 
member of the board of trustees of Bara- 
boo Division, No. 68, and was sent as its 
representative to the Grand Division at De- 
troit, in the spring of 1899. He has always 
been a Republican in his political affiliations, 
but lias never had time nor inclination for 
public office, although he is to-day as true 
and loyal to his duties of citizenship as when 
he followed the stars and stripes upon the 
battle fields of the south. 



WILLIAM HUGHES. 

William Hughes, one of the leading 
business men of Pardeeville, has achieved 
success fr(.)m his humble beginning and is 
recognized as one of the most public-spirited 
and progressive citizens of that thri\-ing \-iI- 
lage. He was born in Norwich, Chenango 
county. New York, m October, 1854. 

The father of our subject, Michael 
Hughes, is a native of county Mayo, Ire- 
land, and emigrated to America in 1846. set- 
tling at Norwich. He was emplo}ed in a 
liammer factnrv at that place, where he as- 
similated man\- -\nierican ideas and de- 
veloped that love of liberty for which his 
countrymen have ever been distinguished. 
Soon after the Civil war began he demon- 
strated his patriotic instincts by entering the 
ser\-ice of his adopted country and de\'oted 
tb.ree years to the cause as a member of the 
One Hundred and Sixt}--first New York 
\"olunteer Infantry. He participated in a 
number of important engagements and suf- 




MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM HUGHES. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



493 



feretl a sunstroke, which caused partial deaf 
ness. In 1867 he became a citizen of Wis- 
consin and resided in Columbia county until 
1894. since which date he has lived in Kinos- 
ton, Green Lake county, where he is now in 
the enjoyment of the ease and comfort which 
he merits by a long and busy life, he having 
reached the advanced age of eighty years. 
Besides William, he has a son, Charles, liv- 
iiig in the town of Wyocena. and a daugh- 
ter, Mary Ann. now Mrs. Stafford O'Brien, 
of Kingston. Wisconsin. 

William Hughes has lived in Columbia 
county from the age of thirteen years. He 
grew to manhood on a farm and while a 
young man taught several terms of school. 
He was ever on the alert for an opportunity 
tc better his condition, and, after spending 
three seasons as traveling representative of 
a leading nursery firm, in 1884 he estab- 
lished a grocery store at Pardeex-ille. He 
has been continuously engaged in mercantile 
business since that time, adding other lines 
of goods from time to time as his means 
would permit, and for some years past 
he has handled one of the best assorted 
stocks of general merchandise to be found 
in Columbia county. Since 1893 'i^ has also 
dealt in grain and all kinds of farm produce, 
shipping large quantities to Chicago, Mil- 
waukee and other markets. His success is 
due to the exercise of judgment, integrity 
and fair dealing, which has inspired the 
confidence and good will of his patrons and 
associates and insured a liberal share of the 
custom which is attracted to I'ardee\'ille by 
the enterprise of its business men. 

Our subject was married in 1886, to 
Miss Maggie Eagan, a native of Portage, 
Wisconsin, and a daughter of Patrick Eagan, 
of Marcellon township. Two sons have 
been born to Air. and Mrs. Hughes, who 
1)ear the names of Roy W. and Charles. 
The family is connected with the Catholic 
church at l^)uffalo. W'sconsin. The resi- 



dence of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, which is one 
of the most attractive in the village, with its 
v.ell kept grounds, denotes the taste and 
culture of its inmates. In political princi- 
ples Mr. Hughes has always been a Demo- 
crat and exerts no small influence in the local 
councils i)f the communit}'. He has filled 
numerous positions of trust and responsi- 
bility and his jjersonal popularity is attested 
bv the fact that, although a large majority 
of the people of Pardee\'ille are opposed to 
him in political sentiment, he is now serving 
a third term as president of the village. ■ 



MORRIS JOHN ROWLANDS. 

Morris John Rowlands is one of the most 
successful and influential citizens of Cam- 
bria and has displayed an active interest in 
the growth and development of that thriv- 
ing village. He represents one of the earliest 
Welsh families which located in Columbia 
county and one which has been identified 
with many of its most vital interests and 
cherished institutions. 

His father, John R. Rowlands, was em- 
ployed for many years in a slate quarry in 
Carnarvonshire, Wales. Having accumulat- 
ed a few hundred pounds sterling by honest 
toil and thrifty habits, in 1845. he headed 
a party, which included six of his neighbors 
with their families, and set out for America. 
Though their knowledge, of this country 
was limited, they believed that it offered 
opportunities for bettering their material 
fortunes and that they would find ideal con- 
ditions f(_)r promoting the moral and intel- 
lectual culture which they aspired to be- 
(|ueath to posterity. Ujjon landing at New 
York, thev came to Wisconsin, attracted no 
doubt l>y the fact that a colony of their 
countrymen were already located near Ra- 
cine. Leaving tlieir families at that place, 
these se\-en men started on foot to seek a de- 



494 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



sirable location for settlement. After sev- 
eral, clays' travel llie\- reached Columbia 
county and IMr. Rowlands selected a "claim" 
on section 15 in what is now the township of 
Springvale, the immediate locality being 
better known as "Welsh Prairie." He pur- 
cliased several hundred acres of government 
land which is still owned by his descend- 
ants, built a log house and brought his fam- 
ily there the same season. Several of his 
associates settled near him and this was the 
beginning of an extensive colony of which 
the village of Cambria became the social and 
commercial center. The people composing 
this settlement ha\-e always ranked among 
the most intelligent and progressive citizens 
of Columbia county. John R. Rowlands was 
distinguished for remarkable physical activ- 
ity and ]X)ssesse(l may estimable qualities 
of mind and heart worthy of the emulation 
of rising o-enerations. He continued to re- 
side upon the farm until his death, which 
occurred January 19, 1883. Though he had 
attained the age of eighty-tliree years, he 
was able to walk from Cambria to his 
home, a distance of six miles, only a few 
months before his demise. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Jan.- Closs. departed this 
life September 21, 1869. at the age of sev- 
enty-four years. Her father. John Closs, 
came from Yorkshire, l^igland, and died in 
Wales. 

Morris J. Rowlands, whose name heads 
this article, was born in Csnarvonshire, 
^^'■ales, July 4, 1840, and has lived in Co- 
lumbia county from the fifth year of his 
age. His educational advantages were lim- 
ited but he acquired a fund of general in- 
formation which naturrd judgment and ex- 
perience enables him to jnU to practical use. 
After living fur more than forty vears upoi 
the homestead farm, in 1886 he removed 
to Cambria where his present home occu- 
pies a sightly location and is one of the most 
conspicuous residences in the \-illae-e. For 



eight years he dealt in grain and lumber as 
a partner with Edward Harris, who was also 
proprietor of the Bank of Cambria. Upon 
the death of Mr. Harris in 1894 he pur- 
chased that institution, which has since lieen 
conducted by M. J. Rowlands & Son and is 
recognized in financial circles as one of the 
most relia1)le concerns in Columbia coun- 
ty. The firm is also interested to a ci>nsid- 
erable extent in real estate. It has erected a 
number of buildings, in the village and, Ije- 
sides the original homestead of the family, 
has acquired several other fine farms. Mr. 
Rowdands was one of the first farmers in the 
county to introduce the breeding of thor- 
oughbred Durham cattle and has also gix-en 
some attention to Clydesdale horses. Every 
enterprise in which lie has ])ecome interested 
owes its success in great measure to his thor- 
oughness and foresig'ht. 

He is a member of the Welsh Calvinistic 
Methodist church of Cambria, and has al- 
ways lent encouragement to enterprises cal- 
culated to cultivate the finer instincts of the 
jieople. He has given considerable atten- 
tion to music and for forty years has been 
a leader of church choirs. Belonging to a 
race which is famous the world over for 
musical talent, he and his associates have es- 
tablishetl an en\ial)le reputation in the cult- 
ure of that art and \'isitors have been at- 
tracted from all parts of the world to the 
musical con\-entions held in Cambria. Mr. 
Rowlands helped to organize the Cam1)ria 
Music Hall Company, which has recently 
Ijuilt an elegant opera house, such as would 
be a credit to any large cit}-, and which 
forms a source of just pride and delight to 
every patriotic citizen of Cambria and is one 
of the most noteworthy public l)uilding's of 
the county. 

Mr. Rowlands is identified with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity. He cast his first vote for 
Abraham Lincoln and has always supported 
the principles of the Republican ])arty. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



495 



lliough he never seeks official honors, he 
has frequently been cahed to the discharge 
of local positions of trust and responsibility. 
For ten years he served as town clerk of 
Springvale and for eight years filled the same 
office in Courtland to\Miship. He was elected 
the first president of the village under the 
state charter and served two years in that 
capacity. 

In 1866 he was married to Aliss Cath- 
erine Owens, daughter of David and Jane 
Owens, of Springvale township. Mrs. Row- 
lands was born in \\'ales and came to the 
United States with her parents in 1847. One 
son, David Morris Rowlands, is now his fa- 
ther's partner in business. This gentleman 
v.as burn January 19, 1868. After leaving 
the pul)lic school and taking a course at a 
business college in ^Milwaukee, he began his 
business career in the lumljer office of Har- 
ris & Rowlands. In 1890 he became a partner 
with H. F. Schemmel in a general store at 
Cambria. Three years later he sold his in- 
terest in this establishment and entered the 
Bank of Cambria in the employ of Mr. Har- 
ris. Upon the death of that gentleman, as 
previously stated, he acquired an interest in 
the concern and has since filled the responsi- 
ble position of cashier. 

July 6, 1898, occurred the wedding of 
David M. Rowlands and Miss Emma Davis, 
daughter of Edwin and Jane Ann Davis, of 
Cambria. Mr. and Mrs. Rowlands are the 
happy parents of one boy, Morris David, 
born July 21, 1899. They are members of 
the Calvinistic Methodist church and Mr. 
Rowlands is identified with the Masonic or- 
der. He has filled the chair of junior deacon 
in Cambria Lodge and also holds member- 
ship in Fort Winnebago Chapter at Portage. 



ROBERT GALSTON. 
Robert Galston, a prosperous agricult- 
urist residing on section 36 in Adams town- 
ship, Adams county, is an early settler of 



that region. He has passed more than a 
quarter of a century within the borders of 
Adams county, and has lent his influence for 
the welfare of his community. His estate 
comprises one hundred and sixty acres, and 
he has added such improvements as make it 
one of the leading farms of the vicinity. 
He engages in general farming and is in- 
terested to some extent in stock raising. He 
has met with success in his chosen calling 
and has gained the respect of his fellows. 

Mr. Galston was liorn at Beith, Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, Aueust 24, 1835, and was 
the son of James and Elizabeth (Fulton) 
Galston. His father was a baker by trade, 
and conducted the Imsiness at Dairy. He 
died in 1859 and was Ijuried at Dairy, and 
the mother died in 1834, and was laid to 
rest at Beith. 

In a family of twelve children our suli- 
ject was the sixth in order of birth. He was 
given educational advantages and acquired 
a good education. At the age of twelve 
years he was started to learning the baker's 
trade, but not taking kindly to that trade 
he decided to learn the shipwright's 
trade and at the age of seventeen years was 
apprenticed for that purpose. He served 
four years with a firm in Glasgow, Scotland, 
and worked at his trade for aljout ten years. 
He came to America in 1870, locating at 
Chicago, where he was employed for some 
time. He came to Adams township, Adams 
county, in 1872, and homesteaded one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land on section T,f>. 
He has aI>out eighty acres under cultivation, 
and has prospered. He erected a comfort- 
able residence and outbuildings, and is sur- 
rounded by all the comforts of rural life. 

Mr. Galston was married November 3, 
1865, to Marion Hamilton, daughter of 
Alexander and Sarah (Sem])le) Hamilton, 
of Little Gill, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Four 
children have been liorn to bless the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Galston, named as fol- 



496 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



lows: James, born January i, 1865, died 
November 27, 1869; Sarah, horn April 13, 
1868, died November 17. 1869: James, horn 
March 12, 1870, now living- at home: and 
Alexander, bom July 22. 1872, now residing 
in Black River Falls. 

-Mr. Galston is a member of the Pres- 
byterian church. He has held various offices 
of local importance, including treasurer of his 
township, supervisor, justice of the peace 
four years, and assessor about five years. 
He is non-partisan in politics, voting for the 
ticket which meets his favor, ever looking to 
the interest of the community where he has 
matle his home for so many years. He has 
always been found standing on the side of 
right and justice, and no public enterprise 
which he deemed feasible passed him without 
his hearty support. He is one of the public- 
spirited men of Adams county, and all who 
honor good citizenship and honest industry 
hold him in the highest esteem. His name 
has been linked with many of the important 
public movements and to write a history of 
Adams county would of necessity frequently 
bring his name before the readers of such a 
\i.ilume. 



ROBERT MORRIS WILLIAMS. 

Robert Morris Williams, publisher of 
''The Crank" at Pardeeville, is probably the 
oldest born native of Columbia county now 
residing therein. He was born in the town 
of Marcellon, September 16, 1850, and was 
a son of Morris Sibley and Phoebe C (King) 
\\'illiams. 

The parents of (_)ur subject sprang of 
New England families, who were dis- 
tinguished for patriotism. Joseph Will- 
iams, the grandfather of M. S. Williams, 
enlisted as a i^rivate and was promoted to 
cajitain of Xew York troops at Saratoga and 
did valuable service throughout the Revo- 



lutionary campaign against Burgoyne. His 
musket is preserved Iiy our subject. The 
grandfather of our subject, Ebenezer Will- 
iams, .served as a lieutenant in the war of 
1 81 2, and took part in the engagement at 
Sacket Harbor. He was a farmer and hop 
grower in Oneida county. New York. He 
first came to Wisconsin in 1848 and was 
one of the pioneers of Marcellon township, 
settling there in 1850, where he at once be- 
gan the culture of hops, and this was prob- 
ably the beginning of that industry in ^^'is- 
consin. He died at the age of sixty-eight 
years. The father of our subject was born 
in SangerfieUl Center, Oneida county. New 
York, November 3, 1830, and came to Wis- 
consin in i8=;o. He lived on his father's 
original homestead until his death, October 
4, 1868. He kept a country hotel on the 
road between Portage and Fox Lake, and 
was celebrated for his musical talents. Being 
owner of the first melodeon brijught to Co- 
lumljia countv, he furnished inspiration for 
many frontier dances and other public occa- 
sions. It was dijubtless owing to this gift 
tliat he receix'ed the name of "Jenny Lind" 
Williams, and his house was known far ami 
wide as the "Jenny Lind Tavern." He en- 
listed in Company I, Forty-ninth Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, 
and served until discharged at the close of 
hostilities. Further notice of the mother of 
our subject will be found in the sketch of 
James Scott, found elsewliere in this volume. 
Robert M. Williams attended the dis- 
trict school and li\'ed on the home farm 
until he was eighteen years of age. since 
w hich time he has followed various occupa- 
tions in difl'erent states and acquired a valu- 
able fund of experience and general infor- 
mation. He began the publication oi the 
"Pioneer" at Clidden. Wisconsin, in 1876, 
the second ])apcr in Ashland county, where 
he li\ed nine years, serving as ]3ostmastcr. 
town clerk, town treasurer, and in \-ari- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



497 



ous other official capacities. He then went 
to Florence, Alabama, where he contlucted 
a photograph galler}' three years and then 
continued in the same business in Nashville, 
Tennessee, six years. He returned to Par- 
deeville in 1898 and began the i)ublication 
of the "Crank," a joinnial devoted to inde- 
pendent reform. It has achieved noteworthy 
popularity among the people of Columbia 
and adjoining counties. Mr. Williams has 
also given a great deal of attention to 
hypnotism as a science, and possesses re- 
markable magnetic power, and he has many 
original ideas on various subjects. He is a 
Spiritualist in faith. 

Our subject was married in 186S to 
America A. Smith, a daug'hter of Nathaniel 
and Angeline Smith, of Marcellon town- 
ship. Mrs. Williams was born in Livingst(3n 
county. New York, but came to Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. 
\\'illiams are the parents of tive living chil- 
dren, who are as follows : Angeline, now 
Mrs. A. G. Cox, of Chicago ; Alorris L. K. ; 
Daisy L. ; Robert Asa; and Russell C. One 
child, Leroy, was drowned in the Chijjpewa 
river, at Glidden, \Visconsin, at the age of 
two vears. 



HENRY SAWYER. 

Henry Sawyer, one of the most success- 
ful farmers of Columbia county, is now re- 
siding in the \ illage of Cambria. Mr. Saw- 
yer was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, 
England, March 25, 1840. 

Henry Sawyer is the son of John and 
Elizabeth (Ellis) Sawyer, both natives of 
Burslem, England. The grandfather, Ralph 
Sawyer, lived and died in England, and was 
a miner and collier by trade. John Sawyer, 
the father of the subject of this sketch, was 
a potter by trade and became a specialist 
in the art of turning cups, saucers, etc. He 



was connected in England with the Potters' 
Emigration Societv, and was appointed as 
one of a committee of three to seek a lo- 
cation for planting a colon}'. This commit- 
tee came to :\merica, and on reaching New 
Y'n-k City left their families there and pro- 
ceeded to \\'ashington, D. C, t(_) oljtain de- 
sired information regarding lands, etc. 
They then brought their families to Milwau- 
kee, where they left them while they made 
a trip to Columbia county. Here they se- 
lected two thousand acres of land in Scott 
township, which they purchased of the gov- 
ernment at one dollar and a quarter per 
acre. They sur\-eyed and divided this 
ir.to one hundred lots of twenty acres each, 
20x160 rods, most of which were occupied 
the next season by emigrants sent over by 
the Society from Staffordshire. Being a 
man of genius and original ideas, John Saw- 
yer made a more successful farmer than 
most of those who formed this colony. His 
family joined him in July, 1846, at the sea- 
son when wild strawberries were ripening. 
Between Fox Lake and Portage at that 
tnue there was but a single habitation on 
the stage route. Mr. Sawyer and his col- 
leagues built eight log cabins the first season, 
each of which sheltered several families. 
He afterwanl remo\-ed to another farm in 
Scott township, where he owned three hun- 
dred acres of land. He acquired several 
other tracts of land, which he improved to 
some extent. He drew logs to the mill at 
Camljria from which lumber was sawed for 
his buildings, and he roofed them with 
rough boartls, Which warped in the sun and 
let in the rain freely. John Sawyer was a 
rran of firm con\ictions, and held inde- 
pendent views on most public questions. At 
various times he filled the principal town- 
ship offices of Scott township and during the 
Civil war was active in raising bounties for 
volunteers, and only one draft was made 
in that township. His first wife was the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



mother of our subject, ^Irs. Elizalieth Ellis 
Sawyer. She died in 1847, at the age of 
about twentv-eig-ht years. Her father, 
Richard Ellis, was an engineer in a coal 
mine at Burslem, England. Henry Sawyer, 
the subject of this sketch, was her only 
child. John Sawyer afterward married 
Edna Smith, who died without children. 
He married a third time, Hannah Whit- 
tingham becoming his wife. She also died 
childless. John Sawyer lived to be seventy- 
three years of age, his death occurring De- 
cember 15, 1893. 

Henry Sawyer went to school for the 
first time at the age of sixteen years. At 
the age of twenty-three he began farming 
for himself in Scott township, where he has 
lived the greater part of his life. He is the 
owner of the original farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres which he purchased 
in 1862 and cleared from the forest. In 
addition to this he owns a farm of six hun- 
dred and eighty acres in Springvale town- 
ship, a portion of which he rents to tenants. 
He has divided his attention between grain 
and stock. 

Since 1S99 Mr. Sawyer has made his 
home in the village of Cambria, though he 
still conducts his farming business. Mr. 
Sawyer was married November 20, 1865, 
to Ann P. Baillies, daughter of Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Baillies. Mrs. 
Sawyer was born in Paisley, Scotland, and 
came to America with her parents in 1849, 
settling in Scott township, where Mr. Bail- 
lies died January 13, 1894, aged seventy- 
nine years. Mrs. Elizabeth Baillies died in 
1S92, at the age of sixty-five years. Her 
father, John Hamilton, was a native of 
Scotland, and died in Scott township, at the 
age of eighty-two years. He was a weaver 
of Paisley shawls, and acquired great skill 
in this branch of trade. Alexander Baillies, 
the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Sawyer, 
was a soldier in the P^ritish army, and was 



statiunetl in Ireland at the time of the l)irth 
of his son, Thomas. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have five children, 
namely: Elizabeth Jane, now Mrs. Charles 
Healy, of Ironwood, Michigan; Mary Ellen, 
now Mrs. John Dodge, of Springvale town- 
ship; Jessie Ann, now Mrs. Samuel Dodge, 
of Springvale township; John Henry; Hugh 
Thomas, the two last named being at home. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sawver have four grandchil- 
dren. 

Mr. Sawyer is a member of the A. O. 
U. \\., the M. W. A., and the I. O. O. F. 
His fraternal connections are with the 
lodges at Pardeeville. While he has always 
been a v-alued citizen and a supporter of the 
principles of good government, he has never 
sought political preferment. In political 
views he is a Democrat. Without his seek- 
ing it, he recei\ed the nomination for 
member of the general assembly on the Dem- 
ocratic ticket, in 1900. 



HENRY AMMIRAS DARROW. 

Henry Ammiras Darrow, a well-known 
citizen of W'infield township, Sauk county, 
Wisconsin, is descended from worthy New 
England ancestry and exhibits many of the 
sterling qualities which characterize the peo- 
ple of that section. He was born in Mecca, 
Trumbull county, Ohio, June 20, 1839, and 
is a son of H. Ammiras and Luceba (Dann) 
Darrow, both natix'os of New York, the 
former born in Albany county, the latter in 
the western part of the state. 

The paternal grandfather, Ammiras 
Darrow, who was a soldier of the Revolu- 
tionary war, made his early home in Con- 
necticut, and when the father of our sub- 
ject was four, years old removed, with his 
family, from Albany county, New York, to 
Booneville, Oneida county, that state, where 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



499 



he built and operated a tannery. This es- 
tabhshment was afterward Inirnetl down, 
causing him a serious loss. He died in 
Booneville. He was of Scotch descent, while 
his wife, Sarah Fisher, was of Irish extrac- 
tion, her father being a iiati\c nf the Em- 
erald Isle and pressed on bnard a British 
man-of-war, from wliich he escaped and 
came to America. She was born in New 
London, Connecticut, and was nine years 
old when the place was burned liy General 
Arnold, whom she had known befure he en- 
tered the army. She died in Reedsburg, 
Wisconsin, at the advanced age of ninety- 
three years. 

Soon after his marriage, H. Ammiras 
Darrow, the father of our subject, removed 
to Trumbull count}', Ohio, and in the fall 
of 1839 came to Wisconsin, first locating 
in Walworth county, and became one of 
the pioneers of Allen's Grove, where he 
lived upon a farm for twelve years. When 
he located there the nearest postofBce was at 
Beloit. In 185 1 he came to Sauk county 
and took up his residence in Winfield town- 
ship, where he died in his ninety-sixth year. 
He was always a vigorous and rugged man, 
and when sixty-five years old walked to 
Madison from Winfield and returned in 
three days. His first trip to this county from 
Allen's Grove, in 1851, was made on foot. 
When the town of Winfield was separated 
from Reedsburg, in 1852, he suggested the 
name, in honor of Winfield Scott, who was 
at that time a candidate for the presidency. 

At the age of thirty-nine years, H. Am- 
miras Darrow married Miss Luceba Dann, 
a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth 
(Rull) Dann. The former was a descend- 
ant of Francis Dann, who founded one of 
the earliest Episcopal churches in New 
England, at Danntown, Connecticut, in 
1675. Mrs. Darr(jw was also a rei)resenta- 
tive of the Underbill family, mentioned bv 
Whittier in one of his famous poems. She 



died a few years licforc her husband at the 
age of seventy-two years. In their family 
were ten children, li\-e sons and five daugh- 
ters, all of whom are still living, namely: 
Elizabeth; Adelia R. ; PhtEbe M. ; Henrv 
Ammiras; Nathaniel; Sarah, wife of L. N. 
Fish, of Winfield; Albert; George; Caro- 
line, widow of Sherman Winlield ; and John, 
of Barron county, Wisconsin. All are resi- 
dents of \Visc(.insin with the exception of 
Albert, who li\'es in Iowa. 

Mr. Darrow, whose name introduces this 
review, was a lad of tweh'e years when he 
came with the family to Sauk county. Dur- 
ing his boyhood and y(-iuth he attended 
school during the winter months, wdiile 
tlirough the summer season he engaged in 
farm work. At the age of twenty-one he 
started out in life for himself, and a few 
years later bought a part ui his present 
farm, which at that time was wild land. 
He has since owned two luuulred and eighty 
acres, but of that amount he has sold forty- 
one acres. He now has one hundred and 
fifty acres under a high state of cultivation, 
and improved with good and substantial 
buildings. He was one of the incorporators 
of the State Bank of Reedsburg, in 1898, 
and is a business man of more than ordinary 
ability. He was a memljer ui the Wiscon- 
sin Grange for a time, and has affiliated 
with the Republican party since voting for 
Abraham Lincoln, in 1S60. Most credit- 
ably has he filled the offices of town super- 
intendent of schools, clerk of his school dis- 
trict twenty-five years and town treasurer, 
and is recognized as one of the most public- 
spirited and progressive citizens of his town. 



JOFIN WILLIAM VROMAN. 

Prominent among the agriculturists and 
pioneer settlers of Adams county, Wiscon- 
sin, is the gentleman whose name appears 



500 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



at the head of tliis review. He is a resident 
of Jackson township, and many are the 
stories of early Hfe in Wisconsin told by 
this leader in the march of ci\'ilization. 

John William \'roman was born in 
Sharon, Schoharie connty. New York, Jan- 
uary 5, 1829, the son of Josiah A. and Eliza- 
beth (Fritcher) Vroman, both natives of 
Sharon, New York, where the father was 
born December 24, 1799, and the mother 
in 1803. In 1841 our subject's father, Jo- 
siah Cronian, came with his family to Wis- 
consin, locating at Darion, in Walworth 
county, where he lived about ten years, and 
then settled in Adams county. He died at 
Oxford, Wisconsin, at the age of sixty-eight 
years. 

John WiUiam Vroman settled upon his 
present farm in 1857, staking ofif a "squat- 
ter's" claim, and a few years later pur- 
chased it from the government at one dollar 
and a cjuarter per acre. He is the owner of 
one hundred and eighty acres of excellent 
land, with a high class of improvements and 
conveniences added by his *own industry. 
He now rents his farm to his son, and gives 
his own attention to an apiary, with which 
he is meeting with success. He spends 
much of his time now in fishing and hunt- 
ing, and in the enjoyment of a well-earned 
competence. He has been a great hunter in 
his day, and when large game was more 
plentiful than now his chosen sport was the 
deer hunt. At three different times in his 
life he has killed two of these animals at 
one shot, a fact which is testified to by liv- 
ing witnesses in whose presence the deed 
was done. For several years his larder was 
supplied with choice venison killed upon his 
own lands. 

Mr. Vroman was married to Miss Mary 
Murphy May 10, 1852. Mrs. Vroman was 
born in Albany, New York, December 24, 
1828. Her parents dietl during her infancy. 
After many years spent in faithful duty to 



her family and kindness and Christian 
helpfulness to her friends and neighbors, 
]\Irs. Vroman passed away April 21, 1884, 
her death occurring in , Jackson township. 
Fi\'e children were born to J\Ir. and Mrs. 
\'roman, namely: Mary E., who died Sep- 
tember 10, 1S72, aged eighteen years; 
George W., now a farmer of Adams county; 
Charles Henry, born September 29, 1857, 
and died December 28, 1893; Hattie J., a 
professional nurse, of Milwaukee, Wiscon- 
sin ; and Frank C, who now carries on farm- 
ing on the old home farm, and was mar- 
ried December 28, 1892, to Miss Maud 
Smith, of Oxford, Wisconsin. 

yir. Vroman is a member of Oxford 
Lodge, No. 91, A. F. & A. M., in which he 
has been an officer several years. He voted 
for General Winfield Scott for the presi- 
dency in 1852 and since that time has lent 
his support to the men and measures of the 
Republican party, never missing a vote at a 
presidential election. He has held several 
local public ofifices, and enjoys to a high de- 
gree the esteem and respect of his fellow 
citizens, of all political, beliefs. 



JAMES WHIPPLE ROBINSON. 

James \Vhipple Robinson, Poynette, Wis- 
consin, is now living in honorable retire- 
ment in that village, and is numbered among 
the older and more venerable residents of 
C(jlumbia county. He was born in Castle- 
ton, Rutland county, Vermont, October 3, 
1822, and is a son of Dean Tyler and Try- 
phena (Whipple) Robinson. He was edu- 
cated in Castleton Seminary, and came to 
Wisconsin in 1846, settling in the town of 
Leeds, Columbia county. He bought sev- 
enty-six acres of land upon his settlement in 
the town, and as he made progress he 
bought more land from time to time until 




J. W. ROBIHSOH. 




MRS. J. W. ROBIHSOH. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



503 



tlie farm consists of a lialf-section of as de- 
siral)le land as is to be found in the county. 
His tirst stav in the state was rather brief, 
as lie returned to X'erniont in the sprint;' of 
1848, and kept store for some montlis for 
a railroad company then building a line from 
East Rutland to Whitehall, Xew York. The 
summer of 1849 he spent on the banks of 
Newfoundland engaged in fishing, giiing 
out from Pro\'incetown in May and return- 
ing in October. He was seeking the im- 
pro\ement of his health, which at that time 
was somewhat impaired. On his return from 
this prolonged stay among the cod fishermen 
he was t|uite well again, and in November 
of that year he was married to Miss Theresa, 
the daughter of James and Sophia (Bray- 
ton) Flagg, of Hubbard ton, Vermont. She 
was born in that place, and was a gradu- 
ate of Castleton Seminary. She was a very 
successful teacher and had taught a number 
of terms previous to her marriage. The 
young couple came on immediately to their 
Wisconsin home and here four children were 
born to them — James F., Jane, Ada Theresa 
and Dean Tyler. At the birth of the latter 
the mother passed away. James I", was 
born October 12, 1851, and is now living in 
Denver, Colorado. The other children died 
in infancy and early childhood, James F. 
was married in September, 1885, to Miss 
Alma Curtiss, the daughter of Elbridge Cur- 
tiss, of Lowville. They were the par- 
ents of two children — Arthur and Mary 
'J'heresa. Mrs. Robinson died in 1892; he 
married again in 1892, Miss Flelen Scott 
becoming his wife. She is the daughter of 
Smith J. and Marian Scott, of Lowville. 
They are the parents of two children — 
Marian Theresa and James Scott, who died 
in infancy. 

James Flagg had a large family, which 
he reared upon an extensive Vermont farm. 
They were: Theophilus, born in 1819, and 
died in Parishville, New York, at an ad- 



vanced age; James Madison, 1811, died in 
Chicago; Amasa Wesson. 1813, died in 
Castleton, July 9, 1870; Orlando died in 
Kaukauna, Wisconsin, in 1896; Stephen B. 
d-ed in Hubbardton, \^ermont ; Minerva 
married Elisha Cook, and is now living in 
Leicester Junction, X'ermont ; Theresa, the 
wife of J. \\'. Robinson, was born August 
20, 1821, and died December 2, 1855; 
Charles is now living on the old homestead 
in Hubbardton; and Horatio died in early 
manhood. These children, on the mother's 
siile, had an uncle, the Rew Durlin L. Bray- 
ton, who was a missionary in Burmah for 
nearly sixty years and who recently died. 
Two children died in early childhood. 
Conspicuous among these children was 
James Madison, who graduated at Middle- 
bury College, in 1835, and served one year 
in the college as a tutor. He studied law 
and settled in southern Lidiana. While 
there he was employed by the heirs in a dis- 
puted will case involving eighty thousand 
dollars in mining lands in the mountains of 
Tennessee. Mr. Flagg's fee was one-half 
if he won the suit for the heirs. He handled 
the case skillfully, met all the assaults of 
the enemy boldly, and won the suit and got 
liis fee. A son of Amasa Wesson is the 
Rev. Rufus Cushman Flagg, D. D., now 
president of Ripon College, Wisconsin. 

The second wife of J. W. Robinson was 
Sarepta, the daughter of Halsey Scovill, of 
the state of New York. They were mar- 
ried in 1856, and this union was blessed 
by two children — Edward Miner, who was 
born in Columbus, Wisconsin, in 1858, and 
married Clara Bowman. She was a daugh- 
ter of Adam Bowman, of Lodi, and had one 
son, Adam James. Horton Boardman, her 
other son, was born in Columbus, Wisconsin, 
in 1859. He married Miss Mina Thomas, 
the daughter of Enoch Thomas, of Poy- 
nette, Wisconsin. Horton died in 1888. 

Li 1856 Mr. Robinson, at the time of 



504 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



his second marriage, left his farm, and re- 
sided in Columlnis fur aliout live years as a 
buyer of wheat and other farm produce. 
\\ heat was then a staple commodity in Co- 
lumbia county. Mr. Robinson exchanged 
his Columlius pn.iiierty, consisting of two 
warehouses, a house and lot, for eighty acres 
of land adjoining his home farm. He came 
back to the farm, and turned his attention to 
stock raising, taking much interest in Per- 
cheron horses. It was largely through his 
efforts that the Presbyterian church in Low- 
ville was instituted. He was an elder in 
this organization for many years. He 
voted for Henry Clay for president and has 
..been an active working Republican since the 
organization of that party. He was town 
clerk for several years, assessor and school 
superintendent He has always been a de- 
moted friend of the public schools, doing 
•what he could to promote their efficiency. 
In 1 89 5, having passed the allotment of three 
score years and ten, he commenced selling 
his farm in parts as o])portunities occurred, 
and, after closing out the whole, bought a 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres in 
Lowville, which he now owns. 

Peter Robinson, the grandfather of J. 
W., was born in Andover, Massachusetts, 
in 1757. He married Jane Carlton in 1781. 
He emigrated with most of the Robinson 
family in 1790, and settled for a time at 
Georgia, Vermont, where Dean Tyler was 
born in 1794. 

Dean Tyler Robinson married Tryphena 
Whipple in 181 5, and died in 1862, at the 
age of sixty-nine. Peter Robinson was the 
father of nine children : Nancy, born in 
1781; William R., 1784; Pohy, 1786; 
Amelia, 1788; Joseph, 1790; Betsy, 1792; 
Dean Tyler, June 4, 1794; Peter, 1799; and 
James, who died in 1891. W^illiam was the 
father of one son, Charles, born in 1823, and 
several daughters. Joseph was the fa- 
ther of one son, Dean Tvler, born in St. 



Albans, Vermont, in 1828, who is now living 
in Rock Island, Illinois. Spencer R., a son 
of Dean Tyler, was born in Rock Island in 
1870. Peter Robinson had three sons and 
one daughter, and the onl}- one of the family 
riow living is the Rev. Charles E. Robinson, 
v.ho married Clara Vale. He is now the 
pastor of the Presbyterian church, at Scran- 
ton, Pennsylvania. They ha\'e one son, 
Allen R. James Robinson died in Parish- 
ville, New York, in 1891. He was the fa- 
ther of one son, Porter, and three daughters. 
Dean Tyler Robinson, the father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, had four children — Sarah 
A., born 1817; she married Edward H. Deni- 
si;>n. of Castleton, and was the mother of 
four children. Pier daughter Anna mar- 
ried the Rev. John A. Williams, twenty 
years pastor of the Presbyterian church at 
Peacham, Vermont. Of her sons, William 
is a merchant at Pittsford, Vermont; Francis 
was appointed consul in New Brunswick, 
and Edward was an assayer and died out 
v;est. Samuel M. Robinson was born Au- 
gust 31, 181 8, in Hubbardton, Vermont, 
ar.d moved to Castleton, when a child. He 
went to Cincinnati in 1840, and shortly 
after to Watertown, New York, where he 
practiced dentistry nearly forty years. In 
1846 he married Anna Foreman, of Seneca 
Falls, New York. A daughter of this couple 
was Anna F., who was born August 20, 
1849, at which time the wife and mother 
passed away. Mr. Robinson married Maria 
PI. Bingham May 16, 1851, and she became 
the mother of four children — Allen B., 
Angle, John Sterling and John Carlton. 
Allen died in 1877. Sterling married Miss 
May Flower in 1879. She was the daugh- 
ter of George W. Flower, and a niece of ex- 
Governor Roswell P. Flower, of New York. 
He died September 19, 1896, leaving a son, 
Anson F. Robinson, born September .23, 
1 88 1, in Watertown, New York. He is now 
in Columbia College, New York City, with 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



505 



his mother and other members of his fam- 
ily, who are in the banking business at No. 
49 Broadway. The biograpliy of James 
Whipple forms the theme of this writing. 
The youngest daughter of this family, Jane 
Carlton, who was born September i8, 1845, 
died December 3, 1855. 

Asa Robinson, the father of Peter Rob- 
inson, was born in Andover, Massachusetts, 
in 1725, and married Maria Hovey, who 
was born in 1723. Dean Robinson, the fa- 
ther of Asa, was born in Ando\-er in 1699, 
and married Sarah Perley in 1723. Dean 
Robinson was born in 1672 and married 
Miss Mary (her parents' names are not legi- 
ble in the record) in 1697. Joseph Robinson 
\vas born about 1640, and married Miss 
Phoebe Dean, the daughter of the Rev. Mr. 
Dean, the first pastor of the first church of 
Andover. Isaac, the father of Joesph Rob- 
inson, married Margaret Hanford, of Scitu- 
ate, Massachusetts. The Rev. John Roljin- 
son was born in 1575, entered Cambridge 
University, Eng'land, in 1590, and was made 
Fellow of the University in 1599. He 
was pastor of the Pilgrim church in Hol- 
land, and died in Leyden in 1625. His 
widow and son, Isaac, followed the Pilgrims 
to America and settled in Scituate. In clos- 
ing this article Mr. Robinson says: "If any 
family has a right to be grateful for an 
h.onored ancestry we have reason to be so, 
for we are descendants of so great and good 
a man as John Robinson, the minister of the 
Pilgrims." The historian adds that to the eye 
of the thoughtful student of history there 
is scarcely more significant scene than the 
affecting parting of Pastor Robinson with 
I'lis faithful followers on the sands of the 
Holland shore as they were about to sail 
for the new world, leaving him behind, and 
he took up the Bible and pressed against the 
heart of their leader, saying "Take this 
book, and treasure it, for new light is about 
to break out of its sacred pages." The light 



has burst, and the world is made anew, and 
its present peace and liberty is largely due 
to the piety and dex'otion of such men as 
Pastor Robinson. 



BENJAMIN SHELDON BEMENT. 

Benjamin Sheldon Bement, one of the 
most successful farmers of Del] Prairie 
township, Adams county, is one of the early 
settlers of that region. He was born in 
Mason township, Cass county, Michigan, 
August 8, 1839, and was the son of David 
and Roxana (Schutt) Bement. The father 
was a native of Connecticut, and was of 
English lineage. He moved with his father, 
Sheldon Bement, in 1820, while still a youth, 
to Manchester township, Ontario county. 
New York, where his father followed his 
trade, that of carpenter, and spent the re- 
mainder of his life in New York. Our sul)- 
ject's father was born October 12, 1813, and 
went to Cass county, Michigan, in 1838, 
where he resided on a farm until his death, 
December 8, 1879. He was a reserved man, 
careful in business detail, and was success- 
ful., and enjoyed the respect of all. The 
mother of our subject was born June 21, 
181 9, in Ontario county. New York, and 
was the daughter of Benjamin and Chris- 
tina (Bruzee) Schutt, who were of Holland 
Dutch descent. Her father was a thrifty 
farmer, and Ixjth narents tlied in Cass coun- 
ty, Michigan. Mrs. David Bement passed 
away in Cass county, Michigan, June 26, 
1889. 

The family to which our subject be- 
longed consisted of the following children : 
George, residing in Ontwa township, Cass 
county. Michigan ; Edwin, also a resident 
of Cass county; Harley died at the age of 
thirty-six vears : Martha, who married Lewis 
Thompson, and died in Michigan; and Ar- 



506 



COMPEA'DIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



tliur died in childhood. Benjamin S. Be- 
nient attended tiie district school and re- 
ceived a good edncation. He worked in a 
grist-mill for a few years after he reached 
Ins manhood, but later li\-ed on a farm in 
Cntwa township, Cass county, remaining 
there until 1872. He then came to Wiscon- 
sin, and purchased a farm in section 12, 
Dell Prairie township, Adams county. The 
"Campbell Railroad" had been surveyed 
across the county, and land values were at 
the highest mark. His original farm, c(.)m- 
prising two hundred acres, cost three thou- 
sand dollars, and he paid five hundred cash 
at the tune of purchase, and has since can- 
celletl the balance. Eighty acres were 
cleared, and he was successiiU in his busi- 
ness. He now possesses nine hundred and 
twenty acres, some of which has been ap- 
portioned among his sons. He has raised 
some fine crops ot cl.over seed, and also gives 
some attention to stock raisnig. He erect- 
ed a fine brick residence in 1S84, which is 
one of the best in Adams county, and the 
other buddmgs and improvements on the 
farm are of the best and Inult with an idea 
to comfort and convenience. 

Mr. Bement enlisted at the first call for 
volunteers in 1861, in Company A, Chandler 
Horse Guards, which was recruited at Cold- 
water, Michigan. He served three months 
and twelve days, when the company was dis- 
charged. He then enlisted for three years, 
but owing to some technicality in the en- 
listment rolls the regiment was mustered 
out. 

Our subject was married January 25, 
1862, to Eliza Kellogg, daughter of Daniel 
and Mary Ann (Neal) Kellogg, of Ontwa 
township, Cass county, Michigan. Mrs. Be- 
ment was born in Bloomfield, Ontario coun- 
ty. New York, and her father was a native 
of the same county, and was of English 
descent. Her mother was born in England 
' of Scotch parentage and died in Adams 



county, ^Visconsin, in 1880. aged seventy- 
three years. Three sons and one daughter 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bement,, 
as follows: Georgia, who married Andrew 
J. Tuesley, and wdao died March 31, 1888, 
aged twenty-five years; Sidney, farming in 
Dell Prairie township; Harley, also farming 
in Dell Prairie township; and Frank, who 
conducts the homestead farm. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bement have four grandchildren. Mrs. 
Bement was reared in the Baptist faith, 
and is a lady of refinement and kindly feel- 
ings. Our subject is a member of Delle 
I,odge, A. F. & A. M., at Kilbourn, and has 
been a member of the order for over thirty 
years. He adhered to the Greenback move- 
ment in early years, and of late has become 
afliliated with the Populist party. He is a 
gentleman who keeps posted on imp( .1 1 
issues, and is strong in his convictions. He 
has filled several township offices, and is one 
of the prominent men of his community, and 
highly esteemed for his good (qualities. 



REV. JOSEPH FRANKLIN BACON. 

Rev. Joseph Franklin Bacon, who is 
practically living a retired life in Kilbourn 
City, was l)orn in Seneca county, New York,, 
h'ebruary 7, 1824, a son of Noah B. and 
Charlotte (York) Bacon. His paternal 
grandfather was Elijah Bacon, who came to 
this country from England in cokjuial days, 
and aided the colonies in their struggle for 
independence as a soldier during the Revo- 
lutionary war. The father of our subject 
was born in Cayuga county. New York, De- 
cember 19, 1799, and is still living, his home 
being in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a man 
of considerable literary talent and on each 
birthday writes a poem. In 1842 he came 
to Wisconsin and first located in Muk- 
wonago, Waukesha county, but afterward 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



507 



lived in La Grange, this state, and still later 
in Adams county. His wife, who was a 
native of Canada, died in White Creek, 
Adams county, Wisconsin, in May, 1874, at 
the age of seventy-six years. Her parents 
^vere of Holland descent and died in Batavia, 
New York. 

In early life the subject of this sketch 
learned the blacksmith's trade in New York, 
and after coming to this state, at the age 
of nineteen years, lie followed that trade in 
Alukwonago for several years. Subsecjuent- 
ly he conducted a shop in La Grange and 
also did more or less wagon work. He next 
made his home in Oregon, Dane county, 
wdiere he erected a stone shop and carried 
on business until his removal to Easton, 
Adams county, where he worked at his trade 
and also engaged in farming. Later he 
lived two years at \\'hite Creek and ten 
3'eaTs at Briggsville, where he carried on a 
shop for a time, and from there removed 
to Portage, but since 1895 he has made his 
home in Kilbourn City. 

On the 27th of July, 1845, -^1''- Bacon 
married Miss Ann Algard, a nati\e of I'itts- 
burg, Penns}'lvania, and a daughter of Jo- 
seph and Eliza (Remer) Algard. Of the 
nine children born Xn them, one died in in- 
fanc}' and three died of diphtheria within 
eight days at Easton, Wisconsin — Laura D., 
at the age of eleven years ; Henrietta, at the 
age of six; and Jay, at the age of three. 
The others are as follows : William, a 
farmer of Easton township ; Frank, who 
was drowned at Briggsville in his twentieth 
year; Charlotte Eliza, wife of H. S. Worden, 
of Portage; Bertia F., a resident of Madi- 
son, Wisconsin ; and Carrie I\Iay, at home. 

]Mr. Bacon experienced religion at a re- 
\i\al meeting in Bath, Steuben county, Wis- 
consin, and was at once appointed class 
leader. He began preaching at that place 
at the age of sixteen years. He became a 
great Bible student, but was accused of 



skepticism and infidelity by the elders of the 
church on account of his peculiar views. 
He invited his neighbors and associates to 
come and hear him express his views on a 
certain date, and at the close of the service 
was congratulated by a L'ni\-ersalist min- 
ister, who ha]i])ened to Ije i)resent — the first 
person of that faith whom he had e\-er met. 
He preached occasionally thereafter. Init was 
not identified with any church. \\'hile livinsr 
at Easton, Wisconsin, he began to hold regu- 
lar services. He joined the Universalist 
conference and was ordained a minister at 
Plainville, Adams county. Subsequently 
he organized a society at Briggsville and 
built a church there. Though the first build- 
ing was destroyed by a cyclone, in two years 
he succeeded in rebuikling it, devoting four 
years of almost constant laJ)or to the build- 
ing of that church. For some years past he 
has not been acti\'ely engaged in the work 
of the ministry, though he is frequently 
called upon to officiate at funerals. He has 
always been a contributor t(j religious pub- 
lications and still does more or less literary 
work. Even while holding regular religious 
services, he labored daily at his trade, and 
is still noted for his industrious habits, as 
well as his honoral)le and upright life. 



JAMES L. BONHAM. 

James L. Bonham, a leading and promi- 
nent attorney of Baraboo, \Visconsin, is one 
of the native citizens of Sauk county, his 
birth ha\-ing occurretl in Troy township, 
August 28, 1862. His parents were George 
and Ruhamah E. (Jacoby) Bonham. The 
father was born in Buckinghamshire. Eng- 
land, October 15. 1821, and in his native 
land learned the trade of a baker and also 
worked as a common laborer. While a 
young man he became interested in religious 



508 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



matters and was made a licensed preacher 
in the Methodist church. As earlv as 1835 
he came to the United States and first lo- 
cated near jMansfield, Ohio. A few years 
later he became one of the pioneers of Sauk 
county. Wisconsin, locating- on a farm in 
Troy township. He took an active part in 
organizing the Methodist church in this sec- 
tion and often officiated at funerals and on 
other occasions when no regular minister 
was at hand, his services always being gratu- 
itously given. He also took an active inter- 
est in organizing and maintaining good 
schools, though he himself never attended 
school but eighteen days. He was, iK^wever, 
a natural orator and a tireless student who 
kept himself well informed on the leading 
topics and questions of the day. He died 
September 4, 1892, honored and respected 
by all who knew him. His widow is still 
living in Spring Green, at the age of sixty- 
three years. She was born in Stark county, 
Ohio, of Pennsylvania Dutch parentage, and 
was married May 5, 1853. To Air. and 
Mrs. Bonham the following children were 
born; Susan E., who married Benjamin 
Young and is now deceased; HoU.is G., who 
died near Nelson, North akota; Phoebe A., 
wife of Amos D. Henry, of Kempton, North 
Dakota; Lucy L., wife of W. H. Palmer, 
of Marshall, Minnesota; Tames L., our sub- 
ject; John E., a farmer of Troy township, 
Sauk county; and William B., who operates 
the homestead farm. 

After leaving the common schools James 
L. Bonham entered Lawrence Unix'ersitv, 
Appleton, \\ isconsin, where he pursued a 
scientific course and was graduated with the 
class of 1889. He then matriculated in the 
law school of the State University at Madi- 
son, and was graduated from that institu- 
tion in 1 89 1. He at once opened an office 
in Baraboo and has since successfully en- 
gaged in the practice of his chosen profes- 
sion, making a s])ecialty of probate law. 



Soon after coming here he was appointed 
police justice of the city, which office he 
most creditably filled until the fall of 1897, 
\' hen he was appointed justice of the peace, 
for the first ward. 

On the 15th of January, 1895. ^I''- Bon- 
ham was united in marriage with Miss M. 
Grace Stanley, a native of Baraboo and a 
daughter of William Stanley, a leading 
citizen (jf that place, and they now have a 
little daughter, Mabel L. They attend the 
Methodist church, where Mr. Bonham has 
sung in the choir for mam' years. He is 
also second tenor in the Columbian Male 
Quartet, an organization of considerable 
local repute, which is engaged for many pub- 
lic occasions throughout the state. He is a 
prominent member of Baraboo Lodge, No. 
47, K. P.. in which he has passed through 
all the principal chairs and has recently been 
elected chancellor commander. He is also 
captain of the Uniform Rank of Ivnights 
of Pythias, and a member of Baralioo Lodge, 
No. 34, A. F. & A. M. Since attaining his 
majority he has affiliated with the Republi- 
can partv and has stumped the county in 
three different campaigns, speaking in nearly 
every voting precinct. Genial and affable 
in manner, he makes many friends and has 
the happy faculty of being able to retain 
them. 



JAMES AUGUSTIN SWEANY. 

James Augustin Sweany, an influential 
farmer of Fort ^Vinnebago township, Co- 
lumbia county, Wisconsin, represents one 
of the oldest and most progressive families 
of that locality. He was born in Lunv, 
county Londonderry, L^elaiul, August i, 
1840, and is a son of John and Mary ( Mc- 
Willjams) Sweany, natives of the same 
county. His ])aternal grandparents, Law- 
rence and Mrs. (Ivelle_\') Sweany, livetl and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



509 



(liecl in Iroland, hut tlic maternal grandfa- 
ther. i\ndre\v McW'iUiams, came to Amer- 
ica about 1S30 and located in the vicinity of 
Lake Champlain, his death occurring at 
Burlington. X'ermont. Several of his sons 
became prominent citizens of that locality. 
and there representatives of the family still 
li\e. 

In his natix'e land John Sweany. the fa- 
ther of our suljject, followed the occupation 
of a farmer and linen wea\-er until 1842, 
when he came to the new world, being eight 
weeks in crossing the Atlantic from Belfast 
tc Quebec. Canada. He first located in 
Burlington. Vermont; later he spent two or 
tl'.ree years in Plattsburg. New York, and 
two in St. John's. Canada, where he and 
his elder sons were employed in a glass fac- 
tory. Subsequentlv they engaged in the 
same business near Hookset. New Haiujj- 
shire. In 1849 the father came to Wiscon- 
sin by way of the lakes to Milwaukee, where 
be arrived June 15, and first located in Sun 
Prairie, Dane county, but two months later 
came to Fort \\'innebago, which had re- 
cently been vacated by the garrison. He 
made a squatter's claim on lands which had 
been granted to the state by the United 
States for improvements on the Fox river, 
and a number of years later bought the 
same. The odd numbered sections were in- 
cluded in this grant. Mr. Sweany built a 
log house on section 26, which was the 
home of the family for eleven years, and to 
his original purchase he added from time 
to time until, he and his sons had about one 
thousand acres before his death, most of 
vdiich is still owned by the family. He 
cnntinued to acti\elv engage in farming 
until a short time before his death, which 
occurred December t,, 1874. He was one 
of the organizers of St. Mary's Catholic 
church, at Portage, of which he was al- 
ways a prominent member, and to w'hich he 
was a liberal contributor. On becoming an 



American citizen he ga\'e his allegiance to 
the Democratic party and remained (jne of 
its stanch supporters. Idis worthy wife 
sur\-ived him many years, dving January 29, 
1896, at the advanced age of ninety years, 
retaining her physical and mental faculties 
until the last. Thev were people of more 
than average intelligence, and took great 
pains in cultivating the mental and moral 
((ualities of their offspring, most of whom 
attended high schools or colleges and be- 
came capable men and women, several (occu- 
pying important public positions. The fol- 
lowing is a, brief record of the children : 
Lawrence is ex-municipal judge of Pales- 
tine. Texas : Anilrew is mentioned below ; 
John was engaged in the manufacture of 
glass at Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, where he 
chetl in 1892, aged fiftv-nine vears : Charles, 
a resident of Fort Winnebago township, Co- 
lumbia county, Wisconsin, died in 1895. 
ageil fifty-nine; Isabella C, James A. and 
Michael A. occupy the old iiomestead ; 
Bernard J. died in 1865. aged twent}' }-ears : 
Mary J. is Sister Mary Philip, of the Do- 
minican Order at Sinsinawa Mound, Wis- 
consin. 

From earlv liinhood James A. Sweanv 
lias residetl on the home farm in Fort Win- 
Ticbago township. He attended Regiopolis 
College. Kingston, Ontario, and alsi") took 
an elective course at the Wisconsin Cni\er- 
sity with the view of fitting himself for the 
legal profession, but owing to illness and 
death in the family he did not complete his 
studies at that institution, where he was a 
classmate of John C. Spooner. now United 
States senator from Wisconsin. Since 1872 
he and his brother, Michael, lia\e carried 
on the homestead, consisting of over six 
hundred acres under a high state of cultiva- 
tion and well improved. Thev .give con- 
siderable attention to the raising of high 
grade stock, and in connection with his agri- 
cultural pursuits our subject has at different 



510 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



times been interested in other enterprises, 
having taught school for several years in 
the surrounding country. He always keeps 
abreast of the times, being well informed 
on the leading questions and issues of the 
day. and is a stanch supporter of the Demo- 
cratic party. For several terms he was 
chairman of the town of Fort \\'innebago, 
and was a member of the building commit- 
tee which had charge of the erection of 
the county insane asylum at Wyocena in 
1 891. He was the candidate of his party for 
county clerk in 1874, and clerk of the court 
in 1878, and received a very flattering vote, 
but as the Democrats were in the minority 
he failed of election. He is, howe\'er, one 
of the most influential antl prominent men 
of his community. 

Andrew Sweany, a lirother of James A., 
was born in the town of Luny, county Lon- 
donderry, Ireland, October 29, 1829, and 
died in Fort Winnebago township, Colum- 
bia county, Wisconsin, March 20, 1873. 
He came with the family to America, and be- 
fore their remo\al to Wisconsin, he engaged 
in school teaching in the east at the age of 
fifteen }-ears. The following year he com- 
menced stud}' f(.ir the priesthootl, but ow- 
ing to ill health never entered the church. 
Some time previous to his death he was a 
student at St. Francis Seminary, Milwau- 
kee. He was elected town supervisor of 
Fort Winnebago in 1852; town clerk in 
1855; and was chairman of the committee 
on the poor in 1S57 and 1858. being one of 
the chief jiromotors of the system still in 
vogue in caring for the poor of the county. 
From an obituary written by a personal 
friend and acquaintance of this gentleman, 
we quote the following: 

"He was of remarkable depth of mind, 
gifted with a clear, well-poised intellect and 
good natural endowments, his apprehension 
quick and judgment accurate. No one could 
more nicelv or justlv discriminate the de- 



fects or excellencies of a performance or e.K- 
hibition of talent or genius, but his good 
sense and self-diffidence generally sup- 
pressed the declaration of his sentiments. 
He \alued and ap]:)reciated erudition in all 
its branches and for all its legitimate pur- 
poses, and strove patiently and laboriously 
to acquire an extensive knowledge of sound 
literature. He was a rapid, correct and in- 
structive writer. He could speak, too, and 
when he did so it told with effect — it was 
always to the point. He was a firm, con- 
sistent and conscientious Catholic, but his 
homage was a reasonable one. He was not 
fanatic or visionary. His veneration for 
religion and its ministers was not servile 
or forced, not springing from ignorance or 
superstition, but voluntary and enlightened. 
For those who differed from him in his re- 
ligious convictions he retained neither hatred 
nor prejudice. His nature was to show re- 
spect and proper appreciation for the honest 
opinion and convictions of his fellow crea- 
tures, Ijut he did not display aggressiveness 
e\-en when con\'inced of the justness of his 
cause ; hence the respect in which his opin- 
ions were e\-er held by those who did not 
agree or coincide with them." 



REV. ROBERT B. CONDON. 

Re\-. Robert B. Condon, of Reedsburg, 
Sauk countv. is a native of Chicago, Illinois. 
His father was Thomas D. Condon and his 
mother, still living, Katherine M.(Carberry) 
Condon. 

Father Condon completed his classical 
and philosophical courses at Camsius Col- 
lege, Buffalo, New York, in 1 891, graduating 
with the highest honors, first in his class. 
I'pon his graduation he received the degree 
of A. B., the next year the degree of A. M. 
He pursued his theological studies at St. 




REY, ROBERT B. COHDOS. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



513 



Thomas' Seminary, St. Paul, ami at St. 
John's Seminary, Collegeville, Minnesota. 
After his ordination Father Condon was as- 
sistant pastor of St. Gabriel's church, Prairie 
du Chien. He was then appointed pastor of 
St. Phillip's church, Crawford county, and 
is now pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic 
church, Reedshurg, with W'infield and I^el- 
lona as missions. 

Father Conxion is identified with many 
public movements. He was president of the 
committee for organizing the public library 
of Reedsburg. He was one of the first con- 
tributors to the nubile library fund, and de- 
livered a lecture for the benefit of the library. 
As an evidence of his widespread and gen- 
eral p(jpularitv he was prominently men- 
tioned as a candidate for congress on the 
Democratic ticket from his district, the third 
Wisconsin, but positi\ely declined to enter 
the political arena. 

An extract from a ^Memorial Day ad- 
dress of Father CondiMi is the leading ar- 
ticle in the Memorial Day pamphlet issued 
by the state department of public instruc- 
tion for 1900. 

As an orator, it is uni\ersany conceded. 
Father Contlon has no superior, and as a 
citizen and a man is held in the highest es- 
teem. Ever reatly for the ad\-ancement and 
welfare of his fellow man, he is a model 
worker, sjiaring no time or labor to enhance 
the advantage and enlarge the interests of 
the city, county and state of his residence. 
A portrait of this noble Christian gentleman, 
who has won the warmest regard of all who 
know him, is shown elsewhere in this 
volume. 



JOHN PARDEE, Dece.\sed. 

John Pardee, deceased, was, during his 
residence in Colum])ia county, one of the 
prominent pioneer settlers of Pardeeville, 



which place was founded by his son, John 
S. Pardee. He was born in Norfolk, Litch- 
field county, Connecticut, February 15, 1796, 
and was a son of Ebenezer and Anna 
(Miner) Pardee. His ancestors came from 
France and were among the first Huguenots 
to come to America. Fler father was a shoe- 
maker in early life and spent the greater 
part of his declining years on a farm in New 
York state. 

The grandfather of our subject, Eben- 
ezer Pardee ( i ) was married to Anna Rich- 
ards. He enlisted in Captain Rogers' Com- 
pany of Continental Troops at Cornwall, 
Connecticut, and participated in numerous 
engagements, inckuHng the battle of White 
Plains, where he was severely wounded and 
died there a few davs later. 

\Mien our subject was but sixteen years 
of age the father's death forced the care 
of the fami]\- u].)on him. He served during 
the war (jf 1812 as a lieutenant, and in 1824 
went to Wadsworth, Ohio, where he fol- 
lowed mercantile pursuits successfully until 
1849, ^vl^en he removed to Pardeeville. Wis- 
consin, where he continued to reside until 
his death. 

Our subject chose Eunice Chamlierlain, 
daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Harris) 
Chamberlain, as his life com])anion. Mrs. 
Pardee was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, 
in 1800, and died July 2. 1869. Eight chil- 
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pardee, 
as follows: John S., founder of Pardeeville, 
died at Juan del .Sur, Nicaragua, while 
ser\-ing as United States consul : Caroline, 
who Ijecame the wife of William N. Pardee, 
and died at Battle Creek, Michigan ; Emily, 
who married A. M. Hanchett and died at 
Marshall, Wisconsin: Miner\-a, widow of 
Joseph Ltley, of Hagerstown, Maryland ; 
Charles J., for some years a prominent citi- 
zen of Pardeeville, died at Fox Lake, Wis- 
consin; Kirby died in childhood: Virginia 
Maria, now Mrs. Y. Ashley, of Pardeeville, 



514 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Wisconsin ; and Jane, now Mrs. George 
Vilas, of Whitewater, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Pardee died in Pardeevilie, Wiscon- 
sin, June 26, 1873. He was one of tlie most 
prominent members of tlie Masonic frater- 
nity, and was also ]Trominent in the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fell(>ws and large 
numbers from both orders participated in 
the funeral services. He was liberal in his 
political and religious views, and was firm 
in his convictions. 



HON. YATES ASHLEY, Deceased. 

Among the prominent and influential pio- 
neers of Pardeevill.e a foremost rank was ac- 
corded this gentleman during his residence 
there. He labored zealously for the ad- 
vancement of his community and was 
deeply mourned at his death. Mr. Ashley 
was born in West Bloomfield, New York, 
September 10, 1824, and was a son of Dan- 
■ iel and Hattie (Cooper) Ashley. 

Our subject's father was a descendant 
of Robert Ashley, of Springfield, Massa- 
chusetts, who was a prominent pioneer of 
that place. When our subject was about 
three years of age he removed with his par- 
ents to Nunda, New York, wliere he at- 
tended the district school and Nunda Liter- 
ary Institution, where he studied surveying 
and civil engineering. He later clerked in 
a store there, and in 1844 he went to Madi- 
son, Indiana, and later visited New Orleans 
and other southern cities. His former em- 
ployer at Nunda solicited him to join him at 
Milwaukee and accept a position in his 
store there, and he reached that city in Jan- 
uary, 1845. He then made a trip to Fox 
Lake, Wisconsin, where he and his father 
er;tered claim to six hundred acres of gov- 
ernment land, and our subject continued his 
clerkship in Milwaukee until the spring of 



1849, when he joined John S. Pardee at 
Pardeevilie, and assumed charge of his store 
tliere and grist-mill, then in course of erec- 
t'on. He was soon afterward appointed the 
first postmaster of Pardeevilie, and later 
spent one year at Whitewater and about a 
year in the engineer ciirps of the Alilwau- 
kee & LaCrosse Railroad CompauA-. In 
April, 1855, he acquired an interest in the 
water power at Pardeevilie and proceeded 
to complete the mill, which began operation 
in November, 1856, and he retained an in- 
terest in the property until his death. Mr. 
Ashley was appointed mail clerk on the C. 
M. & St. P. R. R. March 3, iSGy, and con- 
tinued as head clerk until 1885, when he was 
discharged for political reasons, being the 
first postal clerk in Wisconsin to be removed 
for political reasons under the Cleveland ad- 
ministration. 

Our subject was married October 4, 
1855, to Virginia Maria Pardee, a daugh- 
ter of John and Eunice (Chamberlain) 
Pardee, of Wadsworth, Ohio. Five chil- 
dren were born to this union, who were as 
follows : John Stanley, residing in Cleve- 
land, Ohio; Carrie Frances died in Octolier, 
1863, aged three years; Ernest Partridge, 
of Pardeevilie, a sketch of whom appears 
elsewhere in this work; Louis Pardee, of 
Pardeevilie ; and Jessie Helen, now Mrs. H. 
E. Spear, of Pardeevilie. John Ashley was 
born in Pardeevilie, Wisconsin, September 
12, 1856, and was educated at the i)ublic 
schools and at a pri\-ate school in Ocono- 
mowoc. Pie learned telegraphy in Pardee- 
vilie and followed the same at different sta- 
tions luitil 1890, since which time he has 
been local managing agent of the M. .\. 
Flanna Company, an extensive coal company 
of Cleveland, Ohio. Louis Pardee i\shley 
was born June 15, 1868, and was educated 
in the public schools. He spent several 
years in a store at Pardeevilie, and one year 
in the employ of the C. M. & St. P. R. R. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



515 



Company, and later conducted a mercantile 
establishment at Dorchester, ^^'isc^)nsin, 
where he continued about five years. Since 
1895 he has de\'oted his attention to car- 
penter work and the study of architecture. 
Hon. Yates Ashley died at Pardeeville, 
June 2;^, 1897. He was a prominent mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity, and was a 
charter member of the Wisconsin Consistory 
of Milwaukee, and a charter member of 
J'ardee Ludge at Pardeeville. He was elect- 
ed a member of the Wisconsin Legislature 
in 1862 and re-elected the f(jllowing year. 
In 1865 he was appointed by Go\'ernor Lew- 
is as a trustee of the Wisconsin Hospital for 
Insane and served until that board was aliol- 
ished. Politically he was a Republican. 



ERNEST PARTRIDGE ASHLEY. 

Ernest Partridge Ashley, a well-known 
citizen of Pardeeville, commands the high- 
est esteem and respect of his associates, and 
was an active candidate for sheriff of Co- 
lumbia county, before the con\'ention in 
1900. He is public-spirited and progressive 
and is a thorough business man and exem- 
plary citizen. He is a native of Pardeeville, 
and was born February 15, 1862. 

A biography of the father of our sub- 
ject, Hon. Yates Ashley, appears elsewhere 
in this work. Ernest P. Ashley attended the 
pulilic schocil and wnrked in his father's mill 
a number of years. He entered the employ 
of the C. M. & St. P. R. R. Company in 
1885, and became a conductor on the North- 
ern division, and was in their employ about 
ten years. Since 1895 li^ ^''^'^ charge of 
the mill at Pardeeville until the spring of 
1900, when the property was sold. He then 
became a candidate for sheriff of Columbia 
county. 

Our subject was married October 28, 



1896, to Effie Amelia Hood, a daughter of 
Isaac L. antl Amelia (Ellis) Hood, of 
Beaver Dam, \Visconsin. Mrs. Ashley was 
born in Beh'idere, Illinois. Her father was 
a nati\-e of X'ew York and came to Wiscon- 
sin and settled at Ashippun about 1861. He 
enlisted in the Forty-seventh Regiment. 
Company D, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
and died in the hospital at Nashville, Ten- 
nessee, July 23, 1865. Mrs. Ashley's mother 
re-married and became Mrs. Lorenzo D. Liv- 
ermore, and now resides at Beaver Dam, 
W'isconsin.- Two children ha\-e been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Ashley, both of whom dietl in 
infancy. Mr. Ashley is a member of the 
O. R. C. and Ft. Winnebago Lodge and Ft. 
Winnebago Chapter, A. F. & A. .\l. He 
is a man of prominence in his communitv 
md represented the village on the countv 
board of supervisors five years, and is now 
a member of the village board of trustees, 
these facts attesting the confidence reposed 
ir him by his fellow citizens. 



CHARLES H. HOUGHTON. 

Nature and her phenomena make every 
man a student, but it is only^hose who fol- 
low agriculture as a pursuit who are closely 
linked with her many forms. They have 
the opportunity to observe her every change, 
and take ad\-antage of the more propitious 
ones. In the ]:)ursuit of this calling the 
gentleman above named has met with suc- 
cess, and onl_v through keen observance and 
earnest efforts. He has been a resident of 
Adams township, Adams county, for thirty 
years and in that time has witnessed the 
growth and development of that region and 
assisted it to its present high plane. He 
had naught with which to begin, aside from 
a courageous heart and willing mind, and 
a good ph\'siiiue. and is now one of the sub- 
stantial men of his community. 



516 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



Mr. Houghton was born at Lyndon, 
Caledonia county, Vermont, January 26, 
1833, and was the son of Horace and Ade- 
line (Balch) Houghton, natives of Ver- 
mont. His father was a carpenter by trade, 
and went to Kenosha county, Wisconsin, in 
1839, where he remained until his death in 
1849. T'le mother died in 1884 and is 
buried in Kenosha. 

Our subject came to Wisconsin with Iiis 
parents when six years of age, going with 
teams from Vermont to St. Joe, Michigan, 
thence by boat to Chicago. He attended 
the public schools and received a good edu- 
tion. At the age of twenty he learned 
the trade of iron molder at Kenosha and 
\\orked there until 1861. In that vear he 
enlisted in Company A, McClellan Dra- 
goons, and served as body guard for Gen- 
eral McClellan. He later enlisted in the 
Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, and became a 
member of Company H. He saw service 
at Gettysburg, and was under Burnside, 
Hooker and Meade. He was discharged in 
1866, his being the last Illinois regiment 
mustered out of service. For about three 
years after he left the service he worked at 
his trade in Kenosha, and in 1869 came to 
Adams township, Adams county, and pur- 
chased two hundred acres of kuul. It was 
almost all wikl land, and the only dwelling 
was a log cabin. He now has seventy acres 
under cultivation, and has erected a com- 
fortable house and good barns, and engages 
in general farming. For a number of years 
after he took up his residence in Adams 
county, be went to the city to work at his 
trade during the winter months. For three 
j-ears be worked for the Esterly Harvester 
'Works, at \\'hitewater, Wisconsin, which 
furnished him lucrative emi)loyment for the 
winter and early spring and permitted him 
to work the farm during the farming season. 

Mr. Houghton was married in 1866 to 
Elizabeth Park, daughter of Elisha Park, of 



Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mrs. Houghton died 
November 20, 1894, and rests at Friendship, 
Wisconsin. Two children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Houghton, as follows: Jennie 
A., now Mrs. Frank Pease, of Chicago; 
and Horace H., residing at home. The son 
was married September 30, 1894, to Lena 
Iveson, daughter of Henry and C}'nt]iia I\-e- 
son, of Adams township. 

Mr. Houghton is a meiuber of Badger 
Post, No. 122, G. A. R., at Friendship. He 
is a Republican in political sentiment, but 
does not take an active part in politics. He 
is interested in the welfare of his township 
and county, and is one of the loyal men of 
Wisconsin, and enjoys the respect of his en- 
tire communitv. 



GEORGE TITUS SIMONS. 

George Titus Simons is one of the best 
known citizens of Lodi, Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, and a man of much character and 
influence. He was born at Amsterdam, 
Montgomery county. New York, April 7, 
1829, and is a son of Titus and Elizabeth 
(Sharp) Simons. The father was born in 
Montgomery county, and died about 1833 
at the age of fifty-five. During the war of 
1812 he kept a boarding house in Quebec. 
Mrs. Elizabeth Simons was born near Que- 
bec, and died at Amsterdam when about 
sixty-five years old. Her parents were of 
Holland lineage. She was the mother of 
eight sons antl one daughter. One son died 
in infancy. William C. died in Lodi. John 
D. died near Mineral Point, ^\'isconsin, and 
Joseph, who went to California in 1849, •'''-''1 
in that state. Ann is the widow of A. W. 
Kline, and li\-es at Amsterdaiu. Roswell 
D. died in Lodi. James and George T. are 
still living. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



517 



George Titus Simons attendetl scliool in 
his native place and in 1846 left home for 
Wisconsin. He made the journey around 
the lakes, landed in Milwaukee, and walked 
a good part of the way to Lodi.' Here he 
hired out as a farm hand for se\'en di.illars 
a month. Two years later the young man 
thought he would secure a home, ami, as the 
saying is, "took u])" a nice tract of land, 
comprising one hundred and twenty aci'es 
a mile or so from Lodi, and when he had 
perfected his title went back to the east, and 
worked for several years in a piano factory 
at Albany, and became skilled in fine cabinet 
work. In the fall of 1851 Mr. Simons 
came back to Lodi, and in onler to recruit 
his health spent the following winter on an 
island in the Wisconsin river below Merri- 
mac, engaged in cutting wood which he sold 
to steamboats the next summer. There were 
three steamers then making regular trips in 
the Wisconsin river traffic, all doing well, 
running between Prairie du Chien and Port- 
age. He also kept a small store opposite 
the present village of Merrimac. In 1852 
Mr. Simons began the manufacture of fine 
cabinet goods at Lodi. He found a ready 
market at home for e\'erything he could pro- 
duce. For some years he and his partner 
were the only mechanics in the town. In 
1856 he opened a hotel, the Simons House, 
and conducted it himself for about a year. 
It was headcjuarters for the stage line be- 
tween Madison and Baraboo. Mr. Simons 
was engaged in farming for a time, and in 
1865 resumed the hotel business and was in 
it for about four years. In 1871 he went on 
the road with a patent broom which took 
him over Wisconsin and part of Michigan. 
In the meantime he had a livery stable which 
he ran from i860 to 1894. This business 
was his main occupation and he found it the 
most satisfactory and profitable of all his 
enterprises. In 1878 Mr. Simons re-fur- 
nished and enlarged his hotel and opened it 



once more for the pulilic i)atronage, and was 
its acti\-e landlortl until 189 J, since which 
time he has lived in practical retirement. 
This establishment, known as the Briggs 
House, is still, the leading hotel of the town. 

In 1855 Mr. Simons was appointed dep- 
uty sheriff at Lodi, and continued to fill the 
duties of that position for twelve years. He 
conducted a paint shop for a long time, and 
was a capable and efficient house and sign 
painter. He has erected at different times 
a number of buildings in Lodi, and still owns 
several of them. Mr. Simons has in Ifis own 
home several pieces of very fine and artistic 
furniture, which were made by him through- 
out. He is a horseman of zeal and knowledge, 
and has owned some of the l:)est Ijred horses 
in the state. He invus at the present time 
"Ben Bolt," a fine bred stallion, contljining 
some of the best strains of driving horses 
in the workl, and capable of showing as- 
tonishing bursts of speed. 

Mr. Simons was married to Miss Me- 
lissa Burroughs, May 3, 1853. Her father, 
William Burroughs, was a captain in the 
United States army during the war of 1812, 
and spent the last few years of his life in 
Columbia county. He died in Lodi. Mrs. 
Simons died in Lodi, Januarj^ i, 1892, 
at the age of fifty-seven years. She was 
a member of the Presbyterian church and 
left three chiklren : Harley N. is a banker 
of Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, and was 
formerly a banker at Evansville and Albany, 
Wisconsin. Jessie is the widow of M. Hay- 
den, and lives in Lodi. Etta married Burt 
Clements and lives in Alljert Lea, Minnesota. 
There are eight grandchildren in the family. 

Though he makes no religious profes- 
sions, Mr. Simons has contributed very lib- 
erally to the general growth and develop- 
ment of all the churches and many other 
public enterprises in Lodi. He has been a 
Republican since the formation of the party, 
though he has never sought an office. 



518 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



. ALEXANDER RODGERS. 

Alexander Rodj^ers, one of Adams 
county's most successful a^xiculturists, 
whose pleasant home is situated in Jackson 
township, is a native of Marquette county, 
Wisconsin, born in the township of Mound- 
ville, March 19, 1852. His parents, John 
and Margaret (Giller) Rodgers, were na- 
tives of Scotland. The father, a typical 
Scotchman, \\as born in Markinch parish, 
F'ifeshire, Scotland, April 15, 1819. He 
came to America in 184Q, settling at Fox 
Lake, antl later in Marcjuette county, where 
he died January ^i, 1891, at the age of sev- 
enty-two years. He was a very successful 
farmer, and a member of the Scotch Pres- 
b\'terian church. Our subject's mother died 
about three years before the death of her 
husband. 

Alexander Rodgers was reared to man- 
hood in Marquette county. In 1879 he pur- 
chased his present homestead farm, in 
Adams county, and he is now the owner of 
two hundred acres of the best land in the 
county, well improved and enhanced in value 
by the addition of many modern conven- 
iences of rural life, including a large and 
commodious residence, erected in 1885. He 
gives considerable attention to live stock, 
and has made farming a success. 

Mr. Rodgers was married December 13, 
1877, to Eliza M. Round, daughter of Rev. 
Almon L. and Henrietta (Clark) Round. 
Mrs. Rodgers was born at Fort Winnebago, 
Wisconsin, March 4, 1853. She taught 
school several years in Columbia and Mar- 
quette counties. Her father was a native 
of Taunton, Massachusetts, and was a Bap- 
tist minister. He preached some years in 
Marcellon and elsewhere in Columbia coun- 
t)', Wisconsin. He came to W^isconsin in 
1850, and died in Marquette countv March 
20, 1880, aged fifty-nine years. His wife 
Avas Ijiirn in Willett, Cortland county, N. 



Y., and is still living at the aee of sixty- 
se\'en years. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers are the 
parents of fi\-e children, named in the order 
of their birth as follows: Carrie, now Mrs. 
Fred Gorsline, of Buffalo township, Mar- 
quette county; John; Ray; Almon, and 
Margaret. IMr. and ]\L-s. Rodeers and 
their datighter Carrie are members of the 
Presbyterian church at Oxford, where the 
family worships. Their home is one of re- 
finement and culture. ]Mr. Rodgers has 
turned his success in his calling to the pro- 
viding" of those means of education and re- 
finement so rarely found in country homes, 
and it is difficult to estimate the great influ- 
ence for enlightenment and good exerted by 
such homes in advancing the better interests 
of the communities where they are found. 
I\Ir. Rodgers is a member of the Oxford 
Camp, M. W. A. He has been a life-long 
Republican, but has never sought political 
preferijient. He is held in high respect and 
esteem bj- the entire community in which he 
resides. 



STEPHEi\ HOFSTATTER, Deceased. 

Stephen Hofstatter, deceased, was a 
thrifty and prosperous citizen of Baraboo, 
Wisconsin, who took an active part in pro- 
moting its substantial improvement and ma- 
terial development. An adopted son of 
America, his loyalty was above question and 
his labors in the interests of the city and 
county were most effective and beneficial. 

Mr. Hofstatter was born in Munich, Ba- 
varia, March 17, 1819, and died in Baraboo, 
May 21, 1890. His parents were Robert 
and Agnes Marguerite (Schutte) Hofstat- 
ter. The father, who was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, spent his entire life near jNIunich. 
Five of his sons were snkliers of the Bavar- 
ian army, including our subject, who was 
in the service for a number of years. 1\\ his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



519 



r.ative land he learned the carjjenter's trade, 
antl remained there until 1856, when he emi- 
grated to the New World and located on a 
farm on Sauk prairie, Sauk county, Wiscon- 
son, to the cultivation and improvement of 
which he devoted his energies for twelve 
years. That place is in the possession of his 
heirs. In connection with the operation of 
liis land he also worked at the carpenter's 
trade, erecting a numher of buildings for the 
earlv settlers in his neighborhood. 

^Ir. Hofstatter manifested his patriot- 
ism and love for his adopted country by his 
service in the Civil war, enlisting February 
24, 1863, in Company A, Thirty-sixth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry. Under com- 
mand of General Hancock he took part in 
several important engagements, including 
the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 
Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, and 
the battles of Deep Bottom, Reams Station 
and Hatchie's Run. At Reams Station, 
while going after water, he was captured 
August 25, 1864, and confined in Libby 
prison until February 20, 1865, when he was 
exchanged and came home on a furlough to 
try to recuperate, his health being ruined by 
the abuse he suffered there. He was finally 
discharged May 11, 1865, as hostilities had 
ceased and his services were jno longer 
needed. 

Finding himself unfitted for farm labor, 
Mr. Hofstatter removed to Baraboo in 1868, 
aiid for a time was engaged in business there, 
but spent most of the remainder of his life 
in retirement from active business. He 
erected a two-story brick store building, 
v.hich is still one of the principal business 
blocks of the town, and in other ways was 
prominently identified with public affairs. 

On the 14th of February, 1854, Mr. 
Hofstatter married Miss Carolina Freder- 
icka Schwerdtfegger, who is still a resident 
of Baraboo. She was born at Geratstac- 
ten, near Stuttgart, Wurtemburg, Ger- 



many, a daughter of Gottlieb and Kath- 
erina ;\Iarguerite (Leder) Schwerdtfegger. 
Her father was a dealer in glassware. To 
our subject and his wife were born four 
children, namely: John Robert, a well- 
known merchant, of Baraboo; Katherina 
Marguerite, wife of George McCaskey, 
of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Matilda Lou- 
ise, wife of James A. McCaskey, of St. Paul, 
Minnesota; and William Tobias, a journal- 
ist, who has s])ent some time as a reporter 
for newspapers in New York and other 
cities. 

Mr. Hofstatter was reared in the Rom- 
an Catholic faith, but ne\-er united with any 
church in Baraboo. He was a member of 
Joseph Hooker Post, No. 9, G. A. R., of 
Baraboo, and was a stanch supporter of the 
Republican party but never an office seeker, 
preferring the peace and contentment of pri- 
vate life except when he felt that the 
preservation of the nation demanded his 
services. He was always found true to every 
trust reposed in him and commanded the re- 
spect and confidence of all with wdiom he 
came in contact either in public or private 
life. 



PETER NELSON PETERSON. 

Peter Nelson Peterson, a prosperous ag- 
riculturist and dairyman, residing in Jack- 
son township, Adams county, is one of the 
foremost men of his calling, and has been a 
resident of that region for many years. He 
is among that class of farmers who progress 
in their work and modern methods are used 
in carrying on his estate. He has made a 
success, and is respected throughout his 
community, as a gentleman of integrity and 
honest dealings. 

Mr. Peterson was born near Copenhag- 
en, Sj;eland Island, Denmark, January 3, 



520 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



1846, and was the son of Nels and Margaret 
(Albright) Peterson, nati\es of the same 
locahty. Her father was a farmer in his 
native land, and was employed for some 
time at road building. He came to America 
with his family in 1867, and after sev-entcen 
days on board the steamer landed at New 
York. He settled in Adams county, Wis- 
consin, in 1868, and now resides at O.xford, 
Wisconsin, aged eighty-three years. The 
mother of our subject is seventy-six years of 
age, and both she and her husband are still 
active and industrious and have gained a 
comfortable competence by their labors. 

Our subject remained with his parents 
until 1881 when he located on his present 
farm, which adjoins the homesteatl farm. 
He is the possessor of (jue hundred and 
thirty acres of well improved land', and his 
farm is supplied with a complete set of farm 
buildings, part of which he has erected since 
taking up his residence thereon. He gives 
his attention chiefly to dairying, and h'is 
herd of cows consists principall}^ of high 
grade Durhams. 

Our subject was married April 20, 1879, 
to Mrs. Mary Johnson, widow ©f Thomas 
Johnson, and the daughter of Oliver and El- 
sie Strusley, of Houston, Minnesota. Mrs. 
Peterson was born in Norway and came to 
America with her parents when she was but 
five years of age. Her father was a farmer 
and settled first on the site of the pres- 
ent city of St. Paul, Minnesota. He after- 
ward moved to Houston when that lo- 
cality was a wilderness, where both he and 
his wife died. Mrs. Peterson died March 
13, 1899, aged fifty-two years. She had 
one daughter by her former marriage, Lot- 
tie, now Mrs. A. Conger, residing in Jack- 
son township. Three children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, as follows : Charles, 
Laura and William. Mr. Peterson became 
a naturalized citizen of the United States, 
and has since voted the Republican ticket. 



He is a gentleman who is well versed on the 
topics under daily discussion, and takes an 
interest in the welfare of his community. 



JOHN CINDER. 

John Cinder, a ]jrominent contractor and 
builder of Portage, Wisconsin, has for over 
half a century been identified with the de- 
velopment and prLisperity of that city, and 
on all sides may be seen evidences of his 
handiwork. He is a native of Pennsylvania, 
and of Cerman descent. His grandfather, 
Philip Cinder, was born in Germany, and 
came to America prior to the Revolution- 
ary war. He made the first discovery of coal 
in Pennsylvania, and it proved to be the 
world renowned Lehigh Valley coal. While 
out hunting he came across a tree which 
had been uprooted and blown over. In the 
excavation he discovered what he thought 
to be a peculiar kind of rock, and taking 
a piece showed it to one of his neighbors, 
Thomas Wise, who investigated and found 
it to be hard coal. As the land on which 
it was found belonged to the government, 
Mr. Wise entered it and afterward purchased 
the same, but did not have the means to de- 
velop the property and afterward sold it to 
a company, who founded the present Lehigh 
Coal Company. At the breaking out of the 
Revolutionary war, Philip Cinder was one 
of the first to shoulder a musket and go to 
the defense of the colonies, serving through- 
out the entire eight years of the war. 

Jacob Cinder, the father of our subject, 
was born in Pennsylvania, in 1780, and fol- 
lowed the occupations of a farmer and mill- 
stone cutter. He was a soldier of the war 
of 1 81 2, and fought under Ceneral Jack- 
son in the battle of New Orleans. On re- 
ceiving his discharge he resumed farming in 
Carbon county, Pennsylvania, where he re- 




'''*^ 




COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



528 



mained until liis deatli, wliicli occurred in 
1846. In 1 814 lie married Catherina Dau- 
benspeck. and to tlieni were born ten chil- 
dren, (ine lit wlmni died at the age of fue 
years. '1 bey were: l)a\id ; Pauline; Isaac; 
Jacob; James, a li\e stuck buyer of Nebras- 
ka; Philip, a carpenter of Mauch Chunk, 
I'ennsylvania ; Catherine; John, our subject; 
and Daniel, also a carpenter of Portage, 
Wisconsin. 

It was in 1847 that our subject left his 
native state and came to Wisconsin. After 
spending some time in Milwaukee, be re- 
moved to Portage in January, 1850, and here 
he has since made bis home. On locating 
here the town was known as Gougeville, and 
all the business was done at Fort Winnebago, 
the present site of Portage being at that 
time Indian land. Mr. Cinder bought the 
place where he now resides in 1855. Here 
he has worked at the carpenter's trade with 
good success, and has erected some of the 
best buildings in the city. 

On the 13th of October, 1855, Mr. 
Cinder married Miss Hannah Slifer, who 
came to Portage from Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, with her parents in 1849. Her 
father was also a carpenter by trade, and 
continued to follow that occupation through- 
out life. To our subject and his wife have 
been born nine children, namely : Charles 
Francis, a locomotive engineer, residing in 
Portage; Eliza Sophia; Hannah L., wife of 
John Brenner, of Olympia, Washington, 
who is a contractor in the lumber woods and 
the owner of a large oyster bed at that place; 
George W., also a railroad engineer; Esther 
E., wife of Daniel Hill, a farmer living near 
Huntley, Minnesota ; Sarah ; Addie N. ; 
Daniel I. and Mary J. 

Since casting his first presidential vote 
for James K. Polk, Mr. Cinder has been 
unwavering in his support of the men and 
measures of the Democratic party. For 
thirty-eight years he has been an honored 



and prominent member of Winnebago 
Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., in which he has 
filled nearly all of the otifices. In all the re- 
lations of life he has been found true to 
every trust reposed in him, and is held in 
liigh regard by his fellow citizens. A por- 
trait of him appears upon one of the pages 
of this volume, and will be duly appreciated 
by his numerous and admiring friends. 



JAMES PRICE. 

James Price, an honored veteran of the 
great Civil, war, in wliich be conducted him- 
self with such signal bravery and displayed 
such ability that he rose from the ranks to 
become a lieutenant, is now passing the eve- 
ning of his days in the quiet and peace of 
the little village of Poynette, Columbia coun- 
ty, far removed from the thunder and light- 
ning of that gigantic struggle in which he 
played such a manly part. 

Mr. Price was born in Albany, New 
York, September 12, 1832, and is a son of 
John and Mary (McCann) Price. John 
Price was for twenty-one years a gallant 
soldier of the British army, and it may be 
well said that his martial spirit descended 
to his son, who proved himself no unworthy 
offspring of such a warlike sire. He was a 
native of Cheshire, England, and during the 
war of 1812 came to this country. He 
fought at the battle of Plattsburg, where he 
was severely wounded. He was in the bat- 
tle of Waterloo under command of the 
Duke of Wellington. When peace returned 
he was stationed in Ireland, where he mar- 
ried Mary McGann. After the expiration 
of his services as a soldier he came to the 
United States in 1831, lived in New York, 
where he died four years later at the age 
of sixty-five. His widow afterwards mar- 
ried Michael Early, and died in New Leb- 



524 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



anon, Xew York, in Marcli, 1850. at tlie age 
of forty-five. Her husband survived her 
many years, and died in Dekorra township, 
Cohunbia count}', W'isconsin, when over 
eigl^ity years. John and Mary Price liad 
eight children, and Mr. and Mrs. Early be- 
came the parents of four. 

James Price spent his early days on a 
farm in the state of New York, and in 1850 
made his first appearance in W'isconsin. Five 
years later the young man bought two hun- 
dred acres of land in Lowville township, and 
devoted his life to its improvement and cul- 
tivation. He occupied it until 1899, when 
he rented it to his son, and moved into the 
village of Poynette where he owns a neat 
and comfortable residence. As noted above, 
l\Ir. Price has a most creditable record as 
a soldier of the Union. He enlisted Septem- 
ber 9, 1861, in Company E, Second Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Cavalry, and was discharged 
December 16, 1865, a period that covered 
the most exciting scenes of the greatest and 
most magnificent war the world has ever 
seen. During this time he was mainly en- 
gaged in the Department of the Mississippi, 
being frequently employed on scouting and 
outpost duty. He took part in the siege of 
Vicksburg, and had a hand in many of the 
greatest battles of the west. Twenty-three 
of his company were captured at Yazoo 
City in December, 1864, though he escaped. 
He covered many thousand miles in the sad- 
dle, and had many interesting and thrilling- 
experiences. One week he rode from St. 
Louis by way of Jefferson City, Springfield 
and Ozark, to Helena, Arkansas, a distance 
of nearly five hundred miles. 

Mr. Price and Miss Emily S. Mason, a 
daughter of Boomer and Sarah (Ripley) 
Mason, were married November 5, 1855. 
Mrs. Price was born in Rutland, Vermont, 
and came with the family to Wisconsin in 
1853. Her father died in Adams county, 
Wisconsin, when over eighty-six. Her 



mother lived to be eighty-four. Her ances- 
tor, Nathaniel Ripley, came to this country 
in the "Mayflower," and a number of genera- 
tions of his descendants made their home in 
Vermont. The father of Mrs. Sarah Rip- 
ley served in the war of 181 2. 

Mr. and ]\Irs. f^'ice ha\-e had a numer- 
ous family, and their oldest son, James C, 
lives in Belgrade, Montana. Maria E. mar- 
ried C. M. Theissen and died in Leeds town- 
ship, Columbia county; Ella A. is the wife 
of L-a C. Luce, of Poynette; Lewis died 
when eighteen months of age; Sarah E. 
lives in Lowville; Mary A. died in 1888 at 
the age of nineteen years ; Fred C. is in the 
bank at Poynette; Charles Elwyn lives in 
LowN'ille on the home farm; Albert E. Lives 
in Belgrade, Montana : he served in Com- 
pany F, Third \Visconsin Infantry, during 
the Cuban war ; Nettie May married Hugh 
Jamieson and lives in Poynette; Otto W. is 
in Lowville; Leonard A. is a farmer in 
Adams county, Wisconsin. There are six 
grandchildren in the family. 

Mrs. Price is a member of the Presby- 
terian church of Poynette. Mr. Price be- 
longs to Rousseau Post, No. 14, Grand 
Army of the Republic, at Portage, and is a 
Democrat of independent proclivities. He 
has held all the local offices in Lowville, 
been chairman of the town board six years, 
clerk six years, and while a member of the 
county board served on the committee that 
purchased and established the poor farm at 
W3'ocena. He also took an active part in 
the establishment of the Columbia County 
Lasane Asylum, and the erection of suitable 
buildings for it. 



CHARLES MAIR. 

Charles Mair, one of the leading farm- 
ers of Arlington township, Columbia coun- 
ty, is widely known as the proprietor of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



525 



"Fairview Stock Farm," and a man of indus- 
trious habits and upriglit character. 

Mr. Mair was born near New Mihis, Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, December 13, 1844, and is 
a .son of Thomas Mair, whose biography 
appears on anotlier page of this work. He 
came with his parents to the United States 
in 1849, and never set eyes on his native land 
again until 1897, when he had the pleasure of 
spending some months in that storied land. 
He spent his early boyhood in the town of 
Lima, Grant county, Wisconsin, and in 1855 
came into Columbia county. In 1868 Mr. 
Mair, at that time a young man of twenty- 
four years of age, bought one hundred acres 
of land, which became the nucleus of one of 
the most attractive and pleasant farms in 
Columbia county. He has increased his acre- 
age by subsequent purchase until he is now 
the owner of a half section of tillable land. 
He has erected tine buildings in the center 
of the tract, and given it the name of "The 
Fairview Farm." It is one of the most val- 
uable rural estates in Columbia county. 

Mt. Mair has given his attention very 
largely to the raising of Clydesdale horses, 
Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China swine. 
Much of his stock is finely bred, and is 
rapi'dly imjjroving. Fie sends to market 
annually ab(jut four car loads of stock, and 
his cattle run well to the head of the market. 
He is also a large stockholder in the Ma- 
rengo Farm and Live Stock Company, which 
owns about ten thousand acres in northern 
Wisconsin. This corporation is paying large 
returns on the investment and contemplates 
some material improvements in the near fu- 
ture. The Mair family are associated with 
the United Presbyterian church at Arlington, 
and Mr. Mair is a member of the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a Demo- 
crat but exercises the privilege of independ- 
ent voting. He has filled several important 
town offices, and is a man who commands 
the confidence and respect of his associates 



in agriculture and in business in this part of 
the county, not only by his excellent busi- 
ness habits but also by his upright character 
and kindly disposition. 

Charles Mair and Margaret Caldow were 
married July 4, 1865. She is a daughter of 
William and Janet (Kenneth) Caldow, and 
was born on a farm called "Chippelton," near 
Stewarttown, Ayrshire. The children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Mair are Nettie K. ; Thomas 
H., a grain dealer at Morrisonville, Wiscon- 
sin; William, a grain dealer at Charter Oak, 
Iowa ; Hugh C. ; Agnes, now Mrs. James 
W. Stevenson, of Rice Lake, Wisconsin; 
and John R. All, these children have had 
good educational advantages and Hugh C. 
is a graduate of the Story Business College 
at Portage. 

In 1852 William Caldow started for 
America with his famil)- in the sailing ves- 
sel, "Ellen Thom]3son." The ship was 
wrecked on the banks of Newfoundland, and 
the passengers rescued by a salt vessel. The 
"Ellen Thompson" sank twenty minutes 
after the last person was taken ofi^. Mr. 
Caldow and his family saved only the clothes 
they wore. They came through New Bruns- 
wick and thence to the west. They made a 
protracted stay in Illinois, and in 1856 lo- 
cated in the town of Caledonia, Columbia 
county, and lived there many years. Mr. 
Caldow spent his last days in the town of 
Arlington, where he died March 9, 1888, in 
his eighty-third year. Before he left Scotland 
he was a member of a cavalry regiment of 
home guards. He was a member of the Unit- 
ed Presbyterian church, and a Republican. 
He was a member of the town board and of 
the county board for some years. Mrs. Janet 
Caldow died in January, 1869, at the age 
of sixty 3-ears. She was the mother of four 
sons and five daughters : Adams, of Win- 
neshiek county, Iowa; William, cashier of 
the bank at Lodi, Wisconsin; Peter K., now 
living a retired life at Janesville, Wiscon- 



526 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



sin ; and John, a niercliant at C(ileman, South 
Dakota. All are accomphslied business men 
and stand well in the world. Anna married 
Alexander Harvey and died at Aurora, Illi- 
nois, in 1868; Elizabeth is the wife of Rob- 
ert Caldwell, one of the most successful 
farmers in the town of Arlington. Mrs. 
Caldwell died in 1888; Janet married Will- 
iam Dunlop and died at Poynette February 
27, 1892; Margaret is Mrs. Charles Mair; 
and INlartha is Mrs. John Neal, of Arlington. 



WILLIS ELLSWORTH SNYDER. 

Adams county. Wisconsin, is not with- 
out her full quota of intelligent and enter- 
prising farmers, and foremost among those 
of New Haven township stands the gentle- 
man whose name introduces these para- 
graphs. He has not engaged in that call- 
mg many years, Init has steadily pushed 
himself to the front and is recognized as one 
of the rising young men of his community. 
He is a member of one of the leading fam- 
ilies of Adams county, and at present re- 
sides on the Snyder homestead, and aside 
from his farming, devotes a share of his 
time to teaching. 

Mr. Snyder was born in Kilbourn, Wis- 
consin, April 29, 1867, the son of Alfred 
and Jane (Whii^nle) Snyder. The great- 
grandfather of our subject came from Ger- 
many and settled in New York, and the 
grandfather, George Snyder, moved to 
Bradford, Pennsylvania, where he died, his 
wife, Caroline Snyder, passing away in New 
York. Our subject's father, Alfred Snyder, 
was born in Sardinia, Erie county, New 
"I'ork, Sei^tember 19, 1833, and died in the 
town of New Haven, Adams county, Wis- 
consin, June 3, 1886. He lived some years in 
Pennsylvania, and came to \Visconsin about 
1854, locating at Stevens Point, where he 



was engaged in lumbering, and also had 
more or less logging contracts. He later 
lived in Marathon county, and in 1863 
moved to Ailams county. He enlisted in 
Battery F, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, 
August 19, 1864, and on account of dis- 
ability was discharged February 22,. 1865, 
after he had spent some time in Fort Lyon 
l.ospital. iVfter the war he was employed 
in operating a ferry on the Wisconsin river 
at Kilbourn and in 1874 he purchased a farm 
in section 16, New Haven township, Adams 
county, where he resided until his death. 
He clearetl most of the land and made im- 
pro\-ements. and left the farm to his heirs at 
his death. He had filled the principal oflices 
in his township, and for a time was under 
sheriff of Adams county. He took an active 
part in all matters pertaining to the welfare 
of his community, and attended numerous 
conventions. He was a Republican in po- 
litical faith and worked zealously ftir his 
party. He was a member of the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Feflows, and John Gd- 
lespie Post, G. A. R.. at Kilbourn. FIis 
marriage to Jane E. Whipple, the mother 
of our subject, occurred Januai^y 28, 1856. 
Mrs. Snyder was the daughter of Samuel 
and Marcy (Aldrich) Whipple, the father 
of Welch lineage, and both natives of Ver- 
mont. Her father settled in Adams county, 
Wisconsin, in 1854. and died June 8, 1867, 
aged seventy years. Her mother died in 
Pennsylvania, in 1843, aged forty- four 
years. Mrs. Snyder is the mother of three 
sons, Charles L., a resident of New Haven 
township; Frank L. died in 1866, aged two 
years; and Willis E., our subject. 

W. E. Snyder attended the public 
schools of his native place and in 1894 com- 
pleted a course in the Capital City Commer- 
cial College, at Des Moines, Iowa. He 
taught school for several years, and for a 
time was employed in a store at Victor. 
Colorado. Since 1896 he has resided on the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



527 



liomestead farm in New Haven township, 
Adams county, and the estate hears evidence 
oi prosperous management and care. He 
also spends a portion of his lime as an m 
s;ructor in the puhhc schools. 

Mr. Snyder was married Septemher U- 
1892, to Beulah Powers, daughter of Oscar 
and Louise (Rider) Powers, and a native 
of Adams county, Wisconsin. The father 
of Mrs. Snyder died in Canada, and her 
mother resides in Big Springs, Wisconsin. 
Two children ha\-e been horn to Mr. and 
Mrs. Snyder: Marjorieand Wesley Howard. 
Both our subject and wife are members of 
the Congregational church at Big Springs, 
and ]\Ir. Snyder holds membership in 
Hustler Camp. Modern W'oodmen of Amer- 
ica, and is treasurer of the local lodge. In 
political sentiment he is a Republican and 
stands firmly for the principles of his party. 
He is awake to the needs of his community, 
and is one of the puljlic-spirited men of 
New Haven township. 



GEORGE CHARLES KEITH. 

George Charles Keith, a successful 
farmer and citizen of Cohimljia county, 
whose long and honorable career is a credit 
to the state, is now living in retirement in 
the town of Scott. He was hi:)rn in Geauga 
county, Ohio, April 24, 1830, and is a son 
of Charles and Arethusa (Clark) Keith, both 
natives of Massachusetts. The father went 
to Ohi(j while a young man and there settled 
on a farm where he died December 29, 1829. 
The mother died in Juneau county, \Y\s- 
consin, in 1863. After the death of Mr. 
Keith she married Joseph Hewitt, who died 
in Todd county, Minnesota, in 1896, at the 
advanced age of eighty-five. The parents 
of Mrs. A. Keith were ])ioneers on the 
'■^^'estern Reserve" and died in Geauga 



county. Ohio. She Iiore three children to 
InIt. Clark: Charlotte, who married twice, 
her husbands being named C. Clark and 
Henry McClutchins; she died in Minne- 
apolis: IMason. living in Blue Earth county, 
Minnesota, and George C, the subject of 
this biographical review. To her second 
husband, Joseph Hewitt, she bore a numer- 
ous family: John, Clarissa, Lena, Joseph 
and Clark (twins), Charles, Carlisle, Henry 
and Arethusa. 

Mr. Keith lived with his step-father dur- 
ing the first fourteen years' of his life, and 
accompanied the family in their removal to 
Walworth cnmty, Wisconsin, in 1841. Two 
years later he left home, and in i8j-7 came 
to Columbia county. '1 he next year he took 
up government land in the town of Scott, 
which he afterwards sold. He spent ten 
years in Marquette county. In the spring of 
1867 he bought his present fanu of two 
l-.undred acres in the town of Scott. It had 
but poor improvements at the time, but to- 
day it shows the touch of a master hand. 
There are one hundred and twenty acres 
under cultivation, and has ample and com- 
modious buildings. ^Ir. Keith now rents it 
to his son-in-law. 

]\Ir. Keith and Ann E. Turner were 
married October 16. 1852. She died De- 
cember 6, 1885, while still a young woman. 
She was born May 20, 1832, in the city of 
New York, and was a daughter of \Villiam 
and Marv (Wood) Turner, who came to 
this country from Leeds, England. Her fa- 
th.er died in the town of Scott in 1874, at 
the age of eighty-four. Her mother died 
in the town of Lyons, Walworth county. 
Mrs. Keith was a woman of exemplary char- 
acter, and was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. She was the mother of 
seven children, of whom six are still living: 
Marinette died at the age of seven months ; 
William D., of Pardeeville; Willard B. and 
George E., of the same place; Henry N., 



528 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of the tijwn of Scott; Espy R., of Pardee- 
\ille; and Mary A., who married Steplien 
Hanson and lives on tlie old homestead. 

Mr. Keith enlisted in November, 1862, 
in Company .\. 34tli Wisconsin \'olunteer 
Infantry, and spent a year at the front. 
He re-enlisted in 1864 as a member of Com- 
pany G, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, 
and was discharged at the close of the war, 
June 2j. 1865. His first term of service was 
spent on detached duty along- the Missis- 
sippi ri\er. and .his second term was spent 
on guard duty at Arlington Heights, Vir- 
gmia, and elsewhere. He is now a mem- 
ber of the William Payne Post. Grand 
Army of the Republic, at Pardeeville. He 
has been a Republican since the organization 
of the party, and has filled several local of- 
fices. He was a member of the town board 
a number of years. He is a genial and hos- 
pitable gentleman, is full of reminiscences 
of early days, and has vivid memories of the 
great "hard cider campaign." 



EDU-ARD N. TRUMBULE. 

Edward N. Trumlnile, the genial pro- 
prietor of the North Freedom Hotel, Sauk 
county, and an honored veteran of the Civil 
war, comes from a family that through 
many generations has been celebrated for 
its loyalty. His grandfather, John Trum- 
bule, came to this country from Ireland in 
1773, and as a British soldier served for 
two years. After recei\-ing his discharge 
he enlisted in the patriot army in the I^evo- 
lution and aided in the defense of the col- 
onies until their liberty was secured, win- 
ning the rank of major l)y meritorious con- 
duct. After the war he located in Connect- 
icut, where he married. He was a tanner 
and currier by trade. His son, Ebenezer 
Trumbule, father of our subject, was born 



in Connecticut and when a young man re- 
moved to New York. He established and 
operated a tannery in Ellisburg, Jefferson 
county. For a number of years he served 
as a captain in the L'nited States army, tak- 
ing part in the war of 1812. He was wound- 
ed at Sacket Harbor, and after the war he 
had command of the fort at that place for 
about thirty years. During the Mexican 
war he accompanied General Scott's army 
to the city of Mexico on detached service. 
In the spring of 1849 he was placed on the 
retired list, and came to Wisconsin, locating 
at Lake Hoshkonong. Later he engaged in 
farming at Lemonweir, Juneau county, 
where he died in April, 1853, at the age of 
seventy-eight. In politics he was a Whig. 
His wife bore the maiden name of Jane 
Temple, and was born in Leatherville, ]\Iont- 
gomery county, New York, where her fa- 
ther, Richard Temple, a native of Holland, 
followed farming. Her death occurred in 
Lemonweir, in 1870, at the age of sixty- 
eight. 

Edward Nelson Trumljule, subject of 
this review, was born in Schenectady, 
Montgomery county. New York, Septem- 
ber 17, 1842, and came to ^Visconsin with 
his parents when seven years of age. He 
pursued his education in the country schools 
during a few winter terms, and at the first 
call for volunteers, prompted by a spirit of 
patriotism, he enlisted April 14, 1861, at 
Mauston, in Company K, Sixth Wisconsin 
Infantry, with the "Lemonweir Minute 
Men." On the expiration of the three- 
months term he re-enlisted in Company F, 
Sixteenth Wisconsin Infantry, and was 
wounded in the right hand and hip at Pitts- 
burg Landing, wdiich necessitated his dis- 
charge November 14, 1862. On the ist of 
May, 1863, he re-enlisted in Company K, 
of the Sixth \\'isconsin Regiment, which 
formed a part of the "Iron Brigade." On 
the 8th of April, 1865, he was wounded at 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



529 



Spottsylvania in the left leg, and remained 
in the Emergency Hospital in \\'ashingt(in 
until discharged, jinie 2^. i8C)5, He par- 
ticipated in t\vent\'-h\'c important engage- 
ments, inclnding the battles of Antietam, 
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettys- 
burg, the seven-days battle of the Wilder- 
ness, Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, 
Hatcher's Run, Dunbv's Mill, Gravelly Run, 
Five Forks and Appomattox. Throughout 
his service lie was ever loyal and brave and 
was frequently called upon to perform special 
duty in\-i)hing considerable danger and re- 
sponsibility. At Gettysburg he was sent in 
charge of several wagnnloatls of ammunitinn 
to replenish a battery, to reach which it was 
necessary to cross an open field exposed to 
the enemv's fire. Several of the mules at- 
tached to the wagon were killed. Imt he 
reached the battery in safety. 

In 1866 Mr. Trumbule began farming 
in the town of Freedom. Sauk county, and 
since 1880 he has lived in the village of 
North Freedom. For a number of years 
he conducted a livery stable, but since 1888 
has engaged in the hdtel business. He was 
proprietor of the Hackett House for sev- 
eral years, but since 1896 has been widely 
known as the genial and obliging host of 
the North Freedom Hotel, which he is suc- 
cessfully conducting, furnishing first-class 
entertainment for his guests. 

On the 17th of May. 1867, Mr. Trum- 
bule was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
Waddell, daughter of James and Betsey A. 
Waddell, of the town of Freedom. Only one 
child has l^een born to our suljject and his 
wife, Edward James, and he died at the 
age of two years. They have man\' warm 
friends in the community and are widely 
and favorably known. Mr. Trum])ule has 
always upheld the policy of the Republican 
party, and has served in several local posi- 
tions, having filled the offices of police jus- 
tice, marshal and street commissioner in the 



town of Freedom, in a must acceptaljle man- 
ner. In business he is e\'er honorable and 
upright in his dealings, and he enjoys the 
confidence and good will nf all with whom 
he comes in contact. 



GEORGE THOMAS WILSON. 

George Thomas Wilson, the editor of the 
"Columbia County Reporter." exerts a wide 
influence in this part of the state, and has 
quite a reputation as an al>le country news- 
paper man. He was born in Carlisle, Eng- 
land, March 20, 1862, and is a srjn of George 
and Margaret S. (Mofifatt) Wilson. His 
parents still live at that place, and there his 
father carried on a business as carriage 
blacksmith until failing health compelled 
his retirement. The Wilson family is of 
Scotch extraction, and the grandfather of 
the subject of this article was born in Cupar, 
Fifeshire, Scotland, and was taken to Eng- 
land in his early childhood. His father, 
George Wilson, was a veterinary surgeon 
and horseshoer and was in business at New- 
castle-upon-Tyne for many years. He died 
when over seventy years of age. Thomas 
iNloffatt, the father of Mrs. Margaret S. Wil- 
son, was a tailor and had a shop in the same 
city. He died during the last cholera epi- 
demic in England. 

George T. Wilson was educated in the 
local schools of Carlisle, and when four- 
teen years old was apprenticed to the print- 
ing trade in that city. After the old English 
fashion he learned his business thoroughly 
and has made it his life calling. In the 
spring of 1889 he came to this countr}- and 
secured employment at the case in the office 
of the state printers at I'ro\-iilence, Rhode 
Island. He worked in a jol) office at Boston, 
and on the opening da}- of the year 1892 
lie reached l'(_)rtage, Wisconsin. In 1895 



530 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



he went into the office of the ^'Wisconsin 
Rundscliau," and remained there nntil tiie 
fall of 1899. That year he came to Rio and 
took cliarge of the "Columbia County Re- 
porter," wliich has continued under his 
management to the present time. He be- 
came a member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows in England, and united with 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen at 
Portage. He was reared in the Church of 
England. He takes an active part in the 
Calumet Club, antl was instrumental in its 
oro-anization. 



JOHX LAFFAN. 

John Laffan, one of the enterprising and 
successful hop growers of central Wiscon- 
sin, was born in March, 1857, in the town 
of Newport, Columbia county, and is a son 
of Thomas and Maria (Croke) Laffan, who 
were pioneers of that locality. The father 
was born at Newport, Ireland, and when a 
young man crossed the Atlantic, locating 
in Canada, where he owned and operated a 
grist-mill. In the year 1850 he came to 
Columbia county. \\'isconsin, and named the 
town of Newport in remembrance of his 
birthplace. He secured a squatter's claim 
of one hundred and sixty acres, for the land 
\\as not then on the market, and not only 
developed a fine farm, but became one of the 
leading and influential citizens of the com- 
munity. He was a highly educated man, 
served as town superintendent of schools 
for some years, was town clerk for a long 
]jcri(Kl and also held the office of town treas- 
urer. Tax receipts which he signed are still 
t( < be found in the county. He not only wit- 
nessed the progress and advancement made 
in the county in early days, but took an active 
part in the work of improvement and left 
the impress of his indi\iduaht\' upon the 
j)ublic life of the county. He met death 



by drowning June 22, 1858, and was buried 
at Portage, \\ isconsin. His widow is still 
I'.ving and makes her home with her son 
John, who kindly cares for her in her de- 
clining years. This worthy couple were the 
parents of seven children, all of whom are 
residents of Dakota, with the exception of 
Thomas and John. The former was born 
in 1858 in the town of Newport, Columbia 
county, and was educated in the common and 
high schools of Kilbourn City. For many 
years he occupied a position as salesman in 
the store of Dixon & Sons, at Kilbourn, and 
later was traveling salesman for the firm of 
Jolin Tollman & Company, of Chicago. 
Still later he engaged as a clerk for Mr. 
Jones, of Baraboo. He is now a represent- 
ative of the Northwestern Mutual Life In- 
surance Companv and the Northwestern 
Insurance Company. 

John Laff'an, whose name introduces this 
review, spent his boyhood days on the home 
farm, and at an early age, his father having 
died, he assumed management of the place. 
He obtained his education in the schools of 
the neighborhood, and was well erpiipped 
with a good knowledge of the English 
branches, for the practical duties of life. 
With the exception of one year passed in 
Dakota, he has spent his entire life upon 
the home farm, and .by his perseverance and 
industry he has met with excellent and well- 
deserved success. He has ninety acres un- 
der a high state of cultivation; most of it 
being jalanted to hoi:>s, and his place is 
known as the Xewpnrt hoj) farm. He is 
thoroughlv informed as to the best methods 
of producing hops, and his large sales each 
year indicate the success of his efforts. 

In politics he is a stanch Democrat, un- 
swerving in his support of the principles of 
the party, and in its success he takes a deep 
interest. His fellow townsmen, recognizing 
his \\orth and abilitv, ha\e frequently called 
upon him to serve in local offices and his 



n! 








iK^ 


^^^^ 


fj^^L m. 





JOHH LAFFAH. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



533 



duties have ever been discharo-ed with 
promptness and fidelity. He is a rehable citi- 
zen and one who commands the respect of 
all. For three years he has been chairman 
of the town board, a position wdiich he fills 
with credit to himself and to the gratifica- 
tion of his constituents. A portrait of Mr 
Laffan may be found on another page of this 
volume, the prominence it occupies being en- 
tirely due to the leading part he has taken 
in the upbuilding and de\'el(ipment of the 
countv. 



JACOB C. EVANS. 

Agriculture yields a rewartl for intelli- 
gence in its conduct perhaps greater than any 
other calling. Those who bring to its prose- 
cution a fund of experience, clear foresight 
and industry find a ready response in liberal 
returns and the steady accumulation of valu- 
able property. The subject of this review 
bears testimony to the trutli nf these as- 
sertions, as will be obser\'ed in the well- 
kept estate, of which he is the owner, situ- 
ated in section i. New Haven township, in 
Adams county. 

]\Ir. E\-ans was burn in Minersville, 
Schuylkill C(>unt\-, PennsvKania. His par- 
ents were William and Iktse}- (Morgan) 
Evans, natives of Wales, where thev grew 
to maturity and were married. The father 
was a coal miner, and came to America after 
the war and engaged in nuning at Miners- 
ville, Pennsylvania, where he died about 
l852_. at the age of fifty years. The mnther's 
death occurred about 184J. when she was 
about forty years of age. Tliey were mem- 
bers of the Welsh Baptist church. They 
were the ])arcnts of four children, two of 
whom still survive. Their names are as 
follows : Thomas, of Minersville, Pennsyl- 
vania: .\bram died at Minersville, Pennsyl- 
vania; Isaac also died at Minersville; and 



Jacob C. our sul)ject. '1 he last named two 
were twins. 

Soon after the death of his mother young 
Jacob was bound out to a Mr. James Spen- 
cer, with the condition that he was to re- 
ceive two suits of clothing each year, and 
one year of steady schooling at the age of 
eighteen vears. His guardian was a miner, 
but removed to Wisconsin in 1850 and en- 
gaged in farming in Marquette county, 
where he died a few years later. Thus the 
latter clause of the contract was never car- 
ried out. Nevertheless Mr. Evans made the, 
best of his opportunities and managed to get 
a thorough knowledge of the ordinary af- 
fairs of life, and improved his mind by 
much reading and observation. In 1854 he 
purchased his present farm, then in a state 
of nature, though to obtain it he was com- 
pelled to purchase the claim of a "sf|uatter" 
for seventy-five dollars, and to pay the gov- 
ernment a dollar and a cpiarter per acre. 
He is now the owner of one hundred and 
sixty-five acres of excellent land, nearly all 
under a high state of cultivation, and im- 
proved by a substantial farm house, large 
barns and commodious outbuildings. He 
devotes his attention to grain and stock rais- 
ing, and has succeeded admirably. Ijy means 
of his own perseverance, industry and intelli- 
gent management. 

Mr. Evans enlisted August 23, 1864, in 
Company K, Fort}'-second Wisconsin \'ol- 
unteer Infantry, and his company was sta- 
tioned at Cairo, Illinois, where he did duty 
in guarding government property antl m 
garrison. His company was afterwards 
stationed at Chicago for about three months. 
SIX weeks of which time our subject was in 
the Marine Hospital. He received his hon- 
orable discharge at Madison. Wisconsin, 
June 20, 1865. 

December 25, 1855, Mr. Evans was mar- 
ried to Thurrissa S. Jackson, daughter of 
George and Margaret (Cha])in) Jackson. 



534 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mrs. Evans was horn in Erie county, Penn- 
sylvania, and came to Wisconsin in 1846. 
Her father was a carpenter hy trade, and 
died in New Haven township, Adams coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, in 1885, aged eighty-four 
years, and the mother passed away in 1875. 
They were both natives of the state of New 
York. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are tlie par- 
ents of the following- children: William 
J., who dietl in February, 1898, at the 
age of forty-three years. Mary M., 
who married Mr. I. Mitchell, and is nov/ 
Mrs. D. Drinkwater, of IMarquette county, 
Wisconsin. George W., of Marquette coun- 
ty. Daniel J., of New Haven. Elnora E., 
who died in 1885, at the age of twenty- 
two years. Emma L.. who died in infancy. 
Cora T., now Mrs. Charles Witt. Eva E., 
now Mrs. George Byers, of New Haven, 
Wisconsin. Charles I., of Jackson, who 
married Lottie \'roman. Elizabeth M., now 
Mrs. Ed. AX'ardiier, of Portage. Frank A., 
at home. Minnie .\.. now Mrs. Schellkopf, 
of Marquette county, Wisconsin. Isabelle 
L., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Evans ha\'e 
thirty-si.x grandchildren. The family are 
nearly all members of the First Congrega- 
tional church of Jackson, which Mr. and 
Mrs. Evans helped to organize, and of which 
he is a trustee. He holds membership in the 
Joseph Miller Post, G. A. R., at Oxford. 
He has always been an ardent Republican, 
but has ne\-er sought political preferment. 



EDWTN O. CLAPP. 

Edwin O. Clapp, a native of South Had- 
ley Falls, Massachusetts, born December 20, 
1840, has been a resident of Adams county 
since his seventeentli year, and it is but 
natural for him tcj be well known in that 
vicinity, and, in view of the e.xcellent traits 
of character which have actuated him 



tlirougiiout his career, it is also natural tliat 
he should occupy his present high place in 
the minds of his associates. He resides on the 
homestead in Adams township, and is sur- 
rounded by all that goes to make farm life 
a pleasant one. 

Mr. Clapp is the son (if Edwin H. and 
Mary A. (Searlesj Clapp. The family re- 
sided in Massachusetts many years, and the 
father was a jjaper maker, and worked in 
the mills at South Hadley, and was very 
proficient in his calling. He came to Adams 
county, Wisconsin, in 1856, and took one 
hundred and si.xty acres of land on section 
29, in Adams township. The land at that 
time was wild, and for the marketing of 
their grain they drove to Oxford. The 
country abounded with wild game, and In- 
dians were plentiful. The father died in 
Adams township, in 1895, aged eighty-two 
years, and was laid to rest in Friendship. 
1 he mother still sur\i\'es at the advanced 
age of eighty-three years, and lives on the 
old home farm with her son, Edwin, our 
subject. Four children, three of whom are 
•living, were born to this worthy couple, as 
follows : Charles, in Gettysburg, South Da- 
kota; Mary, now Mrs. Woolsey, of Easton; 
and Edwin. 

Edwin O. Clapp came to Adams county 
with his parents when seventeen years of 
age, and prior to that had attended school 
and obtained a good education. He as- 
sisted in clearing the land, and is now in 
possession of four hundred acres, with one 
hundred under cultivation, and engages in 
general farming and stock raising. Fie en- 
listed August, 1862, in Company K, Twenty- 
fifth \Msconsin Infantry, and was under 
Sherman and accompanied him on his 
famous march to the sea, thence went to 
Washington and jjarticipated in the Grand 
Review. He saw hard service, and was in 
the hospital at Memphis for about one 
month. After three vears of ser\-ice he was 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



5B5 



discharged at Memiiliis, Tennessee, J»ne 24, 

1865. Me did not once shrink from dnty, 
and was always found with his rei;inient, 
ready for whatever came. 

Mr. Ciapp was married February 6, 

1866, to Sarah S. PhiUips, daughter of Jo- 
seph Phihjps, of New York state, who set- 
tled in \\'isconsin in the early days of the 
history of this state. Four children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clapp, as fol- 
lows : Frank, residing in Cranbrook, British 
Columliia : Lester, in Colfax, Washington; 
William, w(.)rking with his father on the 
farm; and ^larv Adelaide, at home with 
her parents. Mr. Clapp is a member of 
Eadger Post, No. 122, G. A. R., of Friend- 
ship. In political faith he is a Republican 
and takes an active interest in the move- 
ments of his party, but does not seek pub- 
lic ofifice. and prefers to advance the inter- 
ests of his township and county in other 
ways. He is public-spirited and progressive, 
and everv man who knows him is his friend 



ROBERT F. ROBERTS. 

Robert F. Roberts is an honored and re- 
spected citizen of Randolph, Columbia coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, where he has spent his ca- 
reer and engaged in active business pur- 
suits. He is a native of the town of Ran- 
dolph, Columbia county, and was born July 
12, 1858. 

Our subject was the only son born to F. 
Iv. and Catherine Roberts, a biography of 
whom appears elsew here in this volume. His 
parents emigrated fr(jm Llanddeiniolan, 
Csernarvonshire, North Wales, in the fall of 
1844 and came direct to Wisconsin, where 
the father entered a claim to land in section 
iJ, in Randolph township, Columbia coun- 
ty, and in Novemljer of that year settled on 
the place. This land is now possessed by our 



subject. The parents, with the grandmother, 
Catherine Foulks, two uncles and some other 
families, settled there at the same time and 
were the first Welsh penple who settled in 
the county and this small band was the nu- 
cleus of the afterward flourishing Welsh 
settlements Blsen-y-Cae, Lake Emily, Pros- 
coeron. Rock Hill, Portage Prairie and Welsh 
Prairie, which was at one time the largest 
Welsh settlement in America devoted to ag- 
ricultural pursuits. Our subject had four 
sisters, all of whom are nati\'es of Colum- 
bia county, \Visconsin, and are now li\'ing, 
with the exception of Sarah, Mrs, R. P. 
Wynne, who died in April, 1899. 

Our subject was the youngest of the fam- 
ily of five children. After he attained his 
majority he assumed charge of his father's 
estate in Randolph one year, and then pur- 
chased a farm in the town of Fox Lake, 
Dodge county, Wisconsin, and remaineil at 
farming there four years, when he disposed 
of the land and purchased the old homestead 
farm from his father. He remained there 
until 1898 and made a success of the work. 
In 1896, while grinding feed with a geared 
windmill, he was caught in the belt of the 
machine and was so badly injured as to ne- 
cessitate amputation of one liml). He re- 
tired from his farm in i8g8, renting the 
land to his brother-in-law, and mijved to the 
village of Randolph, and there engaged in 
the agricultural implement business under 
the firm name of Roberts & \\'illiams. The 
firm tlissoh^ed partnership in the fall of 
1899, and our subject is at present engaged 
as traveling salesman for a manufacturing 
company. 

Mr. Roberts was married Sei)tember 9, 
1880, to Mars'aret Ann Jones, a daughter 
of Owen W. and Ann (Davis) Jones, of 
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Mrs. Roberts' father 
was the son of John Jones, of Tynygraig, 
Llanfihengel, near Carwen, Merionetlv 
shire, North Wales, who was a shoemaker 



536 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



by trade. Owen \\'. Jones came to Amer- 
ica fmm Wales in 1851, and after remain- 
ing in Oliio until 1853 came to Wisconsin, 
and settled near Oshkosh, where he fol- 
lowed farming-. The mother of Mrs. Rob- 
erts was a daughter of Daniel and Margaret 
Davis, of Oshkosh, who emigrated to Amer- 
ica from Tregaron, Cardiganshire, South 
Wales, in 1847, when Mrs. Jones was twelve 
years of age, and settled in Oshkosh, Wis- 
consin, where they followed agricultural 
pursuits. 1 he parents of Mrs. Roberts were 
married in the fall of 1857. Two daughters 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, who 
are as follows : Jennette, aged eighteen years, 
and Catherine Ann. aged thirteen years, both 
of whom reside at home and attend school. 
Mr. Roberts is a member of the Welsh Cal- 
vinistic Methodist church, in wdiich denom- 
ination he was reared and is a consistent and 
active member of the same. He is a member 
of the Knights of Pvthias and E. F. W., 
and politically is a stanch Republican. 



CHARLES HENRY STODDARD. 

Charles Henry Stoddard, an old and 
honored resident of Prairie du Sac. Sauk 
county, W^isconsin, was born July 10, 1831. 
at Colebrook, New Hampshire, and is the 
son iif Asa Stoddard, who was the son 
of Lemuel Stoddard, and the grandson 
of David Stoddard, of Chesterfield, New 
Hampshire. The Stoddard name has a high 
place in English annals. According to the 
records of Heraldry '"William Stoddard, a 
knight, came to England from Normandy in 
A. D. 1066, with William the Conquerer, 
wdio was his cousin." A descendant of his 
was Richard Stoddard, of Nottingham, Kent, 
near Elthan, about seven miles from Lon- 
don bridge, where was located the familv 
estate of about four hundred acres of land. 



which was in the possession of the family 
as early as 1490. It remained in the family 
hands as late as 1795, when it was divided 
under the law, as there was no one to suc- 
ceed Nicholas St(iddard, who was a bach- 
elor, and died in that year. Thomas Stod- 
dard lived at Royson ; John at Grindon ; 
William and John at Royson ; Anthony, 
Zadean, Anthony. William and Anthony. 
This last Stoddard emigrated to Boston, 
Massachusetts, about the year 1639, and be- 
came the ancestor of the .Vmerican Stod- 
dards. 

Asa Stoddard, the father of the subject 
of this article, was tlie fifth child of Lemuel, 
who was himself the fifth child of his fa- 
ther. David Stoddard seT\etl in the Revo- 
lutionary army as an officer of considerable 
note, and was engaged in the battle of Ben- 
nington, and the record is that he died on 
his way home from the army, l)ut no date 
has been preserved. Asa Stoddard was first 
married to Lucinda Swears, of Dummerston, 
V'ermont. about 1822, and one son, Benja- 
min. was the issue of this marriage. He 
was born in 1823 and died in 1891. Asa 
Stoddard was next married to Sarah Roger 
Littie. of Colebrook, New Hampshire, Jan- 
uary 20, 1828, and five children were born 
of this marriage ; William Little, born De- 
cember 18, 1828; Charles Henry, July 10, 
1831; Abbie Elsie, September 18, 1833; 
Calvin Thomas, August 29, 1835; Emma 
E., July 19, 1 84 1, — all lieing born in Cole- 
brook, where the wife and mother died May 
21, 1842. The bereaved husband was again 
married to Philinda Frizzle. March 2, 1843, 
and three daughters were the fruit of this 
marriage: Sarah A., born at Canaan, Ver- 
mont, February 3, 1845; Lucinda N., Lem- 
ington, August 16, 1847; and Fanny M., 
Lemington, March 6, 1850. Mr. Stoddard 
moved from the east to Prairie du Sac in 
1884. He located his family u]:)on a farm, 
and preached occasionally as a supply. He 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



537 



died in April, 1884, at the ripe old age of 
eighty-two, his wife dying the following 
April at sixly-fonr. They are l.ioth buried 
in the Prairie dn Sac cemetery, and are ten- 
derly renienibered l>y a host of friends and 
relatives. They left eight li\'ing children. 
His son, Benjamin, was twice married, at 
North Adams, Massachusetts, and was the 
sire of a large family. He was a farmer 
and died in North Adams in 1891. William 
L., the oldest child by- his second marriage, 
wedded Luvie Elliott, of Brooktield, Can- 
ada, and had one son and two daughters. 
He came to Prairie du Sac in 1805, and 
spent three years in this vicinity, and then re- 
moved to Laddonia, Missouri, where he died 
April 25, 1900, leaving a wife and two chil- 
dren. His youngest daughter, Lillian, had 
married some years before, and both she and 
her husband had died, leaving one son. 
His son, Fred, is married and lives at St. 
Louis, and his daughter, Adda, is at home 
in Laddonia with her mother. Abbie Elsie 
married Walter Baldwin in 1857 at Coat- 
cook, Canada. She was the muther of two 
sons and one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Bald- 
win came to Prairie dn Sac from Canada 
in 1870, and settled with the other mem- 
bers of the family in this vicinity. They 
left three children : Wright is a railroad en- 
gineer, is married and lives at Los An- 
geles, California; Walter is a dentist at 
Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Edith is Mrs. 
Hewitt, of Oconomowoc. Calvin Thomas 
li a machinist at Sewardtown, New Hamp- 
shire. Emma E. is Mrs. Hugh Shull, of 
Prairie du Sac. She was married in 1869, 
and has one daughter. In April, 1900, they 
moved to Pennsylvania, where they now re- 
side. Lucinda N. is Mrs. Albert Clough, 
of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Fanny M. mar- 
ried Joshua B. McCoy, now and for the last 
four years a policeman in the state capitol 
at Madison. 

Charles Henry Stoddard, the subject of 



this article, learned the trade of carpenter 
and house-builder, under his father's instruc- 
tions while still a resident of Colebrook, and 
there he was married in the early part of 
1855. That year his wife came west with 
her people and settled on what was known 
as the Sauk Prairie, while he remained to 
close up certain business transactions that 
needed time for their adjustment. He ap- 
peared in Prairie du Sac July 10, 1855, and 
taking land began farming. He also worked 
at his trade and when his brother, William 
L., came west, they formed a partnership, 
and set up a wagon and carriage factory. 
This they conducted for some three years 
v.'ith varying fortunes, but finding they had 
anticipated the growth of the country, they 
dissolved their business relations, and Will- 
iam L. left the country, while the subject 
of this review applied himself with re- 
doubled vigor to the work of winning, suc- 
cess out of a hard fortune. He built houses, 
dug wells, put up windmills, and fairly 
forced a way into the high road of success. 
He was left a widower by the death of his 
wife December 16, 1861. She left one son, 
Herbert Alvin, who grew up, married and 
died in Rockford, Illinois, March 23, 1889, 
leaving a widow and two sons, Richard and 
Herbert. He was an educated man and a 
teacher of wide reputation. At the time of 
his death he was part proprietor of a com- 
mercial school at Rockford, with a branch 
at Freeport, and an enrollment of five hun- 
dred students. 

Mr. Stoddard was married a second time, 
July 3, 1 871, Florence O. Higbay, of Prairie 
du Sac, becoming his bride. She is a daugh- 
ter of George and Clarinda Higbay. Her 
maternal grandfather, Jonathan Hatch, is 
remembered as the first to run a furrow in 
Sauk county in the spring of 1843. Mrs. 
Stoddard is the mother of four children, 
three sons and one daughter : Lawrence Cal- 
vin was born November 2, 1872, was mar- 



538 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ried to Lucy Youno', September ii, 1897, 
and has one son, Ralph Herbert, born in 
Septem1)er, 1898; George Bruce, was born 
May 27, 1875; Roy Charles, July 7, 1881 ; 
and ]\l}-rtle A., December 16, 1884. They 
are all at home, and are co-operating with 
their jjarents in work and planning. 

Mr. Stoddard has always been a busy 
man, and though his educational oppor- 
tunities have not been great, yet he has a 
knowledge of men and affairs seldom sur- 
passed. He is a Republican and cast his 
first vote for General Fremont in 1856. He 
has generally voted with his party, though 
he has prohibition ideas. He is a close 
sympathizer with the doctrines of 'the Bap- 
tist church, and attends its services c]uite 
regularly. He has a reputation widespread 
for character and ability, and for nine 
months had charge of the exhibit of the 
Baker Manufacturing Company at the Chi- 
cago World's Fair. 



THOMAS REYNOLDS, Dece.^sed. 

Li the death of the late Thomas Reynolds 
Adams county lost an influential and re- 
spected citizen who had resided in Spring- 
ville township for nearly forty years. He 
had transformed a wilderness into a pleas- 
ant home, and at tlie time of his death was 
well-to-do. 

Mr. Reynolds was born in West Felton, 
Shropshire, England, August 8, 1816. He 
received a fair education and about 1853 
came to the United States and lived six 
years in Wiljoughby, Ohio. From thence he 
came to Wisconsin, settling in Springville 
township, Adams county, where he spent the 
remainder of his life, and resided thirty years 
on one farm. 

Mr. Reynolds was married in England: 
his first wife, who died there, left one daugh- 



ter, Libbie, now Mrs. Theodore Cummings, 
of Point Bluff, Adams county. Mr. Rey- 
nolds married Bessie Aleredith, a native of 
Shropshire, England, in 1846. j\lr. and Mrs. 
Reynolds were the parents of three children 
who reached maturity, as follows: William 
Henry died October 14, 1898, aged forty- 
three years ; George E. ; and Andrew T. 

Mr. Reynolds died in Springville town- 
ship, Adams county, Wisconsin, January 12, 
1896, and his wife survived him but one 
year, passing away February 27, 1897, aged 
seventy-nine years. Both were consistent 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and Mr. Reynolds took an acti\e part in 
the affairs of that denomination. He was a 
Republican in political sentiment, but was 
of a retiring disposition and did not seek 
public favor. He was a gentleman of sterling 
(jualities, and left a large circle of friends to 
mourn for him. 

George E. Reynolds was born in Wil- 
loughby, Ohio, February i, 1858. He came 
to Wisconsin with his parents when he was 
but one year of age, and has been a resi- 
dent of Adams county since that time. He 
gained a liberal education, attending the dis- 
trict school, and at the county institute, and 
began teaching at the age of eighteen years, 
and for several years followed that voca- 
tion. He was elected county superintend- 
ent in 1890, on the Republican ticket. He 
organized the first summer school for teach- 
ers in Adams county, and continued the 
same annually, thereby adding greatly to 
the educational standard of Adams county. 
George W. Reynolds was married No- 
vember II, 1885, to May Bacon, daughter 
of David N. and Caroline Bacon, of Point 
Bluff, Wisconsin, notice of whom will be 
found elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Rey- 
nolds is a native of White Creek, Adams 
county, Wisconsin. Two children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, as follows : 
Bessie and Glenn David. Mr. Reynolds has 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



589 



filled the office of auditor, clerk and chair- 
man of Springville township, and has 
gained the entire confidence of the people of 
his community. He is a gentleman of re- 
fined and marked literary ahility, and is a 
contributor to numerous publications. 

Andrew T. Reynolds was l)orn in Spring- 
ville township, Adams county, Wisconsin, 
November 4, 1859. Since reaching his ma- 
jority he has followed the calling of an agri- 
culturist, and with much success. In 1884, 
in company with his brother, George E., 
he purchased part of his present farm on 
section 27, in Springville township, and the 
brothers now own three hundred and twenty 
acres, all of which was wild land when they 
purchased it. One hundred and ten acres 
have been cleared for cultivation, and on 
the estate they have erected substantial and 
convenient buildings, and added other im- 
provements, and aside from general farm- 
ing are interested in the raising of horses, 
and have some choice" specimens. Both are 
well-known members of the community of 
Spring"ville township, where they have 
passed their lives, and enjoy the highest re- 
spect of their associates. They are intelli- 
gent and progressive and well merit suc- 
cess. 



FRITZ WITT. 



Fritz Witt, a prominent miller of Adams 
county, residing in Easton, was born in 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, January 
18, 1844. His parents, Christian and Do- 
rette (Muller) Witt, were natives of the 
same country, and the father was a miller 
by trade, and conducted the business until 
his death, about the year 1863. The mother 
died about 1852, and both rest at Mecklen- 
burg. Of a family of six children, our sub- 
ject was the second in order of birth. 

Mr. Witt attended school until fifteen 



years of age, and then learned the miller's 
trade and worked at it in his native land 
ur.til nineteen years of age, when, in the 
spring of 1866, he came to America, and lo- 
cated at Lewiston, Columbia county, Wis- 
consin. He worked with different farmers 
until he had acquired a fair knowledge of 
the English language, and then went to 
Portage and worked in the mill at that place 
for about two years and went from thence 
to Delton and worked in the two mills of 
that town. He next moved to Arkdale, 
Adams county, in 1873, where he remained 
until 1880. He purchased the mill prop- 
erty in ^^'hite Creek, in 1882, and has op- 
erated it continuously since. The power is 
good and they grind wheat and all kinds of 
grain. Mr. Witt and sons own the mill at 
Easton, where they grind buckwheat and 
feed. Their business is extensive and they 
are well known as men whose thorough 
knowledge of their calling entitle them to the 
best patronage. 

Mr. W^itt was married April 4, 1868, 
to Cathrina Paulson, of Frorop, Holstein. 
Six children have been burn to bless the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Witt, as follows : 
Christian, residing at Wildrose, W^aushara 
county, W^isconsin ; Frank, in charge of the 
mill at Easton, Wisconsin ; Charles, resid- 
ing in Plainfield, Waushara county; Ernest 
and Irwin, twins, residing at home; and 
Harry, at home. 

Mr. Witt is a member of the Lutheran 
church. In political sentiment he is a Dem- 
ocrat, but takes no active part in political 
movements, and has not aspired to public 
office. He pursues the even tenor of his 
way, attending to his business, and making 
friends wherever he is known. He is one 
of the sons of the German empire whose 
business ability and thrift are noticeable in 
whatever they undertake, and in his adopt- 
ed land he has acquired a j^lace among the 
foremost of his fellow men, through the 



540 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



exercise of tliose dominant traits of cliarac- 
ter, which are ever bound to meet with 
gratifyino- results. He is progressive and 
practical and in every way suited to his call- 
ing, has made it his lifelong study, and is 
competent to jjursue that line. 



JOHN C. HENRY. 

John C. Henry, a well-known under- 
taker of Kilhourn City, Wisconsin, has re- 
sided here for over thirty-three years, and his 
name is inseparably connected with its busi- 
ness interests. His thoro.ughly American 
spirit and great energy have enabled him to 
mount from a lowly position to one of 
affluence. One of his leading character- 
istics in business affairs is his sense of order 
and complete system and the habit of giv- 
ing careful attention to details, w-ithout 
which success in any undertaking is never an 
assured fact. 

Mr. Henry was born in Canada in No- 
vember, 1842, and is a son of John and 
Esther Henry, natives of Scotland. H'is 
parents emigrated to America in 1843, land- 
ing in New York City, and settled in Can- 
ada, where both died. Our subject ob- 
tained his literary education in the common 
schools of Canada, and remained at home 
until sixteen years of age, when he started 
out in life for himself, working for the first 
few years on a farm for his uncle. He con- 
tinued to follow farming for several years, 
and then took up the carpenter and joiner 
and cabinetmaker's trades. In 1866 he 
became a resident of Kilbourn City, Wiscon- 
sin, and there and in other parts of the state 
worked as a cabinetmaker and carpenter. 
In 1 881 he embarked in the furniture and 
undertaking business in Kilbourn City, and 
is to-day one of the most proficient in the 
art of undertaking in the northwest. He 



possesses good business cjualifications, is 
progressive and energetic, and has met with 
well-merited success. Besides his business, 
he owns a comfortalile residence in Kilbourn 
City, and also one of the finest homes at 
Fern Dell summer resort, in Del ton town- 
ship, Sauk county, Wisconsin. 

In 1890, Mr. Henry was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emma Lang. The lady was 
born in Germany, in 1875, and was reared 
and educated in that country and Wiscon- 
sin. They now have two children : Queen 
Emma, born August 2~, 1893; and King 
Charles, born January 12, 1895. They are 
the pride and joy of the home. 

Fraternally Mr. Henry is a Royal Arch 
Mason and Knight Templar, and has been 
treasurer of the chapter for many years. 
His political support is always given the 
men antl measures of the Republican party, 
and as alderman of the city he has rendered 
his fellow citizens efificient and faithful serv- 
ice, giving his support to every measure 
which he believed calculated to prove of pub- 
lic benefit. As a business man and citizen he 
is therefore highly esteemed. 



EDMOND MAXFIELD. 

Edmond Maxfield, a retired farmer of 
Otsego, Columbia county, and a man who 
has conducted himself with remarkable 
credit throughout the varied experiences of 
a long and active life, was born June 6, 
1843, in Somerset, Cayuga county. New 
'S'ork, and is a son of Joseph and Phebe 
(Haight) Maxfield, both natives of the state 
of Massachusetts. The family came to Wis- 
consin in 1846, and purchased a farm in 
the town of Hampden, Columbia county. 
Mrs. Maxfield died in 1852, and her be- 
reaved husband sold his farm, disposed of 
h'is household effects, and went back to the 




EDMOND MAXFIELD. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



543 



east. After tliree years in that part of the 
Union he again married, Mrs. Sarah Holt 
becoming his wife, and once more he set his 
face toward the west. He, on his arrival 
here, bought a farm in Hampden, which he 
held for two or three years, and then ex- 
changed it for a farm in the town of Leeds. 
Ihis he made his home until the death of his 
wife in 1867. He died in January, 1886, 
when over eighty-three. He was the father 
of nine children, among whom were: David, 
who "trailed" it to California in 1852, and 
died there twelve years later; Benjamin, 
who died in youth; Joseph, who grew to 
young manhood, enlisted as a Union soldier, 
and was killed on the second day of the battle 
of the Wilderness; Edmond, the subject of 
this article; and Mary, who died in infancy. 
The ancestry of our subject is of the very 
best character. Both families were well 
established and uniformly well to do. The 
Haight family has an extensive genealogy 
gathered in an attempt t(.) claim a large Eng- 
lish fortune. 

When Edmond Alaxfield was nine years 
old, his mother having died in the meantime, 
he went to live with his grandfather, Isaac 
Haight, and spent two years with his grand- 
parents, then he changed to an uncle, Jona- 
than Haight. \\'hen his father remarried he 
went to live with him, but he had formed at- 
tachments at his home, and he went back 
to live with his uncle mentioned above, and 
spent his boyhood and youth in his hospitable 
home, until he was eighteen years old. He 
worked out for a time after that in Mar- 
shall, Dane county, Wisconsin. Then he 
rented the Loveless farm, and gave this up 
to take charge of his brother's place, that 
relative having gone to the front as a Union 
soldier. Edmond Maxfield enlisted himself 
a^ a member of Company M, First Wiscon- 
sin Heavy Artillery, August 2y, 1864. This 
was about three months after this brother's 
death, as noted above. September 7, 1864, the 



reo:ment was sent to Madison, and included 
in the ranks some of the best blood and 
sinew of the country. Captain Ford says 
of part of this regiment: 'T took out one 
hundred and fifty-three of the finest fellows 
I ever saw." 1 hat regiment was sent to 
Washington, and then to Alexandria, and 
finally assigned to guard duty in the ad- 
jacent forts. On one occasion they received 
orders to go into an engagement, but, as 
they thought unluckily, the order was coun- 
termandeil. Howe\er, they did their whole 
duty, and what more could they do? Mr. 
Maxfield was sick wdiile at the front, and 
was once in the hospital three weeks. After 
the conclusion of the war the regiment came 
back to Milwaukee, and was mustered out 
and the military experiences of the young 
man came to an end. He immediately re- 
sumed farm life the moment he was free 
from the obligations of a soldier, and began 
the cultivation of a little farm of sixty acres, 
which he ownetl in the town of Otsego, and 
this has been his home for thirty-five years. 
From time to time he has added to the orig- 
inal acreage, until he now owns a fine farm 
of three hundred and twenty-seven acres, 
situated on sections 23, 24 and 25. In 1897 
he bought a residence in the village of Ot- 
sego, which he now occupies. He is estab- 
lished in a cozy and convenient home, and is 
entitled to take life easy from this time on- 
ward. In politics he has always been a Re- 
publican and the respect which his fellow 
townsmen entertain for him has been made 
evident by his repeated election to important 
local positions. He has been on the town 
and school boards many times, and his opin- 
ions command the utmost respect of his .fel- 
low citizens. He belongs to Harvey M. 
Brown Post, of the Grand .-\.rmy of the Re- 
public, No. 146, and is a Royal Arch Mason. 
He is a Universalist, while his family are 
Baptists. He is one of Otsego's represent- 
ative men. 



544 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mr. Alaxfiekl was married August 29, 
1864. ti) ]\Iiss Salome L. King, daugliter of 
Johnson and Adelia (Brayton) King. The 
family came from New York to CoUimljia 
county in 1845. Tliey remo\-ed to Dunn 
county in 1870, where they died, the fa- 
tlier in 1894 and the mother in 1890. They 
liad four children : Helen, Mary, Salome and 
Ida, and an adopted son, W'illje. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Maxfield has been born one daugh- 
ter, Cora L. 

Mr. !Maxtield has all his life been occu- 
pied with that oldest of businesses, the tillage 
of the soil, and has brought to his aid in 
the successful cultivation of the earth un- 
usual shrewdness and acumen. His success 
in life is entirely the result of his own ef- 
forts and, as a thorough-going, energetic, 
capable agriculturist, he is looked up to by a 
large circle of friends and acquaintances, 
who will be pleased to see his portrait as 
one of the illustrations of this work, appear- 
ing on another page. 



CHARLES \V. DELANY. 

Charles W. Delany, who was for so 
many years prominently identified with the 
hotel life of Poynette, Columbia county, has, 
since severing his connection with the Amer- 
ican Hotel, taken up his residence in that 
village. For sixteen years this genial host 
of the popular hostelry presided over its 
destinies and brought the business to a high 
state of prosperity, and achieved a great 
success. Enterprising and with much abilitv, 
Mr. Delany has demonstrated his fitness 
for tlie business and is now enjoying the 
fruits of his victory over fortune, and in 
the latter years of his life is taking his ease 
upon the results of his labors. 

Charles \V. Delany was born in Che- 
mung county. New York, February 7, 1844, 



and was the son of H. M. and Hannah 
(Bennett) Delany. His father was born in 
New Jersey in 181 2, and his mother in New 
York state, March 15, 1823. The father 
was a farmer and horse farrier by occupa- 
tion and uKjN'ed his fanfily to \Visconsin in 
1853, and purchased a farm near Poynette, 
where his death occurred May 12, 1892, and 
where the mother still resides. The five sur- 
viving children of a family of eight chil- 
dren are as f(jllows : Adeline Cortelyou, now 
in California; Sarah E. Cortelyou, now in 
New York City; John F., in Bitter Root 
Valley, Montana; Charles W., our subject; 
Miles B., now residing on the homestead 
farm near Pox'nette. 

The subject of this review recei\-ed most 
of his education in Wisconsin and assisted 
his father on the farm until the breaking 
out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in his 
country's cause September i, 1861, at Port- 
age, Wisconsin, at the age of seventeen 
years. He became a member of Company 
G, Second Wisconsin Infantry, and pro- 
ceeded at once to Washington, and from 
thence to Arlington Heights, where he 
landed September 21, 1861. He was as- 
signed to the Army of the Potomac and 
served three years and fourteen days, and 
was discharged in front of Petersburg, as 
a corporal, at the expiration of his term of 
enlistment. He participated in most of the 
engagements of the Army of the Potomac, 
and was wounded in the right leg at the bat- 
tle of Antietam. After his discharge from 
the service he returned to his home in Wis- 
consin, and employed his time in farming. 
In 1874 he purchased a farm of three hun- 
dred and fifty acres, three and one-half 
miles northwest of Poynette, and two hun- 
dred acres is now tillable. The farm is well 
equipped with modern improvements and 
conveniences, and he is still in possession of 
tliis estate. He purchased the American 
Hotel in Poynette in 1883, and improved the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



545 



building and continued the hotel business for 
sixteen years. 

Mr. Delany was married September 
27, 1865, to Anna Campbell, a native of 
Scotland, who was born in 1845, ^"d came 
to America in 1859. j\Ir. and Airs. De- 
kny are the parents of five children, as 
follows : Hannah May Russell, now in Madi- 
son, Wisconsin; Nettie S.; Grace; John C. ; 
and Hazel Anna. The children are intelli- 
gent and are possessed with unusual musical 
talent, and are well known as vocalists. 
Mr. Delany held membership in the G. A. 
R. until the post at Poynette was discon- 
tinued. He has held the office of village 
trustee two years, and is a worthy citizen 
and influential man. 



FRANCIS MAEGERLEIN. 

Much of the civilization of the world has 
come from the Teutonic race. Continually 
mo\-ing westward, they have taken with them 
the enterprise and advancement of their 
eastern homes, and have become valued and 
useful citizens of various localities. In this 
country, especially, they have demonstrated 
their power to adapt themselves to new cir- 
cumstances, retaining at the same time their 
l^rogressiveness and energy, and have be- 
come loyal and devoted citizens. Mr. 
Maegerlein, one of the most enterprising and 
successful business men of Sauk City, Wis- 
consin, is a worthy representative of this 
class. 

He was born in Mecklenburg, Germanv, 
June 14, 1841, and is a son of John George 
Maegerlein, who was a butcher by trade, as 
was also his father, grandfather and the an- 
cestors of our subject as far back as known. 
He was in a measure brought up to the 
same business. In 1850, when nine years 



of age, he sailed with the family from Ham- 
burg on a brig which was eight long weeks 
in crossing the Atlantic. Landing in New 
York they proceeded by steamboat to Al- 
bany, and thence by canal and the Great 
Lakes to Milwaukee, where they arrived two 
weeks later. After five years spent in that 
city they came to Sauk county March 21, 
1855, and the father purchased one hundred 
and sixty acres of land in Honey Creek 
township. This locality was then all wild 
and unimproved, few settlements had been 
made and there were no roads, but in going 
from place to place the pioneers followed the 
cattle paths and Indian trails. There were 
only two teams of horses in the township, 
cattle being used for all purposes, and there 
were still a good many Indians here. Tlie 
father, with the assistance of his family, 
commenced to clear and improve his farm, 
and to its cultivation he devoted his energies 
until his death. His wife survived him for 
for some time, tlying in Sauk City about six 
years ago. 

To this worthy couple were born three 
children, of whom our subject is the oldest. 
He attended the public schools of his native 
land from the age of six years until coming 
to America, and was a student for a short 
time in the schools of this country, but the 
greater part of his educaton has not been 
gained from text books but has come through 
observation and contact with the business 
world. He has a good practical knowledge 
of men and affairs and is well qualified to 
fill almost any position in business or public 
life. After the death of his father he took 
charge of the home farm, which he now 
owns, successfully operating the same until 
coming to Sauk Citv in 1882. The people 
of Honey Creek tinvnshi[) Ijv this time were 
numerous, the land was developed and 
adorned with many nice homes, and they 
were loth to have him leave the township, 
as he proved a valuable member of the com- 



546 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



iiiunity; but having a son and an adopted 
daughter to educate, he decided to locate in 
Sauk City, wliere tlie educational advantages 
were better. On coming here lie embarked 
in business as a dealer in farm machinery 
and grain, and being a progressive, wide- 
awake business man, he met with success 
from the very start, selling over fifteen thou- 
sand dollars worth of machinery in two 
years. At present he has an elevator near 
the depot and he and his son are engaged 
in the grain business under the firm name 
of Francis Maegerlein & Son. He is also 
one of the board of five directors and a 
stockhcjlder in the canning factory; was in- 
strumental in organizing the Sauk City 
I'ress Publishing Company, of wliich he was 
the first president, and succeeded in placing 
the paper, "Wisconsin Workman," on a 
good paying basis and secured the present 
efficient editor, Charles F. Ninman. 

In Honey Creek township, Mr. Maeger- 
lein married Miss Jane Quirk, a native of 
L.ower Canada, and they have one child, 
John, who is engaged in business with his 
father. As a Democrat Mr. Maegerlein has 
taken an active and prominent part in local 
politics, and although Honey Creek town- 
ship was strongly Republican, his popularity 
and ability were such that he was chosen 
to fill many positions of trust and responsi- 
bility. For five consecutive years he repre- 
sented that township on the board of super- 
visors, and has been elected to the same bodv 
since coming to Sauk City. He has also 
been chairman of the board for Prairie du 
Sac township; was assessor one year; post- 
master of Sauk City for four years and three 
months; president of the village two terms; 
and treasurer three years. His public and 
private life are alike above reproach; he has 
most efficiently discharged all duties that 
have devolved upon him, and has the con- 
fidence and respect of the entire community. 
In religious faith he is a Catholic. 



MILES BENXITT DELANY, V. S. 

Miles Bennitt Delany, V. S., a well- 
known practitioner of his profession, repre- 
sents a prominent pioneer family of Colum- 
bia county. He was born in Big Flats, 
Chemung county. New York, May i, 1852, 
and was a son of Henry M. and Hannah 
(Bennitt) Delany. 

The father of our suliject was a native 
of Morris county. New Jersey. He studied - 
the veterinary science from his father and at 
tlie age of twenty-five years went to New 
York, where he practiced the profession un- 
til 1853, when he went to Wisconsin. He 
resided on a farm in Lowville township un- 
til about 1890, and then removed to Poy- 
nette. He died there May 12, 1892, aged 
about eighty years. He met with remarka- 
ble success in the treating of horses and was 
widely known. He was active and vigorous 
until the day of his death. The grandfather 
of our subject, John Delany, was of Penn- 
sylvania Dutch descent, and was a veteran 
of the war of 181 2 and was in the expedition 
to Quebec. He lived and died on a farm in 
New Jersey. Our subject's mother was born 
in Big Flats, New York, March 15, 1823, 
and is now living on the homestead farm in 
Columbia county. She was a daughter of 
John and Sarah (Rockwell) Bennitt. Her 
father was born in Orange county. New 
York, and was of Pennsyhania Dutch de- 
scent. He became an extensive farmer in 
Chemung county and left a large estate. He 
died December 8, 1837, aged about fifty 
years. The maternal grandmother of <iur 
subject was born in 1786 in Orange county. 
New York, and died in 1849. Our subject 
v/as one of eight children, who are as fol- 
lows: Adaline, now Mrs. T. H. Cortelyou, 
of Los Angeles, California; Sarah E., now 
Mrs. E. A. Cortelyou, of Leona, New Jer- 
sey; John F., of Montana; Charles, born in 
1 84 1, residing in Poynette; Melvina, who be- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



547 



came Mrs. \V. Jewett and died in Lowville 
in iSSi ; Miles P.., onv subject. 

Miles B. Delanv began the study of vet- 
erinary suro-ery at tlie age of fifteen years, 
and since 1892 lias given his entire atten- 
tion to the business, succeeding his father 
ii. the practice in that locality. He resides 
on the homestead farm, whlich comprises 
two hundred and forty acres, and rents the 
same. He deals in horses and other live 
stock to considerable extent. 

Our subject was married in 1878 to 
Cora Thomas, daughter of Enoch and Jen- 
nie (Phillips) Thomas. The family came 
to Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1857, set- 
tling at Arlington, but removed in 1868 to 
Poynette, .where the father was a carpenter 
and farmer. He was born in Canada and 
died in Chicago in 1893, aged sixty-five 
years. His widow lives at Poynette, aged 
sixty-seven years. Her ancestors settled on 
the site of Kinderhook, New York. Mrs. 
Delany was born at Bangor, Franklin coun- 
ty, New York. Two children have been l)orn 
to Mr. and Mrs. Delany, who are named as 
follows: Myron, and Jennie, who died at the 
age of four vears. Our subject is a member 
of Poynette Camp, No. logo. Modern 
\\'oodmen of America. In political senti- 
ment he is a Republican, but was formerly 
a Democrat for many years. He is a mail 
of strong convictions and is held in the high- 
est esteem by his fellowmen. 



WIT.LIAM B. BIDWELL. 

William B. Bidwell, a prosperous and 
•\\ell-kn()\vn agriculturist of Adams county, 
residing in New Haven township, was bori: 
at Waukesha, Wisconsin, December 23, 
1 84 1, and was the son of John F. and Lydia 
P. (Barker) Bidwell. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York, 



September 16, 1809. He went to Milwau- 
kee, \\'isccinsin, in 1835, and a short time 
afterward moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, 
where he remained, engaged in farming un- 
til 1845, when he settled at Omro, Winneba- 
go county, Wisconsin. He moved to East- 
on township, Adams county, in 1855, and 
entered claim on one hundred and twenty 
acres of land which he improved. He cleared 
and broke sixty-three acres which he success- 
fully tilled. Those were pioneer days and 
supplies were hauled from Portage, Wiscon- 
sin, but he overcame the difficulties of life 
in a new country and helped to bring that 
region to its present prosperous condition. 
He was postmaster of Grand Marsh for 
twenty-two years, and he organized several 
school districts which still exist. He was 
married January i. 1833, to Miss Lydia 
P. Barker, who was born in De Kalb, St. 
Lawrence county. New York, January 22, 
1812. Four children were born of this 
union as follows: Mary S., who married 
M. C. Bushnell, and wlm died January 30, 
i860; Harriet A., who married D. F. Stone, 
and is now residing in the state of Wash- 
ington: Virnal A., now resitling in Eastou 
townshi]), Adams county: and William B., 
our subject. 

When a lad of fourteen years \\'illiam 
E. Bidwell came with his parents to Easton 
township, Adams county, Wisconsin, where 
he worked with his father, improving a tract 
of wild land, which was purchased of the 
government. He received a good common- 
school education, and was an industrious, 
steady young man. He came into posses- 
sion of his father's farm, where he remained 
until 1888, making man}- substantial im- 
provements, and by perseverance and energy 
Iiecame a successful farmer. In 1888 he 
was chosen overseer of the Adaiiis County 
Poor Farm, where he remained six years, 
gaining the confidence of the people ami the 
kindly feeling of the inmates. By his sug- 



548 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



gestioii many improvements were made, and 
his management was a success, wliich is at- 
tested to by the fact that he was again offered 
the position by the county poor commission- 
ers at an advance of salary, which he de- 
cHned. He had grown tired of the perplex- 
ing cares which the inmates entailed upon 
him, and following the longing for the 
peace and quiet of private life he retirerl 
from the management of the poor farm, and 
purchased eighty acres of fertile land on 
section nine in Xew Haven township, where 
lie is meeting with success. He engages 
in diversified farming, ami his estate, al- 
though not as large as others in the vicinity, 
is among the best. 

Mr. Bidwell was married October i, 
1862, to Miss Adelia A. Colver, a native of 
Toronto, Canada, who was born May 20, 
1846. Four children ha\e been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Bidwell, as follows: Delephene 
S., who married Perry Cavanaugh, and now 
resides in Lincoln township, Adams county ; 
V'irnal, who died in infancy; Carrie S., who 
married Fred Colver, and now resides in 
Montana ; and Marion L., now Mrs. Frank 
Coon, of New Haven, Adams county. 

Mr. Bidwell is a public-spirited man, 
taking an active interest in the educational 
matters of his district, and has served many 
years as a school officer. He represents the 
township of New Haven on the county 
boartl, and is an active member, taking a 
firm stand for the right on all popular meas- 
ures. He is a member in good standing 
of the Masonic fraternity, and in political 
faith is a Republican, and has always advo- 
cated the jjrinciples of that party. 



GEORGE F. NOBLE. 

George F. Noble is a well-known con- 
tractor and Iniilder of Kilbourn City, Wis- 
consin, iif whose skill manv notable exam- 
ples are to be seen in this section of the 



state. Thoroughly reliable in all things, the 
fiualit)' of his work is a convincing test of 
his own personal worth and the same admira- 
ble trait is shown in the conscientious dis- 
charge of the duties of different positions of 
trust and responsibility to which he has been 
chosen in business and political life. 

Mr. Noble was born in Bristol, \'ermont, 
August 8, 181 8, a son of Roger and Lucy 
(Fitch) Noble, both of English descent. 
The father was born in Westfield, Massa- 
chusetts, and was a descendant of Thomas 
Noble, who came to this country in 1650. 
In earl}' life Roger Noble followed the oc- 
cupation of farming until meeting with an 
accident, and then engaged in the manufac- 
ture of iron. Li 1828 he moved to Dixboro, 
Michigan, where he died the following year. 
The mother then returned with her family 
to Vermont where she died in 1829. 

Reared in his native state, our subject 
attended the ]\Iiddlebury Academy, from 
which he \\as graduated. At the age of fif- 
teen he began working at the carpenter's 
trade at New Haven, Vermont, where he 
remained eighteen months and then went to 
Middlebury, where he continued to follow 
his trade for a number of years, in the mean- 
time becoming a master mechanic. Subse- 
cjuently he was similarly employed in Wal- 
worth county, Wisconsin, until 1S50, when 
he went to California during the gold ex- 
citement in that state, and engaged in min- 
ing for two years. He returned to ^^'ahvo■rth 
county, Wisconsin, in the spring* of 1852 
and resumed work at his trade. A skillful 
workman and an upright, reliable business 
man, he steadily prospered and gained in 
his worldly possessions. In 1855 he re- 
moved to Old Newpc)rt, and in the fall of 
that year came to Kilbourn City, Colum- 
liia county, where he worked at his trade un- 
til t86i, and then successfulh- engaged in 
dealing in farm produce and live stock for a 
time. In 1873 he sold his warehouse to 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



549 



vliat is now the firm of Sniitli & Corning-, 
of Killionrn, and again turned his attentinn 
tci the carpenter's trade. 

In ()ctiil>er, iS4^v Mr. Xolile was united 
in marriage with ]\liss Angeline E. Cnni- 
wall, who was hurn in Rochester, Xew 
York. December 17, 181 8, a daughter of 
Richard Cornwall, a soldier of the war of 
1812. Her grandfather was one nf the 
heroes of the Revohuinnary war. 'r<.> <>ur 
subject and his wife were horn three chil- 
dren, namely: .Andrew li.. burn March 21. 
1846, has fir the past tw,;nty-hve years been 
engaged in the banking business in Des 
Moines, Iowa. Frank H., born October 17. 
1848, is engaged in the real estate business 
in Seattle, W'ashingtcm. Cornelia M., born 
October 13, 1844, was married in Kilbourn, 
July 20, 1870. to Capt. Oliver H. Sorrenson, 
and resided in Portage, where she died De- 
cember 17, 1875, ^vhile her husband died in 
La Crosse, Wisconsin, Alarch 7. 1882. 

On coming- to Killiourn Mr. Xoble found 
the village only partially sur\'eyed. He 
bought lots 14, 15 and 1C1, block 46. on Su- 
perior street, but has since sold lot 16 and 
a part of Int 15. He has made very sul)- 
stantial impro\'ements njjon his property 
and has a fine residence surrounded In- 
beautiful grounds. He is a thorough busi- 
ness man, upright and hunnrable in all his 
dealings, and through his own well-direct- 
ed efforts has gained a ciim])etence. He 
is a member of the Masonic fraternitv and 
the Indei>endent Order of Odd Fellows, and 
has always been a stanch Re|)ublican. He 
takes an active and commendable- interest- 
in public affairs, and has held the office 
of town treasurer and assessor, in which 
capacity he has served to the entire sat- 
isfaction of his constituents. He has been 
justice of the peace for thirty years, and po- 
lice justice in Kilbourn City for several 
terms. His official duties ha\e been always 
most promptly and faithfully discharged. 



HOLVER ROBERTS, Dece.vsed. 

Holver Roberts, deceased, was a well- 
kncnvn and highly respected citizen of the 
t(,'wn of Otsego, Columbia county, Wiscon- 
sin, where he lived for nearly fifty years, 
n-iaking a deep impression on the community 
njDt less l:)v his industry and honor than by 
his kindly spirit and upright character. He 
w as a useful man, an honest and kind-heart- 
ed man, and left a vacancy in the neighbor- 
hood difificult to fill. He was born in Tele- 
markeii. Norway. Januar\- 28, 1844. and d.ied 
in \\'est Baden, Indiana, May 7, i8(;o. lie 
was a son of Robert Thompson and Esther 
( Holverson ) Ri)l)erts. and was brought by 
them to this country about 1850, and set- 
tled upon a farm in the town of Otsego. 
There the hnsljand and father died January 
2, 1890, at the age of se\-enty. His widow 
still survives him, and is now seventy-seven 
years of age. 

Holver Roberts left home when a young 
man and spent some time in the Michigan 
pineries and elsewhere. He returned aliout 
the year 1872, and for a tinie carried on the 
paternal homestead, and then liougbt a farm 
of one hundred and seventy acres, in the 
same township, which was his home as long 
as he lived. He made many improvements on 
the place, putting up substantial and elegant 
Imildings. and con\-erting- it into one of the 
uiodel farms of Columbia county. He was 
a Republican and from time to time filled 
many of the local oftices, particularly that 
of town clerk. He was married to Carrie 
Esterl)av Januarv 5, 187^1. She was a daugh- 
ter of Knute Severson and Lieve (Knutson) 
Esterbay, Januarv 5, 1876. She was a daugh- 
Bergen, Norwav. They came to the United 
States in 1857, and made their home in 
Hampden, Columbia county. He died in the 
town of Otsego in 1865 when fifty-six A-ears 
old. She is still li\ing in l^)rown county, 
South Dakota, and is o\er se\-entv-six. 



550 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mrs. Roljerts liad nine cliildren : Henry 
Cliarles, a farmer, who carries <in the family 
homestead ; Clara Matilda, a clerk in a Rio 
store: Tena Louisa; Esther Rosena ; Thomas 
Ingwal ; Alice Tonette; ("hester Frederick, 
Oscar Walter and Mabel Elnora. Mr. Rob- 
erts and his family were associated with 
the Norwegian Lutheran church of Otsego. 
In recent years, hiiwexer, they were attend- 
ants also at other churches, as he had a broad 
and sympathetic spirit. He was an honor- 
able and conscientious man. and left many 
friends to mourn his demise. 



JOH.V WILLIAAI BLAKE. 

John William Blake, one oi the best- 
known citizens of Reedsburg, Sauk county, 
and for many years one of the most promi- 
nent newspaper men in this section of the 
.state, is a native of England, his birth hav- 
ing occurred in South Moulton, Devonshire, 
March zy. 1834. His parents, Philip and 
Mary (May) Blake, also natives of Devon- 
shire, emigrated to .America in 1849, bring- 
irg with them their family. For a short 
time they made their home in (.Columbus, 
Wisconsin, and tlien remo\ed to Baraboo, 
where the father followed his trade of shoe- 
making. He had been e.xtensivelv engaged 
in business along that line in Chumleigh, 
England, prior to coming to this country. 
He died in Lemonweir, Juneau county, Wis- 
consin, in the spring of 1851, at the age ot 
thirty-eight. His wife long survived him, 
dying at Baraboo, October iS, i8g6, at the 
ripe old age of eighty-four. 

The greater part Of the carl\- education 
of our suliject was obtained in the schools 
of his native land. In 185 1 he began learn- 
ing the printer's trade in the ofifice of the 
"Sauk County Standard," at Baraboo, the 
first iniblication of the count}', and then but 



recently estal)lished. He afterward brought 
material frcjin Portage for equipping the 
office of the "Baraboo Republic," in which 
he was employed most of the time until 1862, 
when he purchased a half interest in the 
same, becoming sole proprietor eighteen 
months later and publishing the paper until- 
1865. Subsequently he was interested in 
the "Tndeijendence Bulletin." of Inde- 
pendence, Iowa, and was connected with'the 
"Baraboo Independent," jiublished by Col. D. 
K. Noyes. On the 1st of July. 1878, in 
company with J. H. Powers, he ])urchased 
the "Reedsburg Free Press," but his partner 
retired from the business sixteen months 
later and Mr. Blake continued the publication 
of the paper alone until April. 1893, when he 
sold t._) W. F. Hill. 

On the 13th of November. 1856, Mr. 
Blake wedded Miss Mary E. Ambler, a native 
of Hillsdale, Michigan, and a daughter of 
Jacob Ambler. She died at Baraboo May 8, 
1889, at the age of fifty-two years. Three 
children were born of thfs union, namely: 
Nettie M., now the wife of Arthur M. Wells, 
of Baraboo ; Philip A., deceased ; and Louis 
C, a resident of Fullerton, California. Mr. 
Blake was again married, April 28, 1894, 
his second union being with Mrs. Ellen 
Adelia Reid, a daughter (jf William B. and 
Mary A. Jones, of Barnstable, England, and 
the children liorn of this marriage are John 
Perkins, Charles and Harold Lawton. 

Socially Mr. Blake atitiliates with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity and the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and is the secretary of 
Reedsburg City Lodge, No. 108, I. O. O. 
F.. and a member of N(.)rthwestern Encamp- 
ment, No. 20, at Baraboo. Politically he has 
always been identified with the Republican 
party and he has been honored with several 
important public positions, ha\'ing served 
as county register two terms, town treas- 
urer of Baraboo several terms, and assessor 
of Reedsburg for the past three years. A 




JOHH W. BLAKE. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



558 



public-spirited and progressive citizen, he lias 
given his support to all measures for the 
public good. Over his life record there falls 
no shadow of wrong; his public service has 
been most exemplary ; and his private life 
has been marked li)- the utmost fidelity to 
duty. An excellent portrait of Mr. Blake is 
shown elsewhere in this volume. 



JOHN HENRICH, Deceased. 

For more than forty-fixe years Wiscon- 
sin was the home of this gentleman, and he 
was one of the land owners and successful 
agriculturists of W'liodland township, Sauk 
county, for over a quarter of a century. At 
the time of his death he was possessed of 
four hundred and seventy-five acres of land, 
and his homestead was equipped with the 
finest buildings to be found in the township. 
In the accumulation of his wealth he had 
only his energetic efforts, perseverance and 
honesty on which to de]jend, and with those 
characteristics dominating his life he gained 
his estate. He was one of the first men of 
his community, and ever ready to support 
the enterprises put forward for the puljlic 
good. 

Mr. Henrich was a nati\-e of Switzer- 
land, and was born July i6, 1824. He came 
tcr America in 1848 and engaged in farming 
in Kenosha and Walworth counties, Wiscon- 
sin, and in 1866 mo\'ed to Woodland town- 
ship, Sauk county, where he made his home 
until his death. He invrchased eightv acres of 
land from his brother, and by hard work and 
careful management added to his possessions 
from time to time until he owned four hun- 
dred and seventy-five acres. His farm was 
one of the best kept within the borders of the 
county, and in the details which have such 
telling effect and ])ring such good results 
he exercised the best of judgment. 



Mr. Henrich was married in Walworth 
county. Wisconsin, to Mary Preimer, whose 
parents were natives of Prussia. Mrs. Hen- 
rich's father came to the United States and 
located in Iowa, where his death occurred. 
Three children, two of whoui are still liv- 
ing, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henrich: 
Peter; and Anna, now Mrs. Theodore Moll. 
After the death of the father the property 
was divided, and Mrs. Moll is now living 
on the homestead farm. Mr. Henrich passed 
away Decemlier 24, 1894, leaving a large 
circle of friends to mourn for him. His 
death was a loss to the entire community, 
and he was respected by all. 

Peter Henrich, the only son of John 
Plem-ich, was born November 16, 1863, in 
Walworth county, Wisconsin. He resided 
at home with his parents through his boy- 
hood 'and early manhood, and assisted his 
father with the farm work and was interest- 
ed with him in the accumulation of the es- 
tate which was one of the best in the vicin- 
ity. His father and he planned t(.)gether, and 
to the judgment antl careful business meth- 
ods of the son is due a great share of the ac- 
cumulation of the large estate. He is now 
proprietor of a farm comprising three hun- 
dred acres, on which he has the best of farm 
buildings, and lias recently erected a model 
residence, one of the finest in the township. 

Mr. Henrich was married November 30, 
1887, to Alice Carpenter, daughter of Silas 
and Clarissa (Smith) Carpenter, residents 
of Rock Bridge, Richland county, Wiscon- 
sin. Mrs. Henrich"s father was a native of 
New \o\-k and her mother was born in Ver- 
u'ont. Three children have been liorn to 
bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henrich, as 
follows: George, born July 25, 1890; Mary, 
born October 29, 1892; and Clarissa, born 
September 3. 1895. Mr. Henrich has filled 
various township offices, and in every in- 
stance has discharged his duties with credit 
tt; himself and iox the interests of his com- 



554 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



munity. He advocates the free coinage of 
sih'er, and is a nienilier of the Democratic 
party, and stands firmly for its principles. 
He is loyal and determined in the adherence 
to the right and to his friends, and is one of 
the important factors in the de\-elopment and 
growth of the social and financial interests of 
Woodland township. 



N. E. ALLEN. 



N. E. Allen, a prominent and successful 
agriculturist of Springville township, Adams 
county, Wisconsin, is one of the honored 
pioneers of this state, and has materially 
aided in its development and prosperity. He 
was born in Portage, Livingston county. 
New York, March 3, 1821, and belongs to 
an old and highly respected family of the 
east, his paternal great-grandfather being a 
cousin of Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary 
fame. 

Cyrus Allen, the father of our subject, 
was born in Sci])io, L'a_\-uga county, New 
York, December 25, 1794, and was married 
in November, 181 8, to Amanda Durkee, 
wdio was also born in that place December 
I5> 1795- Her parents were Elisha and 
Hannah (Gore) Durkee. She had fi\-e uncles 
killed in the Wyoming massacre during the 
Revolution. Soon after his marriage Cyrus 
Allen Icjcated in the town of Portage, Liv- 
ingston county. New York, where he en- 
gaged in farming until his death. He was 
killed by being thrown from a buggy in a 
runaway in August. 1857. His children 
were Nelson E., our subject: Edwin C, 
born June 9, 1824; William D., born June 
5, 1827: and Emma, born October 25, 1831. 

Our sul>ject was educated in the Nunda 
Academy, Livingston county, New York, 
and at the age of nineteen commenced teach- 
ing school, a profession which he success- 



fully followed for three successive winters. 
In 1S42 he came to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 
which then consisted of but three houses, 
and, together with A. Knfight, made the 
first improvements in Trenton township, 
Dodge county, where he made his home for 
fifty-fi\e years. After securing his land, 
however, he returned to New York, by way 
of the Great Lakes, and on the vo3rage en- 
countered some severe storms. Li the spring 
of 1843 he located permanently upon his land 
and at once began its improveiuent. 

While breaking his land Messrs. Allen 
and Knight Jived together upon the for- 
mer's claim, and experienced many of the 
hardships and difificulties incident to pioneer 
life. He can relate many interesting inci- 
dents of those early days when the country 
was wild and sparsely settled. One of these 
gives a fair idea of the privations and incon- 
veniences of frontier life. Their breaking 
team, consisting of ten oxen, strayed away 
upon the prairie and they were forced to go 
arid find them. After much diftrculty and a 
long search of three days in different direc- 
tions, they were at length found and driven 
home, but on entering their shack they found 
the fire out, and as this was before the in- 
A'ention of matches. Mr. Nelson had to go 
to the nearest neighljor, which was five miles, 
to secure a brand of fire, in the meantime 
having nothing to eat. With his lirand of 
fire he set out upon the homeward journey, 
and when he had nearly reached his destina- 
tion he stumbled and fell, the brand flying 
many rods away in the wet grass. He 
scrambled after it and secured it before it 
was entirely extinguished, and by waving it 
rapidly in the air succeeded in saving the 
sparks. At another time he was intrusted 
with c|uite a large sum of money belonging 
to the settlers to be taken to the land office 
in Green Bay. He made the journey on foot 
through the forests, wading or swimming 
tlie streams, and covered the distance between 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



555 



that place and Bea\'er Dam and return in 
tour days and a half. 

On the 1 8th of ^larch, 1846, Nelson E. 
Allen married Sarah C. Botsford, and they 
became the parents of the following chil- 
dren: Ezra, born August 22, 1848, died 
January 26, 1871 ; Mary Effie, born De- 
cember 16, 1853, died in infancy; Mary 
Effre (2nd), born June 19, 1856, died at the 
age of two and a half years; Etta Amanda, 
born Feliruary 11, i860, was married Octo- 
ber 12, 1 88 1, to Franklin Coon, and died 
August 19. 1882; and Eddie G., born May 
2, 1866, is in the elevator business at Bil- 
lings, Oklahoma. ;\Ir. Allen was again mar- 
ried July 25, 1877, his second union being 
with Eliza Sawyer, who was born in New 
Hampshire, in January, 1841. 

In 1 808 Mr. Allen came into possession 
of seven hundred and sixty acres of land in 
Springville township, Adams county, wdiere 
hehas since made improvements, and now has 
four hundred acres under a high state of 
cultivation and well improved. He makes a 
specialty of Galloway cattle and Poland 
China hogs, and has some registered stock 
upon his place. He is an enthusiast on the 
subject of clover and has taken quite an act- 
ive and prominent part in farmers' insti- 
tutes. 

During the Civil war Mr. Allen enlist- 
ed in Cumpanj' H, Twenty-ninth Wiscon- 
sin \'olunteer Infantry, but was afterward 
tranferred to the Fifth Regiment. He par- 
ticipated in several skirmishes and the l)at- 
lle of Yazoo Bayou and was mustered out 
with the rank of lieutenant March 18, 1865. 
Politically he was an Abolitionist and later 
a Republican until the close of President 
Grant's first term, and since then has affil- 
iated with the Populist party. At one time 
he was nominated for governor by that party, 
Init declined the honor, and subsequently 
was twice a candidate for lieutenant-gov- 
ernor. During those campaigns he made 



a strong canvass and delivered manv 
speeches throughout the state. He is a man 
of prominence, is widely and favorabl)' 
known as a public-spirited and enterprising 
citizen, and is highly esteemed anfl greatly 
respected in the community where he re- 
sides. 



CHARLES S. TOMPKINS. 

Charles S. Tompkins, a retired farmer 
residing in the village of Otsego, Columbia 
count}', was born in Starkey, Yates county, 
New York, October 28, 1823, and is a son 
of Dan and Hannah (Demming) Tomp- 
kins. He comes of good old Revolutinnary 
stock, his grandfather having been a soldier 
in that war, for which he drew a pension 
long before his death. Governor Tompkins, 
of New York, was of a branch of this fam- 
ily. The Tompkins family came to AN'iscim- 
sin in 1854 and bought a farm of two hun- 
dred acres in the town of Otsego, on whicli 
they lived until their death. They bad a 
family of ten children, four of whom are 
dead : Edwin D., of VVatkins, New York, is 
a very prominent Mason ; Charles S. is the 
theme of this historical sketch ; George died 
in California in 1853, having gone there by 
way of the "Cape;" Hiram A. died in youth ; 
James resides in Brooklyn ; Hannah Maria 
is ^Irs. Joseph Cody, of Madison, Nebraska ; 
Mary Jane is Mrs. Thomas Jones, of Co- 
lumbus, \\'isconsin ; Catherine married Will- 
iam AVhitfield, and is now dead ; William 
Henry Harrison died in 1863, and Lucretia 
and Samuel live in ^ladison, Nebraska, with 
their sister. 

The subject of this sketch came west in 
1852, and settled in the town of Otsego, just 
east of the village of the same name. In 
1863 he sold his farm. June 7, 1847, 'le was 
married to Miss Susan Rouse, daughter of 
William and Polly (Shaw) Rouse, of 



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COMF/iNIJlUM 01- BIOGK/ir'HY. 



557 



have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White as 
follows: Anna Alinira, born I-'ebriiary 5, 
1869, rlied in a burning building February 
12, 1899; Charles J.; Abbic I.., now Mrs. 
A. Besaw, of Waushara county ; Lorenzo A.; 
J'" rank E., a teacher in Sauk county; and 
Nellie M. Mr. White is a member of the 
Advent Christian church of Lavalle, and 
contributed of his means for the erection of 
llie church building. He is a member of the 
A. A. Matthews I^ost, No. 44, fi. A. I<.,-at 
Lavalle, and is adjutant in the local jx>st. 
Jle has fillerl various ofifices of trust and wa? 
village clerk eight years. He has been a life- 
long Kepublican in political faith and cast 
his vote for Abraham Lincoln in i860. 
I here is perhaps no man in the village who 
takes a more active interest in its welfare 
and has done more to promote its enterprises 
than Mr. White. He is well known through- 
out the county and is a rhan whose opinions 
are sought and advice heeded. 



EDWARD SHANAHAN. 

Edward Shanahan, a worthy represent- 
ative of the agricultural interests of Adams 
county, Wisconsin, now owns and operates 
a fine farm in Dell Prairie towr.ship, and is 
successfully engaged in his chosen occupa- 
tion. He was Ixyrn in EdwardsVjurg, Cass 
county, Michigan, March 25, 1852, and is 
the ninth son of Hon. E^lward Shanahan. 
He ac(|uired his literary education in the 
common, graded and high schools near his 
boyhood home, and until he attained his ma- 
jority he worked on his father's large farm, 
where he seaired an excellent knowledge of 
agricultural pursuits. At the age of twen- 
t\'-one he began farming on his own ac- 
count upon one of his father's farms, and 
throughout his active business life has suc- 
cessfully followed that vocation. He raises 



principally corn and hogs, making a s\yt- 
cialty of the f'oland China breed. ()n the 
1st of April, 1884, he removed to Dell I'rairie 
township, Adams county, where he now 
owns one hundred and fifty-six acres of land 
on .section 31, one hundrerl of which are 
under a high state of cultivation and well 
improved. Ht has a 1>eautiful home, sur- 
rounded by lovely grounds, and everything 
about the jilace testifies to the skill and en- 
terprise of the owner. 

On the 15th of September, 1880, Mr. 
Shanahan werlfled Miss Mary H, Hanley, 
who was also lx>rn in fvlwardsburg, Michi- 
gan, October 4, 1858, and educated in the 
common .schools of that state. Her parents, 
Patrick and Mary Hanley, were natives of 
county Limerick, Ireland, and emigrat&l to 
A.merica at an early day, the mother l>eing 
only a child when she crossed the Atlantic. 
They located in Michigan. 

The f<epublican party finals in Mr. Shan- 
ahan a stanch suf^p^jrter of its principles, h»ut 
he has never cared for the hf^ors or emolu- 
ments of imblic office, preferring Xf) devote 
his entire time and attentif^n to his business 
interests. As an honest, upright and indus- 
trious man, he is highly esteemed by his 
neighfxirs and friends. 



HL'GH McMAHOX. 

Hugh McMahon, for many years a resi- 
dent of the northwestern part of Fountain 
Prairie township, Columbia county, an-l a 
familiar figure on the streets of the village 
of Doylestown, is a tiller of the soil who 
has won a competency bj' industry and econ- 
omy. He commands the respect of the com- 
munity as an honest and upright man, and 
nc regrets over a wasted and misspent life 
mar his advancing years. 

Mr, McMahon is a son of Edward and 



558 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Rose (Kirley) McMahon, and was born in 
the northern part of Ireland, April 5, 1H31. 
His parents came to this country about 
1845, and remained a short time in the 
state of New York. In 1849 they came 
\vest to Ccilumbia county, and were so at- 
tracted by the charming stretclies of the 
township of Fountain Prairie, that they ef- 
fected a settlement within its confines. Here 
they lived and died, and were honest, God 
fearing people. The senior McMahon w'as 
twice married, and had a large family by 
each wife. Our subject has eight brothers, 
all of whom have finally come into the west, 
though not at the same time. He settled 
on the farm now owned by him when cjuite 
3-oung, and at one time owned over three 
hundred acres. He has reduced this acre- 
age, howe\'er, by turning part of it over to 
his son, and selling a considerable tract to 
the railroad. A Columbus syndicate has also 
purchased several acres of him for the pur- 
pose of quarrying the excellent red sand- 
stone found there. 

Mr. McMahon and Miss Mary Cranion 
were married in 1854. She is a nati\-e of 
Dublin, and has inherited manv of the best 
traits of the island character. She is 
the mother of iowr children : Barth(jlemew, 
v^ho is living in \'ancouver, British Co- 
hunbia; Anthony, who li\-es on part of the 
old farm ; Annie, who married Daniel Rior- 
dan; and Mary Theresa, who is the wife of 
Patrick Kirley, of Doylestown. In their hos- 
pitable home three adopted children have 
grown to maturity: Alfred Anderson, who 
was adopted by our subject as William Mc- 
Mahon, when he became a man enlisted in 
the United States regular army, and was 
severely wounded at Santiago; Rosa, who 
married and lives in j\Iilwaukee; and Eliza, 
now Mrs. John A. Logan, of Doylestown. 

Mr. McMahon has been a lifelong Dem- 
ocrat, but does not limit the e.xercise of his 
privilege as a citizen by strict party lines. 



He prefers to seek the fittest man for the 
place, and to largely consider the welfare 
of the country rather than mere party or- 
ganization. He is a brother of John E. Mc- 
ivlahon, whose sketch appears in these pages, 
and the two brothers have Ijeen men of 
strong character and marked ability in this 
community for many years. Our subject 
is a member of the Catholic church at 
Doylestown, and has been an hiniest, hard- 
working man all his life. He is modest 
and unassuming, but straightforward and 
persevering, and may well congratulate him- 
self upon the success that has attended his 
labors. He has been a Mason since 1865, 
and is a member of Rio Lodge, at Rio, 
^Visconsin. 



ISRAEL PERRY. 

Israel Perry, whose pleasant home is lo- 
cated near Reedsburg, in Lavalle township, 
is one of the foremost men of his calling 
in Sauk county. He has engaged in the pivr- 
suit of agriculture throughout his career, 
and has gained a thorough knowledge of 
his vocation, which, together with his indus- 
trious and practical nature, has made him 
a man of means and one whose influence is 
felt wherever he is knowu. 

Mr. Perry was born in iMidilletown, 
Rutland county, Vermont, January ^9, 1837, 
au-d was the son of Israel and Calista 
(Moshier) Perry. His father was born in 
the same town and county as our subject, 
and his mother was a native of Wells, same 
county. They were of American ancestors 
as far as can be traced, and followed the 
occupation of farming. The faiuily moved 
to Whitewater, W'ahvijrth county, \\'iscon- 
sin, in the spring of 1857, and rented a farm 
for one or two years, and then moved to 
Lavalle township, Sauk county, in 1861, 
where the father died in April, 1881, aged 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



559 



about eighty-lhree years, and the niDther 
passed away in August, 1883, aged eighty- 
two years. 

Our suljject moved west wtli his par- 
ents when fourteen years of age, and worked 
on iiis father's farm until he enlisted Janu- 
ary 4, 1864, in Company F, Twenty-third 
Wisconsin Infantry. He saw service under 
General Banks in the department of the 
Gulf, and was engaged at Spanish Fort, 
FortBlakeley, and ntmierous smaller engage- 
ments. He was confined in the hospital, 
afliicted with smallpox, at Morganzie Bend, 
and was mustered out of the service March 
15, 1866, at Brownsville, Texas. 

After the close of the war Mr. Perry 
returned to Reedsburg, and engaged in 
farming on the old homestead. He has a 
comfortable residence and is otherwise pre- 
pared to enjoy his declining years. 

Our subject was married November 12, 
1867, to Jilartha Potter, daughter of Elisha 
and Clemina (Calkins) Potter. Mrs. Perry 
came with her parents to Sauk county in 
1853, and here her parents died, the fa- 
ther June 8, 1883, aged eighty-two years, 
and the mother in June, 1879, aged eighty- 
four years. 

Mr. Perry is a prominent member of H. 
A. Tator Post, G. A. R., of Reedsburg, and 
has held most of the offices of the post, in- 
cluding commander. He was a loyal and 
brave soldier, who fought for the cause of 
his country, and can review his career, while 
a soldier, with justifiable pride, as well as 
his private and public life since leaving the 
service. He is popular with his associates 
and is deservedly held in high esteem by 
them. He takes an active interest in the 
welfare of his community, and is a man 
strong in his own convictions and is always 
found standing on the side of right and 
justice. His calling is one best suited to 
his characteristics, and he has made a suc- 
cess through his own efforts. Honesty 



marks his e\'ery deed, and he has aided ma- 
tcriall}' in the upl)uil(ling of Sauk county, 
and especially in his i.wn tcjwnship. 



LEWIS H. BUCKLEY. 

Lewis H. Buckley, a prominent and suc- 
cessful agriculturist and stock raiser, resid- 
ing" in Lewiston township, Columbia coun- 
ty, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, 
March 16, 1845, and is a son of Matthew 
Buckley, a wheelwright, who was born at 
Mulingar, county \\'est Meath, Ireland. 

The father of our subject came to Amer- 
ica in 1828, and settled at Norwich, Con- 
necticut, where he worked in the woolen 
mills and at other work until 1849, when he 
came to New Haven, Adams county, Wiscon- 
sin, and entered claim to two hundred acres 
of land, and began impro\ing it. He was in- 
dustrious and perse\-ering and succeeded in 
clearing and breaking one luuulred acres. 
He was successful as a farmer and at the 
time of his death, which occurred in Oc- 
tober, 1865, he was well-to-do. He was the 
father of five children, as follows: Leonard, 
v/ho is a successful farmer in New Haven 
township, Adams county, near the old home- 
stead ; Mary, born in 1851, who married Ole 
Nelson, and is now residing at Crookston, 
South Dakota; Barney, born in 1857, who 
married Miss Marietta Stowell, and is now 
living at New Buffalo, Cass county. North 
Dakota; Patsey, born in 1859, who marrieil 
Miss Florence Hosford, ajid now resides in 
New Buffalo, North Dakota; and Lewis H., 
our subject. 

Lewis H. Buckle}- moved with his jiar- 
ents to New Haven township, Adams coun- 
ty, when he was but five years of age. He 
received a good common-school education, 
and worked on the farm with his father until 
nineteen years of age, when he enlisted in 



560 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Company D, Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, re- 
maining in the service until the close of the 
v.ar. He was mustered out at Vicksburg, 
June 20, 1865, 1)y general order. He served 
under General Bailey and General Wilson, 
and participated in the siege of Mobile and 
the battle of Olive Branch Church, and 
minor engagements, and received a gun- 
shot wound at the last named battle. He en- 
joys the distinction of capturing the third 
preserved relic, a double-barrelled shotgun, 
which is now in the historical room of the 
state capitol at Madison, Wisconsin. 

After returning from the war he en- 
gaged in the lumber woods and in running 
lumber down the Wisconsin river until 
about 1875, when he settled on his farm in 
New Haven township, Adams county, and 
Vvas a successful farmer. He remained until 
1885, when he purchased what is known as 
the Kauffman farm, on section 12, town- 
ship 13, range 7, Columbia county. Th.e 
estate comprises five hundred and twenty 
acres of land, with two hundred and eighty- 
five acres under cultivation. Mr. Buckley 
makes a specialty of stock raising, and Dur- 
ham cattle and Poland China hogs are his 
leaders. He gives his attention to the rais- 
irig of clover and wheat, and has one of the 
finest farms in northern Columbia county. 
He has one of the most beautiful residences 
in the county, both as to structure and lo- 
cation, and he has improved the "Kauff- 
man" farm beyond recognition, with its 
beautiful grounds, orchards, large barns and 
outbuildings. 

Mr. Buckley was married July 4, 1875, 
to Miss Abbie F. Atcherson, daughter of 
W. T. Atcherson, of Dell Prairie. Mrs. 
Buckley was born at Rockingham, Windham 
county, Vermont, October 17, 1855, and 
moved wth her parents at the age of two 
years to Plainville, Wisconsin. She is a 
lady of refinement and well educated, and 
taught five years in the public schools of 



.Adams county. Mr. and Mrs. Buckley have 
been the parents of four children, two sons, 
one of whom is at home. and one residing 
in Chicago, and two daughters ; Olive E., 
born October 6, 1876, who received a liberal 
education and taught five years in the pub- 
lic schools. She was married May 7, 1898, 
to Albert Hoefs, and is n(jw living at Lewis- 
ton; Lizzie A., born November 20, 1884, 
in Lewiston, Columbia county, and is still 
residing at home. 

Mr. Buckley is a member of Ivilbourn 
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
and the G. A. R., in which he has held many 
important offices. He has represented the 
township of Lewiston on the county board 
two terms, and served as clerk of his school 
district twelve years. He succeeded in pro- 
curing an appropriation for the improve- 
ment of the Lewiston levee, which lifted a 
burden from the tax payers of the town- 
ship. He has been an officer of the Colum- 
bia County Agricultural Society twelve 
years. He has pushed forward every public 
enterprise, and his influence is felt through- 
out the county. 



RICHARD CHESTER ROCK WOOD, 
M. D., Deceased. 

Richard Chester Rockwood, M. D., de- 
ceased, was one of the earliest and most suc- 
cessful physicians of Columbia county, and 
also a prosperous business man and exem- 
plary citizen of Portage. He was born in 
Utica, New York, November 24, 1814. His 
parents died many years ago, the father in 
Elkhorn, Wisconsin, the mother in Viroqua, 
this state. 

Dr. Rockwood was educated for his pro- 
fession at the Philadelphia Medical College, 
from which he received his diploma Febru- 
ary 22, 1833, and soon afterward came to 
Wisconsin, being engaged in practice at 




RICHARD C, ROCKWOOD., M. D. (Deceased.) 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



563 



Elkhorn fur a time. He then removed to 
Wyocena, Columbia cimiity, 1)eing the first 
Ijhysician tn Incate there, and was not long- 
in building up a very large practice. For 
about tweh-e years lie also served as county 
physician, lie built the tirst hotel in Wyo- 
cena, which he carried on for a time, and 
also invested to some extent in real estate 
there. On his removal to Portage, in 187J, 
he abandoned professional labors, though he 
was occasionally called to the county house 
at Wyocena in the capacity of county physi- 
cian. He continued to deal in real estate 
and did quite an extensive loan business. 
He was a man of excellent business and ex- 
ecutive ability, and was very successful as a 
collector, though he often took no security, 
and never foreclosetl a mortgage. In 1876 
he built a fine brick residence on West Cook 
street, which was his home throughout the 
remainder of his life. 

About 1834 Dr. Rockwood married Miss 
Mahala Packard, of Unadilla, New York, 
who died in Wyocena, Wisconsin, in i860, 
aged forty years. She left two children : 
Charles, a veteran of the Civil war, who died 
in Leavenworth, Kansas ; and Helen, who 
married Henry Britt and died in Eldorado, 
Kansas. The Doctor was again married, 
June 16, 1861, his second union being with 
Miss Rose Conlon, a nati\e of county Louth, 
Ireland, who came to the Lhiited States in 
1852 with her parents, Lawrence and Rose 
Conlon. The family located in Lowville, 
Wisconsin, where the father, a successful 
farmer, died April i, 1887, at the age of 
ninety years, the mother, February 7, 1884, 
at the age of seventy-three. By his second 
marriage Dr. Rockwood had six children, 
three of whom are now deceased : Ernest 
Seymour, nigiit telegraph operator at Port- 
age, was accidentally shot while hunting, and 
died July 18. 1882, at the age of twenty 
years, five months and five days; Maria Lu- 
ella died at the age of six years; and May 

30 



Beatrice died at one and a half years. The 
(laughters died of scarlet fever on succes- 
sive days. The cliildren li\ing are Lewis 
Chester, now in Oregon; Edward Albert, 
who served in the Spanish-American war, a 
resident of Portage; and Abbie Imeldia. wife 
of E. F. Volkmann, of Fessenden, Xnrth 
Dakota. 

Dr. Rockwood died in Portage, July 6, 
1887, honored and respected by all who 
knew him. In politics he was a stanch 
Democrat, but favoretl the vigorous prose- 
cution of the Civil war. He served as 
justice of the peace in \\'yocena for sexeral 
years and as an alderman in Portage, and he 
was also nominated and came very nearly be- 
ing elected mayor of the city. In 1875 he 
was one of the chief promoters of the Co- 
lumbia County Agricultural Society, taking 
personal charge of preparing the grounds 
and arranging for the first fair, which was a 
great success. He always took an acti\e in- 
terest in everything pertaining to the upbuild- 
ing and advancement of his adopted county, 
and in his death the community realized that 
it had lost one of its valued and useful citi- 
zens. For many years he was a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and wdiile living in Wyo- 
cena served as master of the lodge. A short 
time before his death he united with St. 
Mary's Catholic church of Portage, of which 
his wife is also a member. A portrait of 
this estimable and widely known physician 
graces a page elsewhere in this \'olume. and 
to thousands in the county and vicinity will 
prove a valuable memento of the Doctor 
thev knew and loved so well. 



HARVEY B. COLBURN. 

Harvey B. Colburn, a thorough and skill- 
ful farmer, wdio is now successfully oper- 
ating a farm for the Dells Resort Company, 



504 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



in Dell Prairie township, Adams county, 
near Kilbourn City, was born in Ouincy 
township, the same county, October i8, 
1862, and is a son of Sherman and Elvira 
(Brazee) Colburn, who came to this county 
from Vermont, in 1861. (A sketch of their 
lives is given elsewhere in this work. ) Our 
subject received a good practical education, 
and after leaving school worked for his fa- 
tlier until twenty-two 3'ears of age. He next 
successfully engaged in school teaching for 
a time, and in 1885, on coming into posses- 
siiin of one hundred and sixty acres of wild 
land on sections 17 and 18, Springville 
township, Adams county, he turned his at- 
tention to agricultural pursuits. He cleared 
and broke his land, placed it under a high 
.•5iate of cultivation and erected good build- 
irgs thereon, including a comfortable resi- 
dence. He finally sold the place, and in 
1896 took charge of the farm which he is 
now so successfully operating. 

On the 19th of July, 1885, Mr. Colburn 
married Miss Martha Adele Reeves, a 
daughter of Anson and Julia (Hakes) 
Reeves, pioneer settlers of Adams county. 
The father operated a mill at Cascade, now 
White Creek, Adams county, and later be- 
came a prominent farmer of Springville 
township. He did much toward the early- 
development and upbuilding of this locality, 
and was recognized as one of its \'alued 
citzens. He died in 1874, and his wife 
passed away two years later. Mrs. Col- 
burn was educated in the common schools 
and was well qualified for the teacher's 
profession. By her marriage to our subject 
she has become the mother of one child, 
Elsie ]\I., born December 2j, 1889. 

In 1893 Mr. Colburn united with the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he 
and I:is wife are now prominent members, 
and take great interest in Sunday school and 
church work. They are also active members 
of the Home Forum, and are people of prom- 



inence in the community where they reside. 
In politics Mr. Colburn is a Republican, and 
his fellow citizens, recognizing his worth 
and ability, have elected him to a number 
of township offices, the duties of which he 
n]ost capably and satisfactorily discharged. 



JOHN FOSTER. 

John Foster, of Fall River, Columbia 
county, was born at ClarksAille, Otsego 
county, Xew York, August 15, 1833. He 
is the s(jn of Orrin Foster and Emeline 
Knapp. John Foster's father was a native 
of Dutchess county. New York, both his 
parents having belonged to pioneer families 
there, the earlier members of which took 
leading" parts in sui^pressing the Indians on 
the New York frontier. Flis father died 
when Orrin, the only son, was but two years 
old, and his mother, whose maiden name was 
Lizzie Boughton, afterwards married a Mr. 
Smith, by whom she had ten children. She 
sprang of an English family, wdiich located 
in America in colonial times, her grandfa- 
ther coming from England. 

About 1836, his wife having died, Orrin 
Foster went to Cuba in the employ of a 
corporation to operate a steam pile driver. 
There he spent nine years, during a part of 
which time he was engaged in mining. 
W'hile in that country he was married to a 
lady of Spanish descent. Shortly after his 
return to the United States he went to 
Henry county, Illinois, where for several 
years he operated a large farm, at the same 
time working as a civil engineer in laying 
out railroad lines through that state. 

The subject of this sketch spent his early 
days in New York until his father's return 
from Cuba. He then joined the latter in 
coming west and visited Milwaukee, Chica- 
go and other places before settling in Henry 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



565 



county, Illinois, where he assumetl the prin- 
cipal charge of the farm during his father's 
absence on other business. Not finding these 
surroundings congenial to his tastes, and 
having already imbibed a number of inde- 
pendent ideas, at the age of seventeen years, 
with a capital of six cents, he set out to 
make his own way. He worked that year 
on a farm in Illinois and then went East 
that he might again attend the "paring 
bees" and other social gatherings to which he 
had been accustomed in his earlier youth. 
During his stay there, on the 26th day of 
January, 1853, he was married to Miss 
Catherine Decker, daughter of Peter and 
Frinda Decker. Mrs. Foster was born at 
Cherry Valley, Otsego county, New^ York, 
December 19, 1830, and died at Fall River, 
Wisconsin, July 20, 1886. 

Soon after his marriage Mr. Foster 
came to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, 
where for one year he worked upon a 
farm and for five years more rented the same 
farm. He then purchased a hotel, the Calu- 
met House, at the village of that name, 
v.'hich he carried on very successfully for 
two years, when the spirit of adventure 
seized him and he started to drive to Iowa 
for the purpose of buying a farm in that 
state. Upon reaching Fountain Prairie 
township, which impressed him as being the 
finest country he had ever seen, he imme- 
diately bought a farm of o\-er two hun- 
dred acres. We may judge of the success 
of this man in his previous ventures, since 
we know that he paid Cash for this farm 
and a few months later purchased one hun- 
dred and sixty acres adjoining the same. 
Then followed a period of buying, improv- 
ing and selling, until finally he repurchased 
the original farm, upon which he continued 
to reside for twenty years more. Each of 
these transactions resulted in financial bene- 
fit to Mr. Foster, until he was recognized 
as one of the most substantial citizens of 



Columbia county. Since 1S83 he has liveil 
in the \'illage of Fall River, where he has 
erected a number of buildings and owns 
considerable real estate. He has also in- 
vested to some extent in South Dakota farm 
lands, and for thirty years or more has been 
an extensive dealer in live stock, shipping 
from various stations in this and adjacent 
counties. For many years he conducted a 
considerable loaning business, handling the 
funds of other parties as well as his own. 
These various transactions have given him 
a wide acquaintance and inspired the con- 
fidence of his associates to a noteworthy 
degree. His uniform success may be at- 
tributed to his untiring industry, business 
integrity and intelligent foresight. 

July 3, 1888, he was married a second 
time to Elizabeth Baxendall, daughter of 
Pliineas P. and Janet (Thornber) Baxen- 
dall. Mrs. Foster was born at Sutton Mills, 
Yorkshire, England, August 30, 1850. With 
her parents she came to Columbia county 
in i860, settling in the town of Fountain 
Prairie, where Mr. Baxendall acquired a 
large farm. He died there October 12, 
1890, at the age of nearly seventy years. 
In England he had accumulated considerable 
property through his skill as a weaver and 
warp dresser. /Vfter his death his wife lived 
much of the time with Mr. and Mrs. Foster 
until departing this life, June 23, 1896, at 
the age of eighty-two years. The home of 
Mr. and Mrs. Foster is one of the best resi- 
dences in the village of Fall River, where 
the latter is connected with the local organi- 
zation of Royal Neighbors of America. 

By his first marriage Mr. Foster had 
three sons and two daughters: Aclolphus, 
born June 19, 1854, is now living at De 
Smet, South Dakota: Fayette C. born Oc- 
tober 5, 1856. is a leading farmer of Foun- 
tain Prairie; ]\Iarv. born October 5, 1861, 
is the wife of Richard Huggett, of the same 
township; John, Ixyrn January 21, 1867, is 



566 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



a prominent citizen of Fall River ; Kate, 
born May 2, 1877, is the wife of Lewis 
D3-er, of Fall River. Mrs. Elizabeth Foster 
has borne her husband three children, whose 
presence enli\ens the present home. They 
are nametl respectively : Alice Janette, l:)orn 
April II, 1889; Bessie E., born April 29, 
1891 ; and Jessie M., born Julv 11. 1894. 
Mr. Foster also has fifteen grandchildren 
and two great-grandchildren. 

Mr. Foster has served several terms as 
chairman of the township board of super^ 
visors, as assessor and in other local offices. 
He was at one time nominated for county 
sheriff on the Democratic ticket and though 
he made no effort to advance his candidacy, 
owing to his personal popularity, he barely 
failed to overcome the usual large Republi- 
can majority in the county. 



WILLLVM HENRY EVARTS. 

\Villiam Henry Evarts. a successful and 
irilluential farmer, now living in retirement 
in the village of Poynette, represents one of 
the early pioneer families of Columbia coun- 
ty, and has himself been identified with much 
of the stirring and important history of this 
part of Wisconsin for many years. 

Mr. Evarts was born in Stephentown, 
Rensselaer county, New York, May 20, 1842, 
and is a son of Claudius L. and Betsey (Sny- 
der) Evarts, both natives of the Empire 
state. Authentic records of the Evarts 
family e.xist in London for a period of five 
hundred years or more. Members of the 
family were prominent among the colonists 
at Guilford, Connecticut, and were closely 
associated with the Whites, Adams and other 
noted families. The Evarts played a promi- 
nent part in the Revolution and other ]Dub- 
lic affairs, and everywhere pro\ed themselves 
men of character and spirit. Aaron Evarts 



was born at Guilford, Connecticut, in 1714, 
and his descendants may now be found all 
over the Lhiited States. His grandson, Isaac 
Evarts, moved to Rensselaer county. New 
York, married Betsey Phinney. and they 
were the jiarents of C. L. E\'arts. 

C. L. Evarts learned the trade of brick 
maker and layer in New York and came 
to Wisconsin in 1846, traveling by the lakes 
from Buffalo to Racine. He brought a yoke 
of oxen with him, and dro\-e from the last 
named place to Columbia count}-, and i.in his 
arrival in the countr}- secured a patent of two 
hundred acres of fine farming land from 
tlie government. This was wild land at the 
time it passed into his possession, but he soon 
brought it into a high state of cultivation. 
He died August 29, 1854, at the age of 
fifty years. When he located in Lowville, 
where he had his farm, there were only 
some seven of eight families in the entire 
township. He was an influential citizen and 
had much to do with the early affairs of Co- 
lumbia county. 

Mrs. Betsey Evarts sur\-i\'ed many years, 
and died in 1886, when about se\'enty-five 
years old. She was born in Columbia coun- 
ty. New York, where, her father, Nicholas 
Snyder, lived and died. His father, An- 
dreas Snyder, was born in Germany, and 
when eleven years old was kidnapped at 
Amsterdam and brought to New York, 
where he was adopted by a Dutch f;miily 
named Vanderpool at Kinderhook. When 
he became a man he settled at Lebanon, New 
\'ork, and was a farmer all his life. 

Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Evarts are the parents 
of eight children", of whom Philo and Elbert 
O. died in Lowville. Emeline died in Ober- 
lin, Ohio, and John passed away while yet 
a child. Sarah Jane married James Hodg- 
nian and died many years ago. William H., 
as noted above, is a resident of Poynette, 
and his sister, Emma Louise, wlnj married 
Ix. G. Smith antl lives in Iowa, was the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



567 



first white ciiiicl liorn in tlie town of Low- 
ville. 

William Henry Evarts spent his hoy- 
hood on the Ldwville farm, and was twelve 
years old when his father died. \Vhen he 
reached the age of twenty-one he took charge 
of the farm himself, and remained npon it 
a numl)er of years. In 1872 Mr. Evarts 
went to Good Thunder, Minnesota, and spent 
five years in improving a tract of wild land. 
When he had converted the Minnesota land 
into a desirable farm, and received a clear 
title, he returned to Wisconsin, and bought 
the home farm, upon which he was reared, 
and this is still in his possession. It is re- 
garded as one of the choicest farms in Co- 
lumbia count}', the region of fine farms. It 
contains one hundred and eighty acres, with 
splendid improvements and has all the 
modern appliances for rapid and effecti\'e 
agriculture. 

Since 1894 the subject of this sketch has 
li\ed in the \illage of Poynette, where in 
1899 he built himself a fine residence, fitted 
up according to the latest notions for com- 
fortable and healthy living. 

December 30, 1868, was the wedding day 
01 William Jdenry Evarts and Margaret A. 
Henr\-, the daughter of Frederick L. and 
Eliza W. (Cronkj lienry. Her father was 
born in Martinsburg, Lewis county. New 
York, and came to Wisconsin, seeking a 
home, in 1846. He located on government 
land in the town of Lowville, made a fair 
beginning of a home, and two years later 
brought his family from the east. He lived 
in Lowville until he died in 1893, seventy 
years of age. Ancestors of the Henry 
family were among the Scotch-Irish emi- 
grants wIto settled Blandford, Alassachu- 
setts, and were noted in those troul)lesome 
times for their peaceable relations with the 
Indians. A relative of F. L. Henry was an 
officer in the Continental army and so dis- 
tinguished himself that Fort William Henry 



was nametl after him. William Henry, the 
father of F. L. lienry, served in the war 
of 1 81 J, and received a land warrant. He 
married Anna Alexander, of Chester, Mas- 
sachusetts. Her father, Captain Nathaniel 
Alexander, commanded a company at 
Bunker Hill. William and Anna Henry 
were the first settlers of Martinsburg, New 
York. Mrs. Eliza W. Henry has reached 
the age of seventy-five years, and is still 
living in Poynette. She was born in Romu- 
lus, Seneca county. New York, and is a 
daughter of Elisha and Esther (Disbrow) 
Cronk, who lived on a farm in Seneca coun- 
t^'. Her father's ancestors came from Ger- 
many, and he was the son of a Scotch 
mother. He reached the age of eighty 
years. Her mother was born in Connecticut. 
Her half-l)rother, James Cronk, ser\ed dur- 
ing the war in a regiment of Michigan 
cavalr)'. He was wounded, taken prisoner, 
and died in Libby prison. 

Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Evarts 
have reared one daughter, Annie Louise, 
and lost one child in infanc}'. The}' are con- 
nected with the Presbyterian church, and 
are highly esteemed for their good charac- 
ter, kind spirit and genuine worth. Mr. 
Evarts united with the Masonic lodge at 
Poynette a number of years ago, and has 
been a faithful worker of the craft. He 
has been a life-long Republican, and is proud 
of the fact that he cast his first vote for 
Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He has held 
several local offices, and though he takes 
an active interest in the working of his ])arty 
councils, has never desirexl to enter the lists 
as an active ofiice seeker. 



WILLIAM H. KAPIL. 

William H. Ivahl, a well-known anti 
enterprising farmer of Springville town- 
ship, Adams county, Wisconsin, who 



568 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



through his own well-directed efforts has 
achieved success in life, was liorn in Boone- 
ville, Clinton county. Pennsylvania. Ajiril 
24. 1859. and is a son of Joseph K. and 
Elizaheth (Sheets) Kahl. also natives of 
Clinton county, and of German descent. 
There the father took up four hundred and 
six acres of g-overnment land, and succeed- 
ed in placing three hundred acres of this 
under a high state of cultivation. He erect- 
ed thereon commodious and substantial 
Ijuildings and also a large saw-mill, being 
quite extensively engaged in the manufac- 
ture of lumber. Later the farm was divided 
into smaller farms and now a village covers 
a portion of it. The father was a very prom- 
inent and successful farmer and one of the 
foremost citizens oi the community, taking 
an acti\e part in organizing schools, 
churches, etc. One church was locatetl upon 
his farm. There he died in 1882, and the 
mother died in 1834. She was a daughter 
of John Sheets, who was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, of German ancestry, and was a well- 
to-do blacksmith. 

William H. Kahl, of this review, is in- 
debted to the public schools of his native 
state for his educational advantages, and 
during his youth he worked with his fa- 
ther in a blacksmith shop and on the farm, 
acquiring an excellent knowledge of both 
occupations. At the age of twenty he left 
home for the first time and went to Free- 
port, Illinois, displa}'ing his characteristic 
energy by borrowing the money with which 
to do so. He landed there March 3, 1879, 
and the following day began work on a farm 
at fifteen dollars per month. Two years 
later he went to Iowa, where he worked 
for the same length nf time at his trade and 
al farming. Being industrious and eco- 
nomical, he had managed to sa\-e quite a 
snug amount during the four years spent in 
the west. 

After liviiig two years in Iowa. ]\Ir. 



Kahl returned to Freeport. Illinois, where 
he was married. February 2/, 1883, to Miss 
Clara J., daughter of Thomas J. and Anna 
(Keller) Kahl, natives of Clinton county, 
Pennsylvania, who removed to Freeport in 
an early day. Near that city the mother died 
in June, 1862, but the father, a wagonmaker 
by trade, is still living. The wife of our 
subject was educated in the common schools 
of Illinois. They have two children, Fran- 
ces Irene, born in Stephenson county. Illi- 
nois, November 17, 1893, and Murl Will- 
iam, born Se])temlier 9, 1900. 

After his marriao-e Mr. Kahl secured the 
position of foreman of a farm of six hun- 
dred and forty acres, and most creditably 
and satisfactorily filled it for four and a 
half years. In 1888 he bought twenty-one 
acres near Freeport. and turned his atten- 
tion to the culture of toliacco, in which he 
was very successful. Two years later he 
bought a larger farm and engagetl in dairy- 
ing, farming and the raising of hogs and 
horses for five years. Believing that he 
could operate cheaper land more profitably, 
he sold his farm in Illinois in 1894, and 
came to Adams county, Wisconsin, where 
he bought two hundred and forty acres of 
land in Spring\-ille township. Although this 
tract was all wild and entirely unimproved, 
he has cleared away the forest and placed 
acre after acre under the plow, until he now 
has one hundred and fifty acres under ex- 
cellent cultivation and improved with a 
large and beautiful residence and good barns 
and outbuildings. He is one of the men 
who seem able to meet any emergency, and 
l)y perseverance and -industry has accumu- 
lated a good property. He has ever made 
the most of his ad\-antages and takes ad- 
vantage of every opportunity for promoting 
his own interests with(.)Ut injuring others. 
.■\t national elections he supports the Dem- 
ocratic ]iarty. but in local affairs is inde- 
pendent in ijolitics, \-oting for the best man. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



569 



He has most capalily and satisfactnrily 
filled the uflice of su])er\isor in his town- 
sliip. 

LEWIS JAXSOX SMITH. 

Lewis Janson Smith, now living in an 
iionoralile retirement at I'ardeeville, Co- 
lumbia county, richly merits the ease and 
comfort that crciwii his age, and which he 
has won liy honest toil and integrity beyond 
reproach. He was horn in Rochester, New 
York, December 12, 1835, and is a son of 
Jesse \\\ and Sarah Ann ( Benjamin) 
Smith, who came to Rochester from Orange 
count}-, Xew York. The father was a 
weaver by trade, and foUow^ed that occupa- 
tion the greater part of his life. He moved 
from Monroe count}- into Li\-ingston county, 
and afterwartls li\-etl in Tioga and Che- 
mung counties. He left Xew York state in 
1856 and came to Wisconsin. He died in 
Wyocena, April 19, 1858, at the age of 
forty-nine. He was a lifelong Democrat, 
and a n-ian t:)f more than usual information. 
His widow sur\-i\e(l him man}- years, anil 
died at Ouincy, Olmsted county, Minnesota, 
August 9, 1870. She w-as a native of New 
Jersey, where she w-as born February 28, 
1807. She was a woman of strong char- 
acter, and a devout. member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Her father, David Ben- 
jamin, and her brother. Jacob Benjamin, 
were both killed in the Revolutionary war. 
She was the mother of eight children ; Caro- 
line A., w-ho died X^oven-iber jj. 1852, in 
New York; Samuel B., living at Little Val- 
ley, Obnsted county, Minnesota; Lew-is J., 
the subject of this sketch; Sarah Elizabeth, 
Mrs. William Horr, of Plainview, Minne- 
sota; Susan Jaiie. who died August i, 1858, 
v.hen almost eighteen years old ; Mary 
Catherine, wdio was twice married, the first 
time to F. J. Cummings, and the second 
to A. R. Fish, and died February 25, 1898; 



Amanda Lovina is Mrs. Charles Durkee. of 
Beloit, Iowa; Phiebe Louisa is JNlrs. R. 
I 'helps, of Wyocena. 

L. J, Smith spent the greater part of his 
boyho<jd in Chemung coui-ity, Xew- \ ork, 
and grew- to manhood under the parental 
roof. Domestic exigencies did not admit of 
prolongeil schooling for the children of a 
man who was able by se\-ere toil and long 
lu.iurs to earn a scanty !i\-ing for his famil}-. 
But they were bright and observing, and the 
subject of this writing has always been re- 
garded as a w-ell informed man. The little 
schooling that he was able to secure w-ent a 
Ic/Ug ways in detern-iining his character and 
giving direction to his energies. He came 
t ) Wisconsin in 1855, reaching the tow-n oi 
Lowxille in tb.e closing month oi the \-ear 
with a dollar and a half in his pocket. He 
Worked during the winter for fourteen dol- 
lars a month at Wyocena, and liy spring- 
had sa\-etl forty dollars. Then he rented a 
farm of Capt. Jacob Low-, and in-imediately 
sent the forty dollars he had saved to his par- 
ents to come to this country and make their 
home with him. The folliiwing vear he rented 
a farm at \\'}-ocena and occupied it two \ears. 
About this time occurred his n-iarriage. 
Martha J. Pierce was the Ijride, and the 
ceremou}- that made them one w-as ]ier- 
formed February 2S, i860. She was a 
daughter of Washington S. and Mary L. 
(Brastedj Pierce, of Wyocena. She w-as 
born in Cattaraugus county, Xew- York. 
October 22, 1843, ''i"'' ^''"^'^ ^^ Si.x Oaks, 
Minnesota, Novemljer lo, 1873. ]\Iaora 
Melissa Bushnell became the second wife of 
Mr. Smith, and w-as married to him Jul}' 
27, 1876. She is a dau.ghter of Daniel S. 
and .Ann (Rogers) Bushnell, of Wyocena. 
of whon-i fuller information is found in the 
sketch of J. M. Bushnell, published in this 
work. She was born in Antwerp, Jefferson 
county, Xew- A'ork. and is a most estimable 
ladv. ' 



570 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



j\lr. Smith went to Olmsted county, Min- 
nesota, in the spring of 1862, and worked 
on a farm upon shares for two years. He 
then hought a tract of one hundred and sev- 
enty acres, and gix'ing it much thought and 
care, con\-erted it into a farm that was 
counted among the \'ery Ijest in that [lart of 
the state. He also owned a house and lot 
in Plain\-iew, Minnesota, which he sold in 
1893, and returned to this state to pass his 
declining days amid the scenes of his youth. 
When he first returnetl he hought a forty- 
acre farm, hut this he has since sold. He 
built a jjleasant home in Pardeeville, and 
with his wife belongs to the local Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, with which he uiiited 
in 1864. He has always l)een a strong atl- 
vocate of temperance, and organized a num- 
ber of Good Templar lodges in Minnesota. 
He \'oted for Fremont in 1856, and has 
never given up his party associations thus 
early farmed. He has been a superintend- 
ent of the Sunday school, and is now a stew- 
ard of the church, and is much belo\ed by 
those \\ho knuw him best. 



URI .MORSE. 



Uri Morse, a ]:)ioneer settler of Adams 
county, where he has reside<l in Xcw Haxen 
township for over fifty years, is a well-hnuwn 
figure in the history of this region. He came 
t) the C'luntry when it was a wilderness, and 
now is the fortunate possessor of one of the 
finest farms in Adams county. His labors 
I'lave not been in \'ain, and he has gained a 
competence sufticient to support him in ease 
during the remainder of his earthly career, 
and has gained for himself an envial)le repu- 
tation. Portraits of him antl his wife are 
shown elsewhere in this volume. 

Mr. Morse was born in Guilford town- 
shij). Chenango countv. New York, Septem- 



ber 3, 1823, and was the son of Lyman and 
Rachel (Hazard) Morse. His father was of 
I\ew England blood, and records of his an- 
cestors have been traced from the seven- 
teenth century in England. \\"e find that 
Daniel Morse was married, in Massachu- 
setts, in i66g, to Elizabeth Barbour, daugh- 
ter of Captain George Barbour, one of the 
first settlers of Dedham and Medfiekl, where 
he was a leading citizen and a member of the 
colonial government. The father of our sub- 
ject, Lyman Morse, represented the sixth 
generation of the descendants' of Daniel 
and Elizabeth Morse. .\ memorial of the 
family, published by Rev. Abner Morse, 
traces the record tn 184C), and further rec- 
ords are in prei^aration. Our subject's fa- 
ther, L\'man Morse, went to New York 
with his parents when a small boy. set- 
tling in Chenango county. He engaged 
in farming there and in Tomjjkins and Cort- 
land counties, and in i84() came to \\ iscon- 
sin, and located in Hampden township, Co- 
lumbia county, where his death occurred Sep- 
tember 18, 1851, aged forty-eight years. He 
was an acti\e member of the Christian 
church and died in that faith. The mother 
of our suljject was a nati\'e of New York, 
and was born January jo, 1801. Ten chil- 
dren were born to Lyiuan and Rachel Morse, 
eight of whom grew to maturity, as follows: 
Chester died in the Cnited States army dur- 
ing the Ci\il war: L'ri, our subject: Henry, 
ex-mayor of Colorado City, Colorado ; Hor- 
ace, now residing in Colorado Springs, Col- 
orado, and also has a home in California; 
Eli, also in Cokjrado Springs: Polly: Rox- 
ana : and Jane, witlow (jf John Peterson, of 
Rio, \\'isconsin. 

L'ri Morse spent his boyhood in New 
"^'ork, and in June, 1846, came to \\'isc(.)nsin, 
which was then a territor\'. His father (lro\-e 
overland, but our subject and his brother 
went to Milwaukee by water. He worked 
one season in Round Prairie, \\'alworth 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



578 



county, and came from thence tn dilumhia 
county, and made a claim in the present 
township of Hampden. In the spring of 
1849 li^ came to Adams CDUuty and took a 
squatter's claim ti' his present farm, which 
vas then unsurveyed, and was a part of the 
Vv'innebago reservation. A few other "squat- 
ters"' were his only wliite neighbors at the 
time, and deer, wnlves and hear were numer- 
ous, but he had little inclination for hunt- 
ing, though a number of deer and wohes be- 
came his prey. For the first year or two 
there was not a horse in the county and he 
drew his grain to market at Milwaukee with 
an ox team, about ten days being required 
for the trip. He has walked from Columbia 
county to Chicago in the early days of their 
settlement on the farm. He now owns three 
hundred and sixty acres of land, well wa- 
tered by a li\ing brook, and has [jjenty 
of timber and plow land. The s(jil is the best 
to be found in the state, and his farm is 
valuable. For some years past he has given 
his chief attention to dairying and stock rais- 
ing, and his herd consists of high-grade 
Durhams. He also rears some of the best 
beeves in the state, and breeds some good 
horses. Aside from his estate in New Haven 
township he is interested to some extent in 
gold mining in Colorado. He was one of the 
incorporators of the Lake \ iew Creamery 
Association, a successful enterprise, in which 
he is still interested. 

Our subject was marrieil May 13, 1850, 
to Miranda .\. Morey, daughter of Harry 
M. and Bathia (Hoyt) Morey, of Fountain 
Prairie, Columb'a county, Wisconsin. Mrs. 
Morse was born in the ti iw n of Lcicke, Cayu- 
ga county, Xew ^'nrk, and came to Wis- 
consin with her jiarents in 1848. Her fa- 
ther was a nati\e of Uelavan county. New 
York, and her mother of Long Island. Their 
home in Adams county, Wisconsin, was de- 
stroyed by a tornado about 1851, and they 
then removed to Minnesota. The father 



died in New Haven township, Adams coun- 
ty, in September, 1893, aged eighty-five 
years, and the mother passed away at the age 
of seventy-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Morse 
are the parents of five children, as follows : 
Lyman N., who married Georgia Wells, 
is engaged in farming at Big Springs; An- 
drew H., who married Ida Brooks, is a con- 
tractor at Chicago ; Estella B., now Mrs. H. 
A. Atcherson, of Tomahawk, Wisconsin; 
Justina R., now Mrs. Rev. B. W. Perry, of 
San Leandro, California. Mr. Perry was ap- 
pointed chaplain in the army now in the Phil- 
ippines. The other son is Chauncey W., 
who married Nellie Hodge, and now resides 
on the homestead farm. Mr. and Mrs. 
Morse have nine grandchildren. Our subject 
has served a number of years as supervisor 
of New Haven township, and for several 
years past has been one of the superintend- 
ents of the Adams county poor farm. He 
has been a Wdiig or Republican all of his 
life, and voted for Henry Clay for presi- 
dent in 1844, and attended a large mass 
meeting of over thirty thousand people at 
Ithaca, New York, during that campaign. 



\\ ILLIAM O. CANON. 

William O. Canon, a public-spirited and 
leading citizen of Sauk county, resides on 
his farm in Woodland township, where his 
influence has Ijcen exerted for the benefit 
cf his community and county and his serv- 
ices given to its advancement in all ma- 
terial and educational lines for the past (|uar- 
ter of a century. 

William O. Canon was born in (iuilf.ird, 
Jo Daviess county, Illinois, July 6, 1849. 
His parents were Samuel and Louisa ( Sut- 
tcri) Canon, the former born in Mercer 
county, Pennsylvania, and the latter a na- 
tive of Nottinghamshire, I'.ngland, coming 



574 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



to the United States when four years old. 
Samuel and Louisa Canon came to \\^ood- 
land, Sauk county, \^'isc()nsin, in 1859, and 
followed farming until the death of the 
fcrmer, which occurred Septemlier 7, 1888, 
and his wife died May 16, 1807. Their 
remains rest in the Blount Vernon cemetery, 
at Hillsboro, \'ernon count)', W'isconsin. 
The}' were most worthy people and won 
the respect and esteem of all with whom 
they mingled, and their deaths were deeply 
mourned by a large circle of friends. 

William O. Canon, the subject of this 
review, was ])ut a lad of ten }ears when 
his parents brought him to Sauk county, and 
he obtained a substantial education in the 
public schools of W'oodland township, while 
during the summer months he helped his fa- 
ther on the farm. In 1870 he went west- 
ward, part of the time engaged in railroad- 
ing. After traveling through the west he 
became satisfied that ^\'isconsin was good 
eiiough for him, so he returned in February, 
1872, to Sauk county, and purchased an 
eighty-acre farm in Woo(llan<l township. 
Three }-ears later, however, in i:)rder to be 
near a good school for his children he pur- 
chased another farm, the one ou which he 
now resides. He lias made a success of 
farming, and has also demonstrated his 
abilities in other capacities, being a man of 
original ideas and an active, executive turn 
of mind. 

Mr. Canon was married July 22. 1873, 
U) Eliza McCarthy, daughter of Cornelius 
and Ellen (Gallagher) McCarthy, of Hen- 
rietta township, Richland county, W'iscon- 
sin. Mrs. Canon's jiarents were natives of 
Ireland, coming to the United States about 
the year 1S30. They located in Wauke- 
sha county, Wisconsin, near Delafield, where 
they resided about seven years, and then 
moved to Richland county. Mrs. Canon's 
father was a man of good education, and for 
a numl)er of years acted in the capacity of 



land agent and government sur\-eyor. He 
was a member of Company D, Eleventh 
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, during our 
Civil war, and saw much hard service, was 
distinguished for his energy and daring, and 
was retired with the rank of captain. He 
died in September, 1879, and his wife died 
March 7, 1891. Their remains rest in Hen- 
rietta township, Richland county, Wiscon- 
sin. To Mr. and Mrs. Canon six children 
ha\e been born, named in the order of birth 
as follows: Fred W'., born Octoljer 8, 1874, 
now a resident of Woodland township; 
Frank .\., born March 17, 1876, living at 
home; Ada L., born September 10, 1878, 
now teaching school; and Thomas E., born 
Xo\ember 21, 1882; Aimee J., born JNIarch 
14, 1 884. and \\'illiam J., born September 
17, 1891, all at home. 

Mr. Canon is acti\e in all public affairs, 
and is a Republican in political views. He 
has at various times held nearly all the dif- 
ferent town offices, and served one term, 
1889-90, as sheriff of Sauk county. He has 
ne\er failed to discharge his jjublic duties 
with fidelitv and integrit}', and his actions 
in pulilic matters have met with a hearty ex- 
])ression of approval from his constituents. 
No man in Sauk county enjoys in a higher 
degree the respect and esteem of all men 
without party distinction. 



HENRY HUTCHINSON. 

Henry Hutchinson, one of the most 
prominent and influential citizens of the 
tln-iving town of Randolph, Columbia coun- 
ty, is a gentleman of the strictest integrity 
of word and deed and well merits his high 
station. He is interested in various financial 
enterprises, and is one of the potent factors 
in the prosperity enjoyed in that locality. 

Our subject was born in Randoli)h, Ver- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



575 



mont, October 27, 1827, and was a son of 
James and Sophia (Brown) Hutchinson, tiie 
former a native of Braintree, Vermont, and 
the latter of Randolph, Vermont. His fa- 
ther represented the seventh generation of 
the family in America and his first Amer- 
can ancestor, Richard Hutchinson, came 
from Arnold, England, and settled in Dan- 
vers, ^Massachusetts, in 1637. Among his 
posterity was the noted Hutchinson family, 
who were famous as musicians and founded 
the town of Hutchinson, Minnesota. The 
f;Uher of our subject spent most of his life 
on a farm at Randolph, Vermont, reaching 
the age of eighty-four years. He reared 
six sons and two daughters, of whom our 
Subject is the <_inly one in Wisconsin. The 
grandfather of our subject, John Hutchin- 
son, was a prominent farmer of Braintree, 
\'ermont. He represented the town of 
Braintree in the X'ermont legislature seven- 
teen years. He married Lucy Kinney, who 
reached the advanced age of ninety-seven 
years. 

Henry Hutchinson spent his early life 
in Randolph, Vermont, and attended school 
three months each winter until he was twen- 
ty-one years of age. He came to Colum- 
bia county, ^^'isconsin. in 18O4, and pur- 
chased a farm in Randolph township, which 
was formerly occtipied b}' his uncle, C. 
B. Hawes, who now resides at Fox Lake, 
" Wisconsin, aged eighty-eight years. Air. 
Hawes located on the farm about 1851 and 
kept a country hotel there for some years 
and was well known to travelers on their 
way to Milwaukee along the Ft. Winnebago 
military road. Our subject resided on the 
farm many years and erected a commodious 
barn and other substantial buildings, and had 
one of the best improved farms of that lo- 
cality. The farm includes three hundred and 
eighty acres, and is supplied with running 
water and is admirably adapted to diversi- 
fied farming or stock raising, in which lat- 



ter industry our subject was engaged. He 
raised sheep extensively and later gave his 
chief attention to the raising of Holstein 
cattle. He was a stockholder in the Hutch- 
inson Springs cheese factory, erected on his 
farm. Mr. Hutchinson has resided in Ran- 
dolph for the past few years, and has be- 
come largely interested in tlie various finan- 
cial enterprises of the village. He was one 
of the incorporators of the Randolph Can- 
ning Company, and he and his son own a 
th.ird interest. This company consumes the > 
crop of five hundred acres of peas, and large 
quantities of corn, tomatoes and other vege- 
tables. Mr. Hutchinson also assisted in in- 
corporating the Randolph Wagon Works, 
established with a capital of twenty thou- 
sand dollars, and until 1900 he was inter- 
ested in tliis company. For some years he 
was a member of the Wisconsin Wool Grow- 
ers" Association, and took a leading part in 
the organization of the Columbia County 
Wool Growers' Association, of which he 
was president. The object of this organi- 
zation was to secure protective legislation 
for the industry, wdiich was threatened with 
destruction in the state. In 1888 Mr. Hutch- 
inson was a delegate to the National \\'ool 
Growers' Association at Washington, D. C, 
and was appointed a member of a coinmit- 
tee of seven to prepare a wool schedule and 
present the same to the ways and means 
committee of the house of representatives. 
The committee spent a week in preparing the 
schedule, which became a part of the famous 
McKinley tarift' bill. 

Mr. Hutchinson was married October 
3, 1852, to Laura M. Parish, a datighter of 
Nathan D. and Abigail (Bass) Parish. Mrs. 
Hutchinson was born in Braintree, Ver- 
mont, and her parents passed their lives in 
that town. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson have 
been the parents of four children, who are 
as follows: Charles P., who died at the age 
of three years; Mary L., now Airs. George 



676 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Morris, of Randolnh ; Carl E., secretary of 
tlie Randolpli Canning Company ; and James 
W'., residing on the home farm. Mr. arid 
Mrs. Hutchinson have one grandchild. Our 
subject has never sought public office, but 
is identified with the Republican partv, of 
wliich he is an earnest worker for party 
principles, and of which he has been a mem- 
ber since its organization. He is a man of 
excellent character, progressive and intelli- 
gent, and enjoys the highest esteem of all 
\vith whom he has to do. 



MERTON EUGENE SEYMOUR. 

Merton Eugene Seymour, a practical and 
progressive farmer of Dellona township, 
Sauk county, who is meeting with marked 
success in the prosecution of his chosen call- 
ing, is proud to claim Wisconsin as his native 
state, hisbirth having occurred upon his pres- 
ent farm, December i, 1858. He is a son 
of Hon. S. J. Seymour, of whom extended 
notice appears elsewhere in this volume. 

After leaving the district school, our 
subject attended the Reedsburg high school, 
from which he was graduated in 1881, and a 
few years later he took a short agricultural 
ccurse at the Wisconsin University, being a 
member of the first class to pursue that 
course. He afterward spent some months 
in California, and five years previous was 
for a time with his IjrotlTer, Walter F. 
Seymour, at the Jackson Sanitarium in 
Dansville, New York. 

In 1887 ^I''- Seymour tdok charge of 
the homestead farm, which he purchased 
five years later and which he has since suc- 
cessfully conducted. By his education and 
previous training he was well fitted for the 
occupation he has chosen as a life work and 
prosperity has crowned his well-directed ef- 
forts. He devotes the greater part of his 



time and attention to the live stock and dairy 
business and makes a specialty of the rais- 
ing of high-grade short horn cattle and Po- 
land China hogs. His farm consists of two 
hundred and five acres with first-class im- 
provements and conveniences, and as a pro- 
gressive and enterprising agriculturist he 
takes an active interest in promoting im- 
provements in the apricultural methods of 
the county, and has become a prominent and 
influential member of the farmers' institutes 
and similar societies. He is also interested 
in horticulture and has often been an ex- 
hibitor at the Sauk county fair, where he 
has won many premiums. 

On the 23d of March, 1898, Mr. Sey- 
mour married Miss Blanche Jeffries, of 
Baraboo, who was born in Kilbnurn City, 
Wisconsin, and is a daughter of William 
and Nellie Jeffries. For a number of years 
he has been an elder in the Presbyterian 
cliuTcli of Reedsburg, of which he is an act- 
i\'e and prominent member. In politics he 
lias been a lifelong Republican, has fre- 
quently served as delegate to the county 
conventions, and took the census of Dellona 
in 1890. 



RUEL HOTCHKISS, Dece.^sed. 

Ruel Hotchkiss, deceased, was one of 
the active, prominent and enterprising citi- 
zens of Richfield township, Adams county, 
W^isconsin. He formerly was successfully 
engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 
3, where he owned a well-improved farm. 
He was born in Hampton, Washington 
county. New York, Juh' lo, 1831, a son of 
Chester and Betsy (Gillett) Hotchkiss, who 
spent their entire li\'es as farming people 
v., that town. His paternal grandfather, 
Rufus Hotchkiss. was a native of Connecti- 
cut and an early settler of Hampton, New 
^'ork, where he located soon after the Re\'o- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



577 



lutionary war. and where he continued to 
make his home throughout the remainder 
of liis hfe. By occuiiatiun lie. too. was a 
farmer. 

In his native state Ruel Hotchkiss grew 
tc manhood, and before coming west he 
was married, in Wells. \'ermont. January 
0, 1 86 1, to Miss Luiiie A. Searles, a daugh- 
ter of Alonzo and Elizabeth ( \'an Bogart) 
Searles, nati\es of White Mall and Gran- 
viUe, New York, respectively. Her father, 
who was a farmer, enlisted at Gran\-ille, in 
September, 1862. in Company A. One Hun- 
dred and Sixty-ninth New York Volunteer 
Infantry, and died of pneumonia at the hos- 
pital in Wilmington, North Carolina, May 
10, 1865. His parents were William and 
Polly (Billings) Searles, farming people of 
White Hall, New York. His mother was a 
native of Connecticut. To our subject and 
his wife were born two sons: (ij Ernest 
A., living upon the home farm, was mar- 
ried, September 3, 1899, l^'* Lena Mahlke, a 
daughter of Rofer and Tilda (Bredchkey) 
Mahlke, natives of Germany, who came to 
the United States in 1869 and settled in 
Portage, Wisconsin. They were also farm- 
ing people. (2) Mortimer married May 
Martin and is living in Leola, Adams coun- 
ty, Wisconsin. Mrs. Hotchkiss has four 
grandchildren. 

On coming to Wisconsin, in 1865, Mr. 
Hotchkiss located in Sharon, Walworth 
county, and after spending a shiirt time 
there he moved to Richfonl, Waushara coun- 
ty. It was in 1869 that he came to Adams 
county and purchased eighty acres of land, 
for which he Daid two hundred dollars. 
Thirty acres had previously been broken and 
a log house and stable constituted the only 
improvements upon the place, but it is now 
one of the most desirable farms of its size 
in the locality. During the Civil war Mr. 
Hotchkiss laid aside all personal interests 
to enter the service of his country, enlist- 



ing at Canton. New York, December 21, 
1863, as a private in Company L, Seventh 
New York Heavy Artillery. He was dis- 
charged for disability at Fort Reno, near 
Washington, D. C, March 5. 1864. He 
was a Democrat in politics and ser\-ed as 
treasurer of his school district for several 
years. ^Ir. Hotchkiss died October 5, 1880, 
and his wife makes her home on the home- 
stead with her son, Ernest A. 



BERDUX MILLER. 

Berdux Miller, the efficient and popular 
overseer of the Columbia county poor house 
and insane asylum, located at W^yocena, is 
a gentleman of estimable character and en- 
joys the confidence of those with whom he 
has tiT do. Mrs. Miller is matron of these 
institutions, and to her efforts as well as 
those of our suljject is due the high standing 
of the institutions among the charitable in- 
stitutions of the state. 

Our subject was born in Nassau, Rensse- 
laer county, New York, March 3, 1845, and 
was a son of John I, and Martha (Sher- 
man) Miller, both of whom were natives of 
New York. His father was of Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch tlescent and was of Holland 
lineage. He was a wagonmaker and later 
worked in a piano factory in New York 
City. He settled in Columbia county, Wis- 
consin, in 1855. and fullowed farming and 
also operated a wagon shop on his farm in 
West Point township. He was born March 
24, 1 819, in Columbia county, New York, 
and died January 20, 1886. The mother 
of our subject was born in Nassau, New 
York, September 2Tf, 1817, and died Octo- 
ber II, 1875. H^'" father, Thomas Sher- 
man, was born in 1786, and lived to an ad- 
vanced age, passing away in 1854. He was 
a farmer in New York. 



57S 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Our suliject removed to Columlaia coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, with iiis parents when lie 
was about ten years of age, and he was 
reared there and attended the district school. 
After attaining- his majority he began farm- 
ii:g in West Point township and in March, 
1882, became superintendent of the Colum- 
bia county insane asylum and overseer of 
the poor farm, which position he has since 
filled. Mr. Miller has faithfully discharged 
his duties and since he assumed charge good 
buildings ha\'e been erected for the inmates 
and many improvements made in the man- 
ner of conducting the place. The poor farm 
consists of three hundred acres of land. An 
average of twenty-five paupers are provided 
for, and among the number is a centenarian 
female. Ten female attendants and a num- 
ber of male attendants and farm laborers 
are employed in both institutions. Under 
the present management the institution has 
become self-supporting. Columbia county 
was one of the four counties in the state to 
inaugurate the present system of caring for 
the chronic insane in 1883. All insane pa- 
tients are allowed the liberty of the farm. 
Mr. and Mrs. Miller met with strong oppo- 
sition in the way of public sentiment when 
they introduced the system, but all has 
moved well and no accidents ha\'e resulted. 
One female patient had the reputation of 
being the most incorrigible in the state un- 
til she was admitted into the above named 
institution, and is now one of the cpietest 
of the inmates. She is a genius in knitting 
and specimens of her work have been ex- 
hibited in many places. 

Mr. Miller was married July 10, 1867, 
to Mattie L. Oilman, a daughter of Joseph 
and Emily (Brown) Oilman, of Portage, 
\\'isconsin. Mrs. Miller was born in Perry. 
Wyoming county. New York, and came to 
^^'isconsin with her parents in 1856. The 
family settled in Delafield, Waukesha coun- 
ty, and the following j-ear removed to Co- 



lumbia county. Mrs. Miller's father, Jo- 
seph Oilman, was born at Tamworth, New 
Hampshire, February 6, 1812 and died at 
Portage, \\'isconsin. in Julv, 1881. He was 
a farmer for some years and was also em- 
ployed in a store. Mrs. Miller's mother sur- 
vives and makes her home at Portage. She 
was born March 17, 181 7, at Canandaigua, 
New York. Her husband was a lieutenant 
of militia in New York while a young man. 
He organized a company during the "Pa- 
triot war" in 1838, when the British ves- 
sels sailed into the harbor of Buft'alo, and 
made a hard march to reach that city. Pie 
was a son of Colonel. Oilman, who won his 
title in the war of 1812. The family was 
of English descent. Mrs. ^Miller's maternal 
grandfather, Beriah Brown, was of English 
descent. Mrs. ]\Iiller's mother was a sister 
of Beriah Brown, a prominent editor of Wis- 
consin in pioneer days, and was also a sis- 
ter of John Brown, one of the founders of 
the '"Portage Register" and the "Milwau- 
kee E\-ening Wisconsin." Mrs. Miller in 
her girlhood and young womanhood taught 
school for seven years, beginning when she 
was but fourteen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of 
the following children : Emily Robey, now 
Mrs. L. N. Coapman, of Wyocena; William, 
a medical student in the Milwaukee ]\Iedical 
College, and United States census enu- 
merator for Wyocena in 1900; Lida Britt, 
who became Mrs. \Vallace Murison. and 
died at Portage March 4, 1900, aged nearly 
twenty-three years; Walton B., of Milwau- 
kee, employed on the C. M. & St. P. Rail- 
road. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have seven 
grandchildren. The family attend the Con- 
gregational church and contribute to the sup- 
port of all religious organizations. ]\Irs. 
Miller was an acti\-e member of the ^^^ C. 
T. U. until the local union was disbanded. 
Mr. ]\Iiller is a memljer of \Yyocena Camp, 
No. 1 146, Modern Woodmen of America, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



579 



and his wife is a member and at present 
oracle of tlie Royal Neighbors. Our sub- 
ject enlisted in February, 1865, in Com- 
pany A, One Hundred and Forty-third Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, under Lieutenant 
Steele, of Lodi, ^\'iscl.lnsin, and ser\^ed aliout 
seven months. He was stationed at j\lem- 
phis and other places. He is a member of 
William Payne Post, G. A. R., at Pardee- 
ville, Wisconsin. Mr. Miller is a Republi- 
can, but takes little interest in political af- 
fairs, lending his influence for good local 
government and does not seek pul)!jc prefer- 
ment. 



\\'1LLL\M T. CUDDY. 

William T. Cuddy, a well-known farmer 
and highly-esteemed citizen of Marcellon 
township, Columbia county, Wisconsin, was 
born in a log house on the farm where he 
now resides April 10, 1849, ^''^d is a son of 
William Cuddy, a native of Ireland. The 
latter came to America in 1822, and spent 
some time in New York City, where he ac- 
cepted a position as clerk in the large store 
of John A. Stewart, remaining there until 
coming to W'isconsin in 1847. Here he en- 
gaged in farming on the place now owned by 
our subject, and continued to follow that oc- 
cupation until his death in 1864. He was 
twice married, his first wife being Catherine 
Grogan, of Ireland, who died in that country 
prior to the emigration of her husband to 
the new world. One child was born of that 
union, John, who died in Nevada, in 1880. 
In New York City the father married 
Bridget Senate, who is still living and now 
makes her home with her son-in-law, George 
F. Payne, whose sketch appears on another 
page of this work. Of the seven children 
born of the second marriage, two died in 
infancy. The others are : Luke, who died 
January 31, 1873; Helen, deceased wife of 
J. Kenney; William T., our subject; Mary, 



wife of George F. Payne; and Catherine, 
wife of Albert Payne. The father was quite 
a prominent man in the community, and was 
highly respected by all who knew him. 

William T. Cuddy recei\-ed a common- 
school education and remained at home \m- 
til 1866, when he went to Grand Rapids, 
Wisconsin, where he worked in the woods 
and on the river f(jr three years, and then 
returned to Columbia county, working for 
John Neff three months. Through harvest 
he w^as in the emplo}' of P. L. Peckum, and 
then purchased a third interest in a thresh- 
ing machine, which he operated three falls. 
The winter of 1866-67 was spent at honie, 
but the following spring he went to I^ort- 
age, where he was engaged with William 
Neff in the manufacture of sotla, and re- 
mained there until fall, when he operated 
his threshing machine in Minnesota. In the 
spring of 1868 he bought a half interest in 
the soda business, in which he was interested 
until August, 1872, when he sold out and 
went to Nevada, locating on Carson river, 
five miles from Sih'cr City, where he found 
work as a laborer in the quartz mill of the 
Sharon Company, and remained with them 
nine years, the last year as watchman. Dur- 
ing the following year he clerked in the 
general store of Samuel Ripley, at Silver 
City, and at the end of that time, in com- 
pany with George Phillips, opened a general 
store, which they conducted nine months, 
but owing to some difficulty which' his part- 
ner, who was under age, had with his father, 
the business was closed <jut. Mr. Cuddy 
then engaged in clerking for a year and a 
half at Silver City and at Gold Hill four 
months, at the end of which time he formed 
a partnership with Frank Howard and again 
embarked in general merchandising at the 
former place. A year and a half later his 
partner sold his interest to E. P. Hamilton, 
and it was not long after this that our sub- 
ject purchased tlie latter's interest and took 



580 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



William Mercer as a partner. When Mr. 
Mercer sold ont, a year and a half later, Mr. 
Cuddy was alone in business for three years. 
Disposing of his store, he next lx)nght the 
Bonanza Hotel, which he conducted six 
years, and then rented the same and returned 
to Portage, Wisconsin, where he remained 
through the winter. The following spring 
we again find him in Xe\ada, but after run- 
ning his hotel for a month, he sold out and 
returned to Portage, where he purchased the 
Columbia Hotel of Skinner Brothers, in 
partnership with William Carroll, but the 
latter withdrew from the firm January i, 
1897, and Albert Payne was admitted to 
partnership. On the ist of January, 1899, 
Mr. Payne sold his interest to Albert Fore- 
man, the firm becoming Cuddy & Foreman, 
and they continued to conduct the hotel un- 
til the following August, when our subject 
sold his interest in the business and returned 
to the farm where he was born and reared, 
and now devotes his energies to agricutural 
pursuits. 

Air. Cuddy married Miss Katie Cunning- 
ham, by whom he has two children, Will- 
iam T., Jr., and John M. Mrs. Cuddy's fa- 
ther, John Cunningham, came to this coun- 
try from Ireland when a youth, in company 
with his mother and one brother, and lo- 
cated in New York state, where he worked 
in a paper-mill for a time. In 1872 he came 
to Columbia C(junty, Wisconsin, and took up 
farming in Scott township, wdiere he at pres- 
ent resides. He married Catherine Tobin, 
and they have a family of eight children : 
John R., a physician at No. 5101 South 
Halstead street, Chicago, Illinois; Peter M., 
a law student in Marion, Indiana; Thomas 
F., a druggist of Portage; Katie, wife of our 
subject ; Ella, wife of James Eagan, of Mar- 
cellon; Julia, a resident of Chicago; Mar- 
garet, wife of William Smith, of Marcel- 
Ion; and William, who is living on the home 
farm in Scott township. 



Socially Mr. Cuddy is a charter member 
of Silver Lake Lodge, No. 16, A. O. U. 
W., of Silver City, Nevada, and also be- 
longs to the Knights of the Maccabees, of 
Portage. He is quite widely and favorably 
known and has hosts of warm friends in his 
nati\"e county. 



OLE J. HARVEY, Jr. 

Ole J. Har\-e}-, Jr., a rising young man of 
Columbia cnunt}', a portrait (_>f whom may be 
found elsewhere in tliis volume, is a resident 
of the town of Leeds. August 24, 1859, he 
was born to Jacob and Betsy (Rorgo) Har- 
vey, living at that time in the town of Hamp- 
den, Columbia county, Wisconsin, and na- 
tives of Norway. They came to Wisconsin in 
1857 and settled in Hampden. Two years lat- 
er they moved to the town of Leeds and there 
spent the rest of their lives. They did much 
in developing the agricultural interests of Co- 
lumbia county, and were honest and upright 
people. Jacob Harvey died in September, 
1892, at the age of seventy-three, and his 
wife January 4, 1897. They were the par- 
ents of seven children : Ole J., Sr., a resi- 
dent of the town of Leeds ; Julia, Mrs. Lars 
N. Harvey, of Benson, Minnesota; Rag- 
nelda, Mrs. Ole Harfendahl. of the same 
place; Ole J., Jr., the subject of this nar- 
rative; Martha, Mrs. John Erickson, of 
Keiser, Minnesota; Betsy, Mrs. Knute En- 
fensen, of tlie same place; and Lewis, of 
Leeds. 

Mr. Harvey had his early schooling in 
the town of Leeds. He then attended the 
high school at Columbus two terms and the 
state normal school at Whitewater half a 
year. He took the full business course at 
the Milwaukee Spencerian Business College. 
The next two years he was a student in the 
law ofifice of M, P. Jerdee, of Madison, at the 
same time writing for Philip Spooner, St., 




0. J. HARYEY, JR. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



583 



the father of United States Senator John C. 
Spooner. Mr. Jenlee tlien moved his oifice 
to St. Croix Falls, and our suhject went with 
liim. He was in that city ahout a year, when 
the sickness of his father called him home to 
take charge of the farm. He returned to the 
old homestead and has lived there ever since, 
occupyino- his time with general farming. 
He is a strong Republican, and is much in- 
terested in both local and general politics. 
He came very close to a nomination as reg- 
ister of deeds at one time, and is nearly al- 
ways a delegate from lus town at political 
conventions. Last year he was a delegate 
to the state convention and was much inter- 
ested in the outcome. He is the present 
town treasurer of Leeds, a fact indicating 
his standing at home. He belongs to the 
Evangelical Lutheran synod, and is a highly 
respected citizen of Columbia county. He 
has served several years as a justice of the 
peace and at present is one of the directors 
of the Rio State Bank at Rio. 



JEREML\H PELLS. 

Jeremiah Pells is the owner of a fine 
farm on section 2, Richfield township, 
Adams county, Wisconsin, which invariably 
attracts the eye of the passing traveler as be- 
ing under the supervision of a thorough and 
skillful agriculturist, and a man otherwise 
of good business quahfications. The farm 
consists of two hundred and fifteen acres, of 
v.-hich one hundred and forty are under ex- 
cellent cultivation and improved with good 
and substantial buildings, including a very 
comfortable residence. 

A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Pells was 
born in Albion, Dane county, February 6, 
1845, and is a son of Jeremiah and Polly 
(Gardner) Pells. The father was born on 
the Mohawk Flats, New York, in 1816, and 
came to Wisconsin about 1844, locating first 



in Dane county, and in 1854 removing to 
Adams courUy, where he purchased eighty 
acres of land, onlv four of which had been 
liruken. Here he cmitinued to make his 
li(ime until his death, with the exception of 
iiliout two vears. Throughout life he fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming and affiliat- 
ed with the Democratic party. 

Amid pioneer scenes our subject grew to 
manhood, and early became familiar with all 
the duties which fall to the lot of the agri- 
culturist. He chose farming as his life work, 
and in his labors has met with well-merited 
success. Air. Pells was married, August 23, 
1 87 1, at Coloma, \\'aushaTa county, to Miss 
Charlotte Parks, wdio was born in Allegany 
county. New York, January 18, 1852, and 
when small was brought to this state by her 
parents, William and Mary (Meade) Parks, 
who first located in Dane county, but after- 
ward removed to Waushara county, where 
they spent the remainder of their lives. 
Mr. and Mrs. Pells have five children, name- 
ly : Edith, now the wife of Charles Burdick, 
of Hancock, Waushara county; Arthur; 
Clara ; George ; and Tressie. 

On the 3d of September, 1864, at the 
age of nineteen years, Mr. Pells enlisted at 
Albion, Dane county, in Company E, First 
Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, and was sta- 
tioned most of the time at Alexandria, Vir- 
ginia, guarding the city of Washington. 
He was on guard duty the night President 
Lincoln was assassinated, and fourteen min- 
utes after the fatal shot was fired received 
orders to let no one pass under any con- 
sideration. He was discharged at Fort 
0"Rourke, Virginia, June 26, 1865. In pol- 
itics he is a stanch Republican, and takes 
an active and commendable interest in public 
affairs. He is one of the prominent and in- 
fluential men of his township, and has been 
called upon to fill various local offices of 
honor and trust, the duties of which he has 
most capably discharged. 



584 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



WILLIAM E. WILLIAMS, M. D. 

W^illiam E. Williams, M. D., a well- 
known and successful physician at Camljria, 
Columbia county, was born August 2^, 1859, 
in the village of Cambria, Columbia county, 
Wisconsin. He is a sun of John Lloyd and 
Elizabeth (Evans) Williams. The paternal 
Williams was born at Trefriw, Carnarvon- 
shire, Wales. He read medicine in Llanrwst, 
and also attended lectures in Glasgow, 
Scotland, where he received license to prac- 
tice. In 1847 he came to this country, and 
taught the first school in Springvale, Co- 
lumbia county, in a "dug-out." The same 
)-ear he began to practice medicine at Cam- 
bria, when only three persons were living in 
the \illage. The county rapidly filled up, and 
Cambria soon became the center of quite a 
numerous and thrifty population, and here 
the remaining years allotted to him were 
spent. x\fter a time he took a course of lec- 
tures at Rush Medical College, in Chicago, 
from which he received a diploma in 1863. 
He continued to practice at Cambria until 
his death in September, 1888, when over 
sixty-three years of age. He was a surgeon 
and physician of high repute, and acquired 
a wide acquaintance. He was called upon 
to fill some local positions of trust and honor, 
but was never a politician. During the 
Civil war he tendered his services to the 
United States hospital department, and was 
sent to Vicksburg, where he was put in 
charge of the various hospitals of the post, 
and continued in that important position for 
four months. His parents were William 
and Jane (Owens) Williams, who started for 
the United States in 1847. The voyage 
lasted ten weeks, and the elder Mr. \\'ill- 
iams died of fever on the way. Mrs. Will- 
iams died in the town of Springvale a few 
ironths later, leaving three sons and two 
daughters. Mrs. Louis Lloyd is her only 
surviving child. She lives at Cambria. Mrs. 



John L. Williams lived until 1894, when 
she was in her sixty-fourth year. She was 
born in Carnarvonshire, where her father, 
Robert Evans, was accidentally killed in a 
slate quarry. His widow, Mrs. Mary Evans, 
came to the United States and died in Cam- 
bria, at the age of seventy-four. 

Dr. W. E. Williams has always lived in 
Camjjria and his early days were spent in 
the public school. When he was eighteen 
he went into his father's office to read med- 
icine, and at once proved himself a bright 
student. When he was twenty he attended 
lectures for a year at the Missouri JNIedical 
College, at St. Louis. He transferred him- 
self to Rush Medical College, at Chicago, 
and was graduated from the latter institu- 
tion in 1882. He preferred his tild home 
and friends to any other spot where he 
v ould make his life work, and came back 
to Cambria. About fifteen years ago he 
bought a drug store, and managed it him- 
self for some years. In 1895 he sold an in- 
terest in it, and now gives his personal at- 
tention entirely to his profession. 

Dr. Williams was married in 1887 to 
June B., a daughter of Robert and Mary 
Smith, of Leon, Wisconsin. She was born 
in Monroe county, Wisconsin, and is a lady 
of many attracti\'e qualities. The Doctor is 
a member of the Masonic order, and stands 
high in its various organizations. He be- 
longs to the Wisconsin State Medical So- 
ciety, and is widely known as a gentleman of 
character and a physician of approved 
abilitv. 



CHARLES SCHRODER. 

Charles Schroder, a well-known barber 
and successful business man of Kilbourn 
City, Wisconsin, was born in Neuxey, Ger- 
many, April 13, 1837, and reared in Sacha, 
where he attended the public schools and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



585 



learned the locksmith's trade. In 1854, at 
the age of seventeen years, he emigrated to 
America and first located in Chicag'o, Illi- 
nois, where he remained abont two years, 
during which time he learned the barber's 
trade. He then removed to "Old Newport," 
on the Wisconsin river, in Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, and in 1856 came to Kilbourn 
City, where he attended school in the old 
school building which now serves as the 
Episcopal church, while working for Elisha 
Stevens, who was then conducting a hotel 
v.-here Frederick Raddant's barn now stands. 
He continued in school until he acquired a 
good practical education. 

In 1859 i\Ir. Schroder opened a barber 
shop on Superior street, on the present site 
of M. O'Neil's harness shop, and was in busi- 
ness there one year, after which he was en- 
gaged in the same business in Minnesota 
for a short time. He then went to New Or- 
leans, Louisiana, and from there visited his 
old home in Germany. On his return to 
America he conducted a barber shop in New 
Orleans tuitil after the Civil war broke out, 
when he again came to Kilbourn City, Wis- 
consin. In 1865 he purchased property on 
Alain street, which is now a very valuable 
site, and has made many improvements in 
the building, where he still carries on his 
shop. He also owns a beautiful and com- 
fortable home on Main street. 

In 1865 Mr. Schroder marrietl Miss 
Atilda Hubbard, and they have three chil- 
dren : Charles, an engineer, who is married 
and resides in Kilbourn; Nettie, who grad- 
uated from a business college of Milwaukee, 
and is now in the employ of Gimble Brothers 
in that city; and Lillie, who was educated 
in the Kilbourn high school and is at home 
with her parents. 

Mr. Schroder enlisted, in 1865, in the 
Thirteenth United States Infantry, and 
served for three months. As a Republican 
he takes quite an active interest in political 



affairs, and has been honored with office by 
his fellow citizens, having served many years 
as t(.>wn treasurer to the entire satisfaction 
of all concerned, and also as a member of 
the village board of Kilbourn. Socially he 
is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the 
Republic. Although he came to the new 
world empty-handed, he has steadily over- 
come the obstacles in his path to success, and 
by industry and perseverance has worked 
biis way upward until he is ntnv one of the 
well-to-do citizens, as well as one of the 
leading and- influential men of the town. 
He has made for himself an honorable rec- 
ord and gained the confidence and esteem 
of those with whom he has been brought 
in contact. 



ANDREW PATRICK. 

Andrew Patrick, an agriculturist of en- 
ergy and ability residing on section 9, New 
Chester township, Adams county, Wiscon- 
sin, was born in Oneida county. New York, 
September 18, 1833, and is a son of Ralph 
and Marilla (Skinner) Patrick, also natives 
of that county, the former born June 25, 
1 80 1, the latter March 8, 1801. His pa- 
ternal grandfather, Ralph Patrick, Sr., 
served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war 
under the commands of Washington and La 
Fayette. After the war he settled in Oneida 
county. New York, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his life. 

On leaving his native state the subject 
of this sketch came to Wisconsin in 1845. 
and made his home in Walworth county for 
five years, at the end of which time he re- 
moved to Adams county, locating on the 
lilace where he now resides. As the coun- 
try had not been surveyed at that time, he 
took a squatter's claim and resided thereon 
until the land came into the market, when he 



586 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



purchased one liundred and sixty acres from 
the government. He has since placed one- 
half of the amount under cultivation, and 
has erected thereon a fine residence, good 
barns and outbuildings, and made other im- 
provements, which add greatly to the value 
and attractive appearance of the farm. 

On the 6th of October, 1858, Mr. Pat- 
rick was united in marriage with Miss Fi- 
delia Carringer, who died April, 6, 1863, and 
he was again married, March 14, 1865, his 
second union being with Miss Olive Car- 
ringer, by whom he has one child, Louis P. 
The son was married, March 16, 1899, to 
Elsie Schieber, and resides at home with his 
parents. 

]\Irs. Patrick's parents were Wihiam and 
Irene (Churchill) Carringer, the former 
born in Mercer county, P'ennsylvania, April 
3. 1816, the latter in X'ermont, May 3, 1813. 
In 1844 they removed from Pennsylvania 
to Wisconsin and first settled in Walworth 
county, but in the spring of 1852 came to 
Adams county, locating in Lincoln town- 
ship, on what is now known as the Eber- 
hard place. In the fall of 1855 they removed 
to New Chester township, and lived there 
until the spring of 1865, when they went to 
Minnesota. In 1895 they returned to Wis- 
consin on a visit and remained here a year, 
but at the end of that time removed to Cali- 
fornia, where the father died May 19, 1900. 
He was a farmer and carpenter by occupa- 
tion, and was a member of the Close Commu- 
nion Baptist church, to which his wife also 
belonged, her father, Samuel Churchill, be- 
ing a minister of that church. She died in 
San Diego, California, April 23, 1899. Mrs. 
Patrick's great-grandfather was a soldier of 
the Revolutionary war and her grandfather 
a soldier of the war of 181 2. 

Politically Mr. Patrick is a stanch Demo- 
crat, and has always taken considerable in- 
terest in local affairs, serving as chairman of 
his township for a number of terms and as 



assessor one term. For a great many years 
he also served as postmaster of Grand 
Marsh, which is the oldest postoffice in the 
county. He has been prominently identified 
with almost the entire growth and develop- 
ment of the county, and has ever borne his 
part in those interests calculated to advance 
the ]Dublic welfare. He is therefore mmi- 
bered among the \'alued and useful citizens of 
the community, as well as one of its hon- 
ored pioneers. 



JOHN LEONARD STAUDEXMAYER. 

John Leonard Staudenmayer, a thorough 
and skillful farmer and a business man of 
n';ore tlian (jrdinar)- ability, is a worthy rep- 
resentative of the agricultural and stock 
raising interests of Caledonia township, Co- 
lumliia county, Wisconsin, where he is recog- 
nized as an impurtant factor in preserving 
the reputation of his locality as one of the 
best cultivated in the county. 

A native of Columbia county, Mr. Staud- 
enmayer was born in Caledonia township, 
July 30, 1861, and is a son of J. G. Stauden- 
mayer, whose sketch appears elsewhere in 
tills volume. Our subject attended the dis- 
trict schools and spent most of his life on the 
homestead farm, which he purchased at the 
age of twenty-one. It consists of two hun- 
dred and twenty-one acres, to which he has 
since added a one-hundred-and-forty-acre 
tract, all now under a high state of culti- 
vation and well improved with good and 
substantial buildings. For the past ten years, 
he has been engaged in breeding Durham 
cattle, and now has a fine herd. He also 
buys and feeds cattle for the market, and for 
about twenty years has been breeding 
Clydesdale iiorses, much of his stock being 
imported, and he has been largely instru- 
mental in improving the grade of farm 
horses throughout Columbia and adjoining 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



587 



counties. For nineteen years he operated 
a threshing macliine with marked success, 
owning a steam thresher twelve years, and 
lor some years past he has been agent for 
the Page woven wire fence in the west half 
of Columbia county, \\ here during one sea- 
son he sold over two carloatls. 

Mr. Staudenmayer was married, Octo- 
ber 28, 1885, to Miss Mary McLeish, a 
daughter of Charles and IVIargaret McLeish, 
of Caledonia township, and by this union 
has been born four children, namely: Mabel, 
Adaline, Cora and Gordon. Socially Mr. 
Staudenmayer is a member of Fort Winne- 
bago Lodge, No. 33, F. & A. M., of Port- 
age. He has independent ideas of public 
policy, but usually supports the Republican 
party on national issues, though at local 
elections when personally acquainted with 
the candidates he votes for those whom he 
believes best cjualified to fill the ofiices, irre- 
spective of party. He is now serving his 
second year as town treasurer, and has 
filled other positions of trust and responsi- 
bility with credit to himself and to the entire 
satisfaction of all concerned. 



ROBERT L. BOHN. 

Robert L. Bohn is well known through- 
out Sauk county as a man of business enter- 
prise and capability. He is the proprietor 
of one of the largest general merchandise 
stores of the vicinity of Lime Ridge, and 
by careful attention to the various details 
of his work has built up an extensive and 
profitable trade. 

Our subject was born in Renidendorf, 
Prussia, February 9, 1849, and was a son 
of Henry H. and Henricka (Kochel) Bohn, 
farther notice of whom will be fr)und in the 
biography of C. E. Bohn. The family in- 
cluded six sons and six daughters, only two 
of whom reside in Lime Ridge. 



Robert L. Bohn was but two years of age 
when the family came to the United States. 
He spent his boyhood in Ohio, and received 
a common-school education. At the age 
of twenty-two years he went to Michigan, 
and spent two years lumbering, coming from 
thence to Sauk county in 1874. For about 
two years he dealt in staves, and in 1876 
purchased forty acres of land and a store 
in the village of Lime Ridge, where he has 
since operated one of the largest general 
stores in the locality. He is interested in 
city real estate to some extent in connection 
with his brothers in Chicago, and is a well- 
to-do citizen of Sauk county. He served 
as postmaster of the village of Lime Ridge 
for eleven years, and was well kmnvn as 
an efficient officer. 

Our subject was married, Octolier 29, 
1876, to Belle Cushman, daughter of Charles 
and Alniira (Warner) Cushman, of Iron- 
ton, Wisconsin. Her parents came to Sauk 
county, Wisconsin, in 1854, and settled near 
Lime Ritlge, where Mrs. Bohn was born. 
Her father was the first postmaster of the 
village, and was a carpenter by tratle. He 
was born in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and his an- 
cestors were pioneers of Connecticut. He 
died at Lime Ridge, January 12, 1885, aged 
sixty-one years, and the mother now resides 
at C^-owell, Nebraska, aged seventy years. 
She was born in Fa1)ius, New Wirk, and 
was of Scotch and New England descent. 
Her maternal, grandfather, John Robinson, 
was a Scotchman by birth. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bohn are the parents of the following chil- 
dren : Otto L. ; Nellie, a student at Reeds- 
burg high school; Elsie; Nina, a student of 
the Yale School at Chicago; Eva; Alta; 
Clarence; Harvey; Blanche; and Carl. The 
six last named reside at home. Mr. Bohn 
is a man of good education and advances 
the interests of the community in which he 
lives and works for the best systems of 
schools and government. He does not seek 



588 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



public office and pursues the even tenor of 
his wa}', but the affairs which are under daily 
discussion are famiHar ones to liim and he 
lends his influence for the better rule in his 
opinion. He favors Republicanism, and is 
strong" in his con\'ictions. He came to Wis- 
consin as a young man in search of an open- 
ing for energetic and capable men, and he 
has pushed his way to the front among the 
prominent men of the locality, and enjoys 
not only financial success, but the highest 
esteem of his associates among whom he 
has chosen to reside for many years. They 
find him ever ready to do his duty by all, 
and standing firmly for the right in all mat- 
ters of moment. 



HERBERT LEROY MASON. 

The farming community of Jackson 
township, Adams county, has an able repre- 
sentative in the g^entleman above named. 
He is entitled to much credit for the part 
he has taken in the development of this re- 
gion into a thri\-ing agricultural district. 
He has fi_>llowed the calling of a farmer 
from his youth and is thoroughly conver- 
sant with the details of the work and has 
built for himself a comfortable estate, and 
is recognized as one of the leading men in 
his community. He is progressive and pub- 
he-spirited, and ever)^ enterprise tending to- 
ward an advance in civilization meets with 
his hearty approval. 

Mr. Mason was born in Columbia coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, ]\Iarch 3, 1859, the son of H. 
H. and Emeline (Bump) Mason, a sketch 
of whose lives will be found elsewhere in 
this volume. Our subject was about ten 
years of age when the family came tu 
Adams county, Wisconsin, and at the age 
of twenty-one years he began work as a 
farm laborer. Later he rented land and en- 
gaged in farming for himself at Jonesville, 



remaining there several years. He pur- 
chased his present farm in Jackson town- 
ship in 1890, and now owns two hundred 
and forty-fi\'e acres of land. He has im- 
proved the dwelling and Iniilt a commodious 
and convenient barn, and otherwise im- 
proved the estate. He is interested in stock 
raising to some extent, and has made a suc- 
cess of general farming and dairying. 

Mr. Mason was married, January 30, 
1883, to Mary Jones, daughter of Nelson 
and Lucy Jones, of Jackson township. Mrs. 
Mason died September 22,. 1891, aged twen- 
ty-nine years and fifteen days. She was the 
mother of three children : Tressie May, Flor- 
ence Ethel and Mary J. Mr. Mason married 
Edith Grace Houghtaling, May 13, 1894. 
Mrs. Mason was born in Adams county, 
Wisconsin, and is the daughter nf Aaron 
and Ursula (Hawes) Houghtaling. Her 
father was born in Albany county. New 
York, and now resides in Marquette county, 
Wisconsin, and her mother was born in Lo- 
rain county, Ohio, and died at O.xford, Wis- 
consin, February 5, 1887, aged forty-three 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Mason are the parents 
of one daughter, Irene. Mr. Mason is a 
member of Oxford Lodge, No. 91, A. F. 
& A. M., and Oxford Camp, Modern Wood- 
men of America. In political views he has 
been a Republican from his boyhood, and 
takes an active interest in all matters of a 
public nature. He has been a resident of 
Adams county, and a land owner of Jacksow 
tiiwnship, for o\'er a decade of years, and 
has always been found on the side of right 
and justice. She is one of the esteemed 
members of his community, and well merits 
his success. 



FRANK OR\TLLE HUNT, M.D. 

Frank Orville Hunt, M. D., was born 
at Whitewater, Wisconsin, June j8, 1867, 
and is a son of Wilham and Marian (How- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



589 



ard) Hunt, who are still livin.o- in that city. 
The father came from Somersetshire. Kng- 
land, in 1855, and in company with hi.-^ 
Iirother, Timothy, bought a farm near 
Whitewater. He disposed of it after a few 
years and leaving his brother in possession, 
moved to LaGrange, a rural center not far 
away. Frank Orville was only six years old 
when his father settled in Lima, Wiscon- 
sin, where the family li\-e(l for more than 
twenty years. The aged jiarents have now 
retired from acti\-e lal)ors, and are leading a 
(|uiet life at Whitewater, surrounded with 
well-earned comforts. The early education 
of our subject was continued in the Cravath 
school, and later he was a student at the 
AMiitewater Normal. While here lie selected 
the practice of medicine for his life work, 
and when his normal cnurse was ended he 
entered Bennett Eclectic College at Chica- 
go, and after a brilliant course in that insti- 
tution was graduated in the spring of 1890. 
He opened an office at Elkhorn, but hear- 
ii;g that Fall, River was more desirable came 
l.ere March 26, 1891. His arrival seemed 
o]Dportune, and he entered almost immedi- 
ately into a very satisfactory practice. He 
is now one of the fixtures of the place. 

Dr. Hunt and Miss Minnie Obrion were 
married June 28, 1894. She is a daughter 
of Horace S. and Angelia ( Fiero) Obrion, 
a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in these 
pages. She is the mother of one child. 
Marion Angelia, born March 31, 1900. Dr. 
Hunt is a member of the Blue Lodge, No. 
75, and of the Knights of Pythias at Co- 
lumbus. He is also a member and examin- 
ing physician of the Modern Woodmen and 
the Equitable Fraternal Union at Fall River, 
and, with Mrs. Hunt, is in the Royal Neigh- 
bors, she being associated also with the 
W'oman's Relief Corps. The Doctor is ex- 
aminer for the Northwestern Life Associa- 
tion of Minneapolis, and the Accidental In- 
surance Company, of Lincoln, Nebraska. He 



is a prominent figure in the Wisconsin and 
the National Eclectic Aledical. Societies, and 
takes a deep interest in the development of 
his profession. He is a Republican and deeply 
interested in the vital public questions, and 
is a gentleman of most excellent repute. 



AUGUST SIEFERT. 

It is astonishing- t(.) witness the success 
of young men who ha\-e emigrated to Amer- 
ica without capital and from a position of 
comparative obscurity have worked their 
way upward to a position of prominence. 
The readiness with which they adapt thein- 
selves to circumstances and take advantage 
of opportunities offered brings to them suc- 
cess and wins them a place among the lead- 
ing men of the community in which they re- 
side. A prominent representative of this 
class is August Siefert, one of the most suc- 
cessful business men and influential citizens 
of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. 

He was born in \^elmeden, Hessen- 
Nassau, Germany, August 14, 1855. a son of 
Rev. Carl Frederick and Antoinette ( Heller) 
Siefert. The father, a minister of the Evan- 
gelical church, was located at \'elmeden a 
number of years, but died at iMilmes, Kreis 
Hersfeld, Hessen-Nassau, in March, 1872, 
at the age of sixty-nine years. He toiik an 
actix'e and prominent part in educational 
and other public aft'airs, and was honored and 
respected by all wdio knew him. The wife 
and mother is still living, at the age of over 
seventy years, and now makes her home in 
Cassel, Germany. 

During his boyhood and y<iuth .\ugust 
Siefert attended private schools and acquired 
a good education in several languages. On 
first coming to the LInited States in 1873, he 
spent one year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
v.here he clerked in a grocer}' store, and in 



590 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



June, 1874, became a resident uf Ree^lsl)u^t,^ 
\vhei-e l:e has since made iiis home. He be- 
gan business here as a clerk in the hardware 
store of Hansen, Gale & Cimiijany. and in 
1880 purchased an interest in the business, 
though the firm name was not changed until 
1884, wlien it became Gale, Siefert & Com- 
pany, and later Siefert, Blank & Company. 
After the death of Mr. Blank in i8yi, the 
firm became Siefert Brothers, E. A. Siefert 
becoming the junior partner. Besides a 
general hardware trailc, they handle the 
largest line of agricultural implements, ve- 
hicles, etc., in Sauk county, and from the 
public they receive a liberal patronage. Mr. 
Siefert is also vice-president of the Citizens' 
Bank of Reed.sburg, of which he has been a 
stockholder since 1887. He is a most ca- 
l-able and systematic business man, who car- 
ries forward to successful completion what- 
e\er he undertakes, and has won a prominent 
place in the business circles of bis ado])ted 
county. 

In 1883 Mr. Siefert was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Ida Bartel, a native of New 
^'ork (-'ity, who came to Milwaukee. Wis- 
consin, with lier i)arents in childhood. Her 
father. Carl Bartel. was a retail clothier of 
the latter city. Mr. and Mrs. Siefert have 
one child, Hugo, born .\pril 2. 1888. The 
]<epubhcan party always finds in Mr. Siefert 
a stanch supporter of its principles, and in 
1896 he was a delegate to the national con- 
vention at St. Louis, w hich nominated Will- 
iam McKinle\-. fie was appointed post- 
master of Reedsburg by President Harrison, 
and most acceptabl\- filled that office for four 
years. He was a member of the county 
board of su]jervisors one year, but has re- 
peatedly declined to accejjt other elective of- 
fices, preferring to give his entire time and 
attention to his extensive business interests. 
He is, however, a public-spirited and pro- 
gressive citizen, was one of the promoters 
of the Reedsburg public library, and takes 



a deep interest in everything pertaining to 
the public welfare of the town, withholding 
his support from no enterprise calculated to 
prove Lif jniblic gtx.xl. 



CHAiXCY T. ROCK.\FELLOW. 

Chancy T. Rockafellow, a well-known 
resident of Fall River, \\'isconsin, and now 
engaged in a most successful commercial 
eriterprise, was born in Liberty, Susque- 
hanna county, Pennsylvania, June 15. 1841, 
and is a son of David and Lx'tlia (Hicks) 
Rockafellow. His father was a native of 
New Jerse}', and his mother of New York. 
Her mother was born in Holland, and be- 
longed to the \'oorhees family. Our subject 
spent fifteen y-ears in New Jersey, followed 
by fifteen in Pennsylxania. It was while he 
was a resident of the former state that he 
enlisted in the Federal army, and spent five 
years battling for the Union. He enlisted 
at Elizabethport, New Jersey, September 3, 
1864, and was sent directly to Harper's Fer- 
r^■. From that ]ioint he ser\-ed in the Shen- 
andoah \alle_\-. He was wounded in the left 
leg below the knee at the battle of Winches- 
ter, and it was so severe in its appearance that 
the surgeon wished to amputate the leg, de- 
spairing of being al)le to do anything other- 
wise. Mr. Rockafellow steadfastly refused 
to ha\'e the operation performed. He was 
sent to the hospital at Frederick City, Mru"y- 
lancl, and afterwards transferred to Chest- 
nut Hill, Philadelphia, and by tlie follow^ing 
March he was able to go to the front. He 
did so and ser\-ed throughout the balance 
of the war, devoutly grateful that he had 
courage enough to save his leg. A severe ill- 
ness came upon him after his return to the 
ranks, which he cured by a self-made dose, 
crude, but of remarkable curati\e powers. 
He managed to get out of the sick tent and 




C. T. ROCKAFELLOW. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



598 



reacli some sugar barrels. Scraping out a 
quantity of it, he added vinegar and pepper, 
and building a fire he boiled down the mix- 
ture. He took it, bad as he was, and was 
presently able to be on duty again. 

j\Ir. Rockafellow was discharged from 
the army July i, 1865, and returned home to 
resume farm life. Chronic diarrhea, the 
result of his exposures as a soldier, prevent- 
ed him from active labor. Gradually, how- 
ever, health and strength came back to him, 
and in 1870 he came to Wisconsin, and made 
liis home for a short time in Dodge county. 
He came over into Columbia county and 
the remarkable beauty of the township of 
Fountain Prairie so attracted him that he 
did not hesitate to buy a very handsome es- 
tate then in the market. It was a farm of 
one hundred and ninety-seven acres, and it 
became the family home for many years. 
In its cultivation Mr. Rockafellow was so 
successful that in 1888 he determined to 
move into town, and take life easy hence- 
forth. October 26 of that year he moved 
into the village of Fall River, and thought 
himself settled for the balance of his years. 
He found, however, that it was not so easy 
for a man of bis temperament to remain 
quiet while the world around him was busy, 
aiul accordingi}- he purchased an interest in 
Weber's store, which he held until 1896. 
That year he sold his interest in that estab- 
lishment and bought the store of G. S. Lash- 
ier, which business he and his son still con- 
duct. 

]\Ir. Rockafellow and Miss Sarah J. 
Crips were married January 8, 1862. She 
was the mother of one son, who died in in- 
fancy; and she herself died December 31, 
1865. Our subject was again married Feb- 
ruary 22, 1867. to Miss Katharine Hoag- 
land, daughter of X. J. Hoagland. She died 
June 10. 1871, leaving'three children: Lilly, 
born November 14, 186 — , and now Mrs. 
Charles Stout, of Fall River; Kitty, born 



March 12, 1869, and now Mrs. V. H. Em- 
erson, of Newark, New Jersey; and Annie, 
born June 10, 1870, and now Mrs. Peter Vor- 
hees, of Hopewell, New Jersey. Mr. Rock- 
afellow entered into matrimonial relations a 
third time, Octolier 15, 1S75, Miss ^lar- 
garet Stout becoming his wife. Her son 
George is now a partner with his father in 
the Fall River store. Our suljject is a stanch 
Repulilican, and has been identified with the 
party from its inception. He is a memljer of 
the George H. Brayton post of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and has been active 
in the affairs of that organization. He is 
universally recognized as a solid business 
man and a good citizen. Ripe in judgment, 
of sterling integrity, and most excellent 
business abilities, it is no wonder that he has 
proved successful in the Ijattle of life and 
has acquired an easy competency. On an- 
other page of this book his many friends 
will be pleased to see bis portrait, which, as 
a representative citizen of Columbia county, 
is entitled to a prominent place. 



ALONZO W. COLBURN, Dece.\sed. 

Alonzo W. Colburn, deceased, who for 
many years was a leading representative of 
the farming interests of Wisconsin, was born 
in Erie county, New York, and died in this 
state, September 26, 1883. He was a car- 
penter by trade and followed that pursuit 
until his removal to the west in 1845. For 
a year he engaged in carpentering in Mil- 
waukee, but in 1846 took up his abode in 
Waukesha countv and there turned his at- 
tention to farming in connection with Iniild- 
ing. In 1855 he removed to the town of 
Newport, Columbia county, and entered 
eighty acres of land, to which he added an 
additional eighty acres by purchase. That 
farm he cultivated and improved until 1881, 



594 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



when he sold liis property and removed to a 
farm near White Creek, in Adams county, 
Wisconsin, where his last days were passed. 
He was a public-s]5irited citizen and was an 
active factor in the management of affairs 
of general interest aifecting the welfare of 
the community. The present highway be- 
tween Lewiston and Kilbourn was estab- 
hshed through his efforts, and district No. 
4, in the town of Newport, Columbia county, 
was organized by him. 

Mr. Colburn was married in January, 
1839, to Miss Mary Parker, in the state of 
New York, and they became the parents of 
six children, who became highly respected 
citizens of the communities in wliich they re- 
side. Jay P. whose sketch appears below. 
Helen P., born January 28, 1841, is now 
living in Quincy, Adams county. James H.. 
of Bryant, South Dakota, was born August 
7, 1842, and has been twice married, his 
first union being with Miss Anice Pierce, 
while Nellie Harvey became his second wife. 
Alonzo F., born November 17, 1843, mar- 
ried Ella No3'es, and is now living in Chip- 
pewa Falls, \\'isconsin. Eunice \., born 
April 9, 1848, married Frank Vanampwert, 
a resident of Rockland, Wisconsin. Julia 
M., born October 29, 1857, is a resident of 
Waupun, Wisconsin, and is the widow of 
Duncan Kennedy, who died in 1882. 

Jay P. Colburn. who is the eldest of the 
family, was born Octolier 24, 1839, in Pem- 
broke, New York, and when se\-en years of 
age came with his ijarents to the west. He 
remained at home until seventeen years of 
age, during which time he acquired a com- 
mon-school education that fitted him for the 
practical duties of life. On starting out in life 
for himself he became connected with the 
lumber industry, floating lumber down the 
Wisconsin ri\er. He afterward learned the 
cooper's tratle, at which he worked for four- 
teen years in Prairie du Chein, North Mc- 
Gregor, Iowa, and in Portage, ^^'isconsin. 



During the Civil war he responded to the 
country's call for troops, enlisting on the ist 
day of February, 1864, in Company C, 
Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry, and on 
the 1st of July, 1865, was transferred to 
Company A, of the Thirty-fifth Wisccinsin 
Regiment, and promoted to the rank of cor- 
poral October 14, 1865. He continued a 
member of the army until March 15, 
1866, when he was mustered out at Browns- 
ville, Te.xas, and paid off at Madison on the 
15th of April, following. He took part in 
the Red River expedition under General 
Banks, was in the rout at Sabine Cross 
Roads and the engagements at Pleasant Hill, 
Cane River, Bayou Sara, Spanish Fort and 
Fort Blakeley. He was never absent from 
his regiment except on special service, and 
was always a loyal defender of the starry 
banner and the cause it represented. 

After his return from the war Mr. Col- 
burn, in 1866, purchased a farm on section 
2, in the town of Lewiston, Columbia coun- 
ty, and after cultivating that place for some 
time, he sold out and purchased a tract of 
land on section 2y, Newport tmvnship, where 
he lived until 1877, when he came to his 
present farm, comprising one hundred and 
forty-seven acres, of which seventy acres 
are under a high state of cultivation. He 
has engaged in general farming and a credit- 
able and gratifying success has attended his 
efforts. 

On the 26th uf August, 1868, Mr. Col- 
burn was united in marriage to Miss Lucy 
E. Jacobs and to them have been born eight 
children: Frank L., born December 15, 
1869, married Grace Stowe, and is living 
in Endeavor, Wisconsin; Eddie L., born Sep- 
tember 9, 1871, died in infancy; Eva M., 
born November 8, 1872, is the wife of Will- 
iam Hudson, of Moundville, Wisconsin ; 
Lester J., who was born May 4, 1875, was 
drowned at Kilbourn, July 13, 1893; Lucy 
M., born February 8, 1879, attended busi- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



505 



iiess college, and for three years has lieen 
a teacher in the public schools; Royal O., 
born February i8, 1882: Clarnce E., born 
September 7. iSS^, and Arthur \\'., born 
October 27, i8gi, are at h.ome. The father 
of this family is a prominent member of the 
Grand Army of tlie Republic and has held 
every office in the local post. He has also 
filled many civic positions, and is ever true 
to the confidence and trust reposed in him. 



JOHN ENGLISH. 

John English, one of the oldest settlers 
of Wyocena, Columbia county, is retired 
from active pursuits and enjoys a comforta- 
ble home and a good name. He was born 
ai West Point, New York. April 5, i8jo, 
and is a son of \\'illiam and Susan ( Gar- 
rison) English. 

1 he father of our subject is a native of 
Strand Keneyear, county Galloway, Scot- 
land, and was born March 3, 1786. He 
came to the United States when a young man 
in 181 1, and was employed by the govern- 
ment many years in making clothing for 
the cadets at West Point Military Academy, 
having learned the tailor's trade in Scotland. 
He died March 3, 1852. The mother of our 
subject was born at Ft. Montgomery, 
Orange county, New York, and died in 
1 88 1, at the age of ninety-six years and 
nine months. Her first husband, Moses 
Cox, was in the United States army and was 
killed at the battle of Lundy's Lane. John 
English, a cousin of our suliject, became a 
famous shipbuilder on the Hudson river, 
and also built some of the finest steamers 
for lake traflic. The maternal grandfather 
of our subject, Oliver Garrison, served in 
the Continental army and participated in the 
defense of Ft. Montgomery. He was a 
farmer and trader and furnished provisions 
to the West Point Academy for some years. 



He married Miss Albert, who was of Dutch 
descent. Beverly Garrison, a brother of 
Mrs. English, stood on the docks of Ft. 
Montgomery when General Benedict Ar- 
nold passed in a row l)oat in his flight to the 
British ship "Vulture," after the capture of 
Major Andre. Garrison was then but sev- 
eriteen years of age. Another brother of 
Mrs. English, Oliver Garrison, was the fa- 
ther of the famous Commodore C. K. Gar- 
rison. Abram Garrison, a nei)hew of Mrs. 
English, was a prominent iron manufacturer 
of Pittsburg. Three sons and one daugh- 
ter were born to William and Susan Eng- 
lish, of whom our subject is the only sur- 
vivor. 

John English, the subject of this review, 
learned the carpenter's trade and lived in 
New York until 1849, when he went to Cal- 
ifornia, via Cape Horn, and the voyage from 
New York to San Francisco consumed one 
lumdred and fifty-four days. He spent two 
years in California prospecting for gold and 
met with little success, and then spent one 
year in Oregon at potato farming. Portland 
then had about one thousand people. Our 
subject returned to New York via the Nicar- 
agua route and but twenty-one days were 
required between the western and eastern 
metropolis. He located in Wyocena, Wis- 
consin, in 1853. and there followed farming 
about ten years. He then entered the em- 
ploy of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railroad, and spent about twenty-four years 
in the car shops in Milwaukee. Owing to 
an accident he was seriously injured in the 
car shops and u])on his reco\'erv resigned 
his position and ;Jnce 1893 has lived in re- 
tirement in Wyocena. His original fanu 
is in the village of Wyocena, and is now 
(Avned bv our subject's son. The farm was 
mortgaged to promote the construction of 
the Milwaukee & La Crosse Railroad. He 
avoided payment by letting the taxes lapse 
and a friend obtained a tax title. 



■696 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Our subject was married October 22, 
1848, to Elizabeth Jevens, a daughter of 
John and Mary (Green) Jevens. Mrs. 
EngHsh was born near Birmingham, Eng- 
land, October 11, 1825, antl came to the 
United States in infancy. Her father settled 
at West Point, where he followed gardening". 
He died at Highland Falls, New York, at 
the age of eighty years. Mrs. Jevens died 
at the age of seventy-seven years. Four 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
English, one of whom died in infancy. The 
surviving children are as follows : Mary 
Isabel, widow of George Hammond, of Wy- 
ocena; Arthur William, a well-known mer- 
chant of Wyocena; and Walter Cameron, 
principal of the W'yucena pul^lic schools. Mr. 
and Mrs. English have the following grand- 
children : Ray C. Hammond, Marie Eliza- 
beth English, Marguerite English, Donald 
English and William English. Mr. and 
Mrs. English were members of the Method- 
ist church of Wyocena until the society dis- 
banded. Mr. English is a life-long Republic- 
an, ha\'ing voted for Henry Clay for presi- 
dent in 1844, and he has voted for every 
Republican candidate since, from Fremont 
to McKinley. Our subject served two years 
as town treasurer and also as a member of 
the township board of supervisors. He spent 
nine months in the Civil war and aided in 
the fortification of Nashville under General 
Thomas. 



FREUERICK GILES. 

Frederick Giles, the efiicient and popular 
postmaster of Loganville, Wisconsin, has 
Ijeen a resident of Sauk county over forty 
years, twenty or more years of which he 
spent in the pursuit of agriculture and met 
with success. He is an ex-soldier who brave- 
ly entered the fray and fought loyally for the 
preservation of the Union. He enjoys the 



highest esteem of his fellowmen and his ca- 
reer has been marked with faithful efforts 
to advance the welfare of his community. 

Mr. Giles was born in Hothfield, Kent, 
Elngland, July 19, 1835. His parents, Will- 
iam and Mary (Ellis) Ciiles, were worthy 
and industrious people, his father following 
the mason's trade. He died while our sub- 
ject was an infant. The grandfather of our 
subject, Thomas Ellis, was a farm laborer 
and lived and died in Kent. 

Frederick Giles left home at the age of 
sixteen years and came to the United States, 
locating in New York. He spent eight years 
in Herkimer and Oneida counties. New 
York, and in 1857 came to Loganville, Sauk 
count}', Wisconsin, where he was employed 
for a time as a farm laborer. He purchased 
sixty acres of land in 1867 near the village 
of Loganville, and is still in possession of 
the property. He engaged in farming until 
1889, when he removed to the village to ac- 
cept the appointment by President Harrison 
as postmaster of Loganville, which office he 
has since conducted. 

Mr. Giles enlisted September 7, 1861, 
in Company B, Twelfth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, and after his term of ofiice expired 
again enlisted, January 6, 1864, as a veter- 
an. He was in the Army of the Tennessee 
until after the fall of Vicksburg, and while 
on the march to Atlanta was taken ill at 
Huntsville, Alabama, but rejoined the army 
three days before the fall of Atlanta. He 
marched with Sherman to the sea, and thence 
to Richmond and Washington, engaging in 
the following battles on the wa}- : Golds- 
boro. North Carolina ; Branch\-ille and Co- 
lumbia, South Carolina. He participated in 
the grand review at \Vashington, and was 
discharged in July, 1865, after a long and 
faithful service in which he escaped capture 
or injury. 

Our subject was married January i, 
1868, to Mary E. Mead, daughter of John 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



597 



and Mary (Van \'ranken) Mead. Mrs. 
Giles was liorn in Adams, Seneca county, 
Ohio, where her parents moved from Oneida 
county, New York. They located in Sauk 
county, Wisconsin, in 1854, where the moth- 
er died in 1887, aged sixty-nine years. Mr. 
Mead died in Minnesota in 1886, aged sev- 
enty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Giles have 
been the parents of the following children : 
Edwin R., born August 3, 1876, died March 
15, 1877; Elsie M., born October 20, 1880, 
died November 8, 1880; John P., now in 
Caledonia, Illinois ; George William, living 
on the homestead farm; and Ruth Ina re- 
sides at home. Mr. Giles is a member of H. 
A. Tator Post, G. A. R., at Reedsburg. He 
has held various local offices of trust and has 
served as clerk of Westfield township since 
1869, with the exception of an interval of 
two years, and is widely and favorably 
known. He advances the principles of the 
Republican party and is strong in his convic- 
tions. 



HENRY FOREMAN. 

In a volume of this nature the pages de- 
voted to the lives of the pioneer settlers are 
most interesting to all readers alike. They 
pass in rex'iew the many deeds which these 
men have performed for their community, 
and recall to the minds of the older residents 
the public spirit exercised by their fellows, 
and to one of this class this biography is de- 
voted. Mr. Foreman settled on his present 
farm when but one acre was tillable, and to- 
day he is proprietor of as fine an estate as 
graces that vicinity, and in the development 
of his estate has added materially to the bet- 
ter interests of Adams county. His home 
is located in Jackson township and he is one 
of the substantial "farmers of that com- 
munity. 

Our subject was born in Margate, coun- 
ty of Kent, England, March 14, 1845, ^'""^ 



was the son of John B., Sr., and Margaret 
(Malen) Foreman, natives of Margate. His 
father was a farmer in his native land, and 
about 1 85 1 came to America and settled 
near Waterford, Racine county, Wisconsin. 
He enlisted in 1862, in Company F, Twen- 
ty-second Wisciinsin Volunteer Infantry, 
and was killed at Resaca, Georgia, in 1863, 
at the age of sixty-five years. He was a 
member of the Methodist church and a gen- 
tleman of true merit. The mother of our 
subject died in England about 1849, leav- 
ing five children, as follows : Frances, wid- 
ow of Jerry Hoover, of Waterford, Wiscon- 
sin; William, residing at Waterford; John, 
Jr., of Whitewater, Wisconsin; Henry, our 
subject; and Sarah Ann, now Mrs. J. H. 
Foat, of Jackson township, Adams county. 

Henry Foreman has been a resident of 
Wisconsin since his fifth year. He enlisted 
October 8, 1861, in Company C, First Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry. He served three 
years in the Army of the Cumberland, and 
was engaged at Perryville, Stone River, 
Chickamauga, Resaca and Sherman's Atlanta 
campaign, and was discharged after the fall 
of Atlanta, owing to the expiration of his 
term of enlistment. At Resaca he was 
wounded in the right breast, and was dis- 
abletl for one week, but did not go to the 
hospital, and with that one exception was 
always on duty. For nine months he was 
detailed on provost duty at headcjuarters of 
the Third Brigade under Brigadier-General 
Negley and others. Mr. Foreman went to 
Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, in 1866, and 
three years later came to Adams county and 
purchased his present farm of one hundred 
and twenty acres in Jackson township. A 
small log cabin had been built on the i)lace 
where one acre only had been cleared. Our 
subject now owns two hundred and forty 
acres, and has one hundred and fifty acres 
under cultivation, and in 1880 erected a com- 
fortable and commodious residence, has 



598 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



added otlier buildings, and has a well im- 
proved farm. 

Mr. Foreman was married May i, 1866, 
to Eliza Margaret Bushell, a daughter of 
Daniel and Eliza (Johncox) Bushell. Mrs. 
Foreman was born in Manston, England, Oc- 
tober 27, 1847. The family came to America 
about 1853, and the mother died about 1855 
near Waterford, Wisconsin, aged thirty-two 
years. Her father married later Mrs. 
Mary A. Barnes, who died in Jackson town- 
ship, March 28, 1890. The father's death 
occurred in Jackson township, Adams coun- 
ty, March 14, 1895, aged seventy-five years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Foreman are the parents 
of eight children as follows : Elmer Ells- 
worth, of Jackson township; Ida Idella, now 
Mrs. Adelbert J. Osborn, of Bristol, Ke- 
nosha county, Wisconsin ; Delilah May, now 
Mrs. Gilbert Osborn, of Bristol, Wisconsin ; 
Arthur H. ; Clara Belle ; Chester John ; 
Wealthy died at the age of five years ; and 
Flossie. Mr. and Mrs. Foreman have four 
grandchildren. Their home is one of pleas- 
ant surroundings and betokens refinement 
and culture. Our subject and family are con- 
nected with the Congregational church at 
Davis Corners. Mr. Foreman has been a 
life-long Republican in political sentiment, 
and is always interested in public affairs, but 
has never Ijeen an aspirant for public office. 



CHARLES ANDREW SCOTT. 

Charles Andrew Scott, one of the pro- 
gressive young business men of Cambria, 
Wisconsin, has resided in Columbia coun- 
ty since his thildhood, and is a man of 
genial nature and counts a host of friends. 

Our subject was born in Birmingham, 
England, March 24, 1862, and was a son of 
Andrew and Mary J. (Powell) Scott. His 
father was born May 7, 1827, in the count}- 



of Brecon, \\'ales. and was married August 
-9- 1857, at St. Paul's church in Birming- 
ham, England, to Mary Jones Powell. He 
mioved to London when a young man and 
was employed on the police force there and 
at Birmingham about fifteen years, and then 
returned to Wales and conducted a hotel at 
Brecon sex'eral years. He sailed to America 
from Liverpool in the spring of 1869 on the 
"Pennsylvania," and on landing came to 
Columbia county, reaching here May 15, and 
engaged in farming in Otsego township. In 
the fall of 1885 he removed to Sanborn 
county. South Dakota, where he entered a 
homestead claim and resided there until his 
death, December 14, 1893, aged sixty-six 
years. Andrew Scott, grandfather of our 
subject, lived in the parish of Nantneal, 
Radnorshire, and came to America, arriv- 
ing at Milwaukee, where he died in 1850, 
while on his way to Columbia county, Wis- 
consin. The wife came to Columbia county, 
where she died about six months later. The 
grandfather was a farmer ahvaj-s, and was 
a native of Scotland, but went to Wales 
v.hen a young man. The mother of our sub- 
ject, Mary J. (Powell) Scott, still resides on 
the farm in South Dakota. Her ancestors 
lived at Rhayder, Wales, for many genera- 
tions, being landed proprietors of the home- 
stead farm "Ashfield." Mrs. Scott was the 
mother of ten children, of whom our sub- 
ject and one sister, Mary Jane, are the only 
ones in Columbia count}-. The maternal 
grandparents of our subject were Reese and 
Jane (Lewis) Powell, of "Ashfield," parish 
of Nantneal, Radnorshire, Wales. 

Charles Andrew Scott at the age of nine 
years came to Columbia county, Wiscon- 
sin, to reside with his father's sister, Eliza- 
beth (Scott) Meredith, and her husband, 
John Meredith. After leaving the public 
school he took a course at Oshkosh Busi- 
ness College, and at twenty years of age be- 
gan teaching and devoted many winters to 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



599 



that profession and continuetl liis residence 
on the farm until 1887, when lie went to 
South Dakota. He spent about eight years 
teaching and in a grocery store at Sioux 
Falls, and in the spring of 1895 returned 
to CanilDria and taught most of the time 
until January, 1899, when he became a mem- 
ber of the firm of Scott & Ernsperger, and 
the firm still conducts the general merchan- 
dise business. 

Mr. Scott was one of the incorporators 
of the Cambria Music Hall Company, and 
has been secretary of the organization ever 
since. While residing" at Sioux Falls, Da- 
kota, he united with the Baptist church, and 
is a member and secretary of the Ecjuitable 
Fraternal Union and the Modern Woodmen 
of America. He is prominent in prohibition 
movements and is a member of Diamond 
Lodge, Independent Order Good Templars, 
ac Cambria. 



JOHN MEREDITH, Deceased. 

John iNIeredith, deceased, was for many 
years an influential and useful, citizen of the 
town of Springvale, Columbia county. He 
was always active in promoting worthy 
public enterprises and acquired a wide ac- 
quaintance and many ardent friends. 

Our subject was born in the parish of St. 
Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales, May 27, 181 7, 
and died at Cambria, Wisconsin, February 
22, 1895. The parents of our subject, John 
and Ann (George) Meredith, were natives 
of the parish of St. Thomas, Radnorshire._ 
His father was a tailor by trade. He came 
to the United States in 1842 locating at 
Kenosha, then called Southport, and fol- 
Icw-ed farming there and also followed his 
trade until his death, m January, 1850, aged 
sixty-six years. Mrs. Ann Meredith died 
November 16, 1881, aged eighty-two years. 
She was active until 1874, when she was 



prostrated b}' paralysis. 1 he children of this 
family are as folldws : Evan died in the 
town of Otsego ; John, deceased ; Edward 
died in Kenosha; Ann, Mrs. William Rob- 
erts, now deceased ; William, residing in 
Springvale townshij) ,and Thomas, also a 
resident of Springvale. 

John Meredith came to America from 
Wales in 1845, and lived in what is now Ive- 
nosha, Wisconsin, until 1848, when he came 
to Columbia county, Wisconsin, and entered 
claim to government land in Springvale 
township, and he resided thereon until 1889, 
when he removed to the village of Cambria. 
His farm, comprising one hundred and sixty 
acres of land, is now owned by C. A. Scott. 

Our subject was married September 29, 
1843, to Elizabeth Scott, daughter of An- 
drew and Elizabeth (Davis) Scott, for 
whose lives see sketch of C. A. Scott. Mrs. 
Meredith was born in Wales and now lives 
in Cambria at the age of seventy-eight years. 
Her home is shared with her nephew, Charles 
A. Scott, and his sister, Mary Jane, whom 
she and her husband adopted while children. 

Mr. Meredith was a member of the board 
of county commissioners when that body 
comprised but three members and filled the 
principal offices in the township of Spring- 
\'ale. He was a stanch Republican and firm 
in his convictions. 



EDWARD KREUGER. 

Many of the most enterprising and suc- 
cessful farmers of Sauk county, Wisconsin, 
have come from the land beyond the sea, 
and especially is this true of the many from 
the German Empire wlio have sought homes 
in this land of freedom. Among these quite 
a prominent figure is the gentleman whose 
name introduces this sketch, and who is now 
successfully carrying on operations as a 



600 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



general farmer and stock lireeder in Reeds- 
burg township. 

Mr. Kreuger was born near Berlin, 
Prussia, April 14, iSj/, a son of William 
and Wilhelmina Kreuger. The father car- 
ried on a large estate in the province of 
Pomerania. Prussia, and died there. The 
mother afterward came to the new world 
and departed this life in Reedsburg, Wiscon- 
sin, December 31, 1894. at the advanced age 
of eighty-nine years. 

In early life Edward Kreuger served for 
four years in the Prussian army during the 
Revolution of 1848, but was not engaged in 
any actual hostilities. He became overseer 
of a large estate owned by a nobleman and 
remained in his native land until 1854, when 
he sailed for the United States, and on land- 
ing proceeded at once to Wisconsin. For 
ten years he made his home in Milwaukee, 
where he owned some buildings, and in 186S 
came to Reedsburg, where, in company with 
Gustave Rincke, he conducted a bakery for 
four years, the partnership being dissolved 
at the end of that time. In 1873 he erected the 
first brick building in Reedsburg and kept 
a billiard saloon there for about four years, 
when he traded it for his present farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres in Reedsburg 
township. At that time only forty acres had 
been cleared, but now one hundred and twen- 
ty acres are under excellent cultivation and 
supplied with first-class buildings and all the 
accessories needed by the progressive farmer 
of the present time. He makes a specialty of 
the raising of thoroughbred Poland-China 
hogs and Durham cattle, and in his under- 
taking is meeting with marked success. 

On the 27th of November, 1870, Mr. 
Kreuger was united in marriage with Miss 
Minnie Schroeder, a native of -Pomerania, 
Prussia, who came to America in 1866 with 
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Schroed- 
er, who settled on a farm near Wonewoc, 
Wisconsin. Of the twelve children born of 



this union, eleven are still living, namely : 
Laura, now Mrs. Charles Krohn, of Reeds- 
burg; Edward, at home; Henry, a harness- 
maker, of Reedsburg; William, at home; 
Herman, a tinner of Baraboo; Ida, a milli- 
ner ; Fred and Richard, twins, and Bertha, 
who are all three employed in the large de- 
partment store of Stotte, Dangel & Foss 
Company, at Reedsburg; Gustave and Em- 
ma, at home ; and Otto, who died at the age 
of fifteen months. The family is one of the 
highest respectability and is connected with 
St. Peter's Lutheran church at Reedsburg. 
Since becoming an American citizen Mr. 
Kreuger has been identified with the Demo- 
cratic party, and was a member of the town- 
ship board of supervisors for two years. 



^IILES H. KEYSAR. 

The deserved reward of a well-spent life 
is an honored retirement from business, in 
which to enjoy the fruits of former toil. 
To-day, after a useful and beneficial career, 
Mr. Keysar is cjuietly living at his beauti- 
ful home in the suburbs of Prairie du Sac, 
Wisconsin, surrounded by the comfort that 
earnest labor has brought him. 

He was born in Canterbury, Merrimack 
county, New Hampshire, April 13, 1823, and 
is the only survivor in a family of twelve 
children, whose parents were Edmund and 
Betsy (Young) Keysar, life-long residents 
of the old Granite state. There the father 
followed agricultural pursuits throughout 
his business career, never knowing about an 
abundance of far better farming land to be 
had elsewhere. Our subject grew to man- 
hood on the old homestead and early became 
familiar with the work incident to such a 
life. He attended the common schools and 
received a fair education which was later sup- 
plemented by a course of instruction at an 





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MILES H KEYSAR. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



(i.U3 



academy in Colebrook, Coos county, New 
Hampshire. He taught scliool for two terms, 
remaining on the old home farm until twen- 
ty-five years of age. 

Leaving New Hampshire, in 1848, he 
came t(.) Wisconsin, the year this state was 
admitted to the Union, seeking a location 
where iiis labors would be more effective 
and advancement more cjuickly secured. He 
came to Prairie du Sac, and shortly after- 
ward became interested in the lumber busi- 
ness. Later he turned his attention to gen- 
■crcil nerchandising and erected the store 
building now occupied by Conger Brothers. 
He was engaged in mercantile business for a 
time with his brother Joseph, and subse- 
(juentlv dealt in stock and grain, owning 
and c(jnducting elevators. A man of intlus- 
trio\is habits and excellent judgment, he built 
up a large trade and successfully carried it 
on for thirty years, becoming one of the 
most substantial and prosperous citizens of 
the place. As a public-spirited and progres- 
sive citizen he also took an active and promi- 
nent part in the upbuilding and prosperity of 
liis town and county. As there was no rail- 
road here until 1880 the best method of 
transportation was a serious question, but he 
solved the problem by going to St. Paul and 
buying a steamboat, of which he was the 
principal owner, and which plied between 
I'rairie du Sac and Portage, making occa- 
sional trips to Green Bay. There had been 
many attempts made to secure a railroad to 
this place, but all failed until he finally took 
firm hold of the matter and carried it 
tlirough. 

In 1850, at Prairie du Sac, Mr. Keysar 
married Miss Barbara Stevenson, who died 
three and a half years later, and for his sec- 
ond wife he wedded Miss Stella Lawrence, 
who died eighteen and a half years later. 
Two children, Lawrence and Miles H., born 
of the second union, are now deceased. In 
1880 Mr. Keysar was united in marriage 

32 



w ith Mrs. Jennie Lay, a lady of culture and 
refinement, and a daughter of William and 
Betsey (Mann) Lyon. About tweh'e years 
ago Mr. Keysar built his present delight- 
ful home on rising ground overlooking the 
Wisconsin ri\er. It is a most attractive 
place, and one of the finest homes in the vi- 
cinity, being elegantly furnished and sup- 
plied with all modern conveniences. This 
lovely home is presided over with gracious 
dignity by Mrs. Keysar. 

In his political views our subject is a 
pronounced Democrat, and in religious faith 
k a Universalist. While he has ever taken 
an active interest in public affairs, he has al- 
wavs refused office, preferring to give his un- 
di\-ided attention to his business interestS- 
For o\er a half century he has been a resi- 
dent of I'rairie du Sac and has therefore wit- 
nessed its entire growth and development. 
In its progress he has manifested a deep in- 
terest and has ever taken his part in support 
of those measures calculated to prove of pub- 
lic good. His strict integrity and honorable 
dealing in business commended him to the 
confidence of all, and he is one of the most 
popular and honored citizens of Prairie du 
Sac. A portrait of this estimable gentle- 
man appears elsewhere in this volume. 



HUBBARD SCHOFF WILLARD. 

Hubbard Schoff Willard, an extensive 
land owner and general farmer, and an in- 
fluential citizen, residing in Springvale 
township, Adams county, is a native of St. 
Lawrence county. New York, and was born 
April I, 1846, the son of Leander and Lucy 
Ann (SchofT) Willard. 

The father of our subject was a native 
of Vermont and was born in 1814, of Hol- 
land descent. While he was yet a boy his 
father died and as he was the eldest of his 



G04 



COMPISXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



iviotlier's family, a large share of the care of 
the famil}- devolved upon him. He came to 
Wisconsin in 1864, locating in Springvale 
township, Adams county, where he has since 
resided. The mother of our subject was 
born in St. Lawrence county, Xew York, 
01 Holland descent, and died at the age of 
hft3'-one years. They were the parents of 
nine children, two of whom died in infancy ; 
Alfred enlisted during the Civil war and 
died in the service; Hubbard S., our sub- 
ject; Emma M., now I\Irs. Milo Harris, of 
Oxford, \Msconsin; Ann Sophia, now ]\lrs. 
Robert INIonteith, of Spring\-ille township; 
Jeremiah A., residing in Kilbourn, \Ms- 
consin; John S., in Springville township; 
Jennie A., now Mrs. C. Palmer, of Han- 
cock, \A'aushara county, Wisconsin. 

H. S. Willard, when eighteen years of 
age, came to ^V'isconsin with his parents, and 
at the age of twenty engaged in farming 
at White Creek, Adams county. He has re- 
sided on his present farm in Springville 
township since 1871, and has erected sub- 
srantial buildings and made many impro\"e- 
ments, which render the place desirable for 
residence as well, as to facilitate the work in- 
cident to farm life. His land comprises 
tlrree hundred and twenty acres, and aside 
from general farming he has for some years 
past raised Percheron Norman horses, and 
has some fine specimens. He has operated a 
steam threshing machine since 1878, and 
formerly ran the same by horse power. He 
owns tracts of land in Springville and ad- 
jacent townships, and has bought and sold 
more or less real estate for some years past 
in different localities in Adams county. 

j\lr. Willard was married August 25, 
1866, to Margaret Emmeline Harris, daugh- 
ter of Ananias and Phcebe (Brewer) Har- 
ris. Mrs. Willard was born in Springfield, 
Erie county, Pennsylvania. One child, who 
died in infancy, was born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Willard, and they reared two adopted chil- 



dren : Henry Wines, now in Easton, Adams 
county; and Ethel Wines, now ^Mrs. Ludkie, 
of Xew Lisbon, Wisconsin. ]\Ir. ^\'illard is 
a member of Ouincy Lodge, Xo. 71, A. F. 
& A. M., at Friendship, and also the White 
Creek Camp, Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. He was elected sheriff of Adams coun- 
ty in 1S80, and served two 3'ears in that ca- 
pacity. For a number of years he was chair- 
man of the township board in Springville 
township, and chairman of the county com- 
mittee for some years past. He is a mem- 
Ijcr of the jury commission for Adams 
county, and in all of the offices which he has 
filled has discharged his duties faithfully and 
well, and gained the confidence of the peo- 
ple. In political faith he is a Republican, 
and has stood stanchly for the principles of 
his party throughout his career. He is re- 
spected wherever he is known and has gained 
a competence by the exercise of industry, 
prudence and honest dealings, and merits his 
liard earned success. 



JOHX STEWART RICHMOXD. 

John Stewart Richmond is one of the 
oldest residents of the town of Caledonia, 
Columbia county. Wis., and can relate many 
interesting reminiscences of pioneer days in 
this section of the state when the country 
was all wild and unimproved and when wild 
game of all kinds was found in abundance. 
He was born in the parish of Sorn, Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, at five p. m., June 10, 181 3, 
and is a son of James and Jeannette (W^al- 
lace) Richmond, natives of the same parish. 
The father, who died at the age of seventy 
years, spent his entire life upon a farm of 
three hundred acres, which had been owned 
by his ancestors for several generations, and 
is still, in possession of his posterity. The 
mother died at the age of sixty years, and 
her father, James \\'allace, passed away 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



605 



when over ninety years of age. He was a 
lineal descendant of tlie famous Sir William 
Wallace. 

Leaving" home at the age of seventeen 
years, J-ohn S. Richmond came to America, 
crossing the Atlantic from Glasgow to Que- 
bec, Canada. It was a tempestuous voyage 
which lasted eight weeks, during which time 
he narrowly escaped being shipwrecked. 
For ten years he engaged in farming near 
Buckville, Canada, and served as commis- 
sioner of the court of requests. During the 
Canadian rebellion, in 1836 and 1837, he 
took part with the Revolutionists, uniting 
with the volunteers untler the famous Gen. 
Alexander McKenzie, and upon the disas- 
trous termination of the conflict his property, 
amounting to $10,000, was confiscated, and 
he narrowly escaped, owing his life to the 
good will of some of his Royalist friends. 
Crossing the St. Lawrence river, he spent 
two years in Jefferson county. New York, 
and while there joined others in the de- 
struction of the British vessel, "Sir Robert 
Peele," among the Thousand Islands, and 
for his participation in this affair he was ar- 
rested, but was released after spending six 
months in jail. During his incarceration 
he studied phrenology, and upon his release 
lectured on that subject for several years in 
Canada, where he was well received and 
where his lectures were well attended. He 
then made a trip to Scotland and spent two 
3-ears in Ayr, Sorn, Paisley and other places. 
In 1854 Mr. Richmond again came to 
the new world, and this time came by way 
of the lakes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 
thence to Eagle, where he was accidentally 
shot by a comrade while hunting prairie 
chickens. Upon his recovering he came to 
Columbia county, and made a squatter's 
claim on the northwest quarter of section 9, 
township II, range 8, and the next year en- 
tered the same at the United States land 
office at Mineral Point. To pay for his land 



he had to borrow two hundred dollars at 
twehe per cent. For a number of years 
he spent considerable time in hunting, kill- 
ing many deer and much other game, but has 
principally been engaged in -agricultural pur- 
suits. He helped organize and name Cale- 
donia township, which then included the 
present town of Dekorra, and the first town 
meeting was held in the village of Dekorra. 
He has preserved the poll list of this elec- 
tion, but only one or two of the voters be- 
sides himself are still living in the town. 
He afterward served as town clerk and 
chairman of the board of supervisors. He 
cast his first presidential vote for Martin 
Van Buren, at Watertown, New York, in 
1840, and his sympathies have always been 
with the Democratic party. Fraternally he 
luis been a member of the Masonic order for 
more than half a century. Notwithstand- 
ing that he is now eighty-seven years of age, 
he is still quite vigorous both in mind and 
body, and he is a man highly respected and 
esteemed by all who know him. 

While on a visit to Scotland, Mr. Rich- 
mond was married, in 1830, to his cousin, 
I\Iiss Jane Wallace, also a native of the par- 
ish of Sorn. She first came to America 
when a small child with her father, James 
Wallace, -who died in Kaintuck, near Brock- 
\i\\t, Canada. She died in Watertown, New 
"^'ork, in the vicinity of which place four of 
the six children born to our subject and his 
wife are still living, namely: Henry, Will- 
iam, Mary and Sarah. The other two are 
deceased. In 1834 Mr. Richmond was mar- 
ried, in Paisley, Scotland, to Mary Young, 
w ho died at the age of forty-six years, leav- 
ing four children : Lovina, deceased ; Emma, 
a resident of Chetek, Wisconsin; Lucy, a 
resident of Missouri ; and Mrs. Mary Wil- 
son, of Lodi, Wisconsin. Mr. Richmond 
v.'as again married, in 1872, his third wife 
being Miss Urilla Fuller, and to them were 
born four children : Louisa, deceased ; John, 



606 



COMPENDIUM Of BIOGRAPHY. 



who is living on the home farm in Caledonia 
township; Jessie, a resident of Portage; and 
Mrs. Nettie Krug, also of Portage. 



SAMUEL EMERY. 

Samuel Emery, a prosperous farmer of 
\\'estfield township, Sauk county, was one 
of the earliest settlers of Wisconsin, and 
from the wilderness of those pioneer days 
has cleared a farm which ranlvs among the 
liest in the locality. He experienced the 
liardships of life in a new country, and after 
over fifty years have passed can recount early 
experiences which seem almost incredible to 
the present generation, so changed in every 
way is the country from when he first began 
h.is duties there. Pie now makes his home 
on section 2Q, in Westfield township. 

Mr. Emery was born in Bangor, Frank- 
lin county, New York, November 26, 1822, 
and was a son of Eleazer and Philena 
(Wright) Emery, natives, respectively, of 
Windsor and Rockingham, Vermont. His 
grandfather, Samuel Emery, was a descend- 
ant of Deacon Noah Emery, who came from 
England. He was a miller by trade and 
owned a grist mill and saw mill on the Will- 
iams river, in Vermont, and also carding 
machine, etc. The grandmother of our sub- 
ject on the father's side was of Welsh lin- 
eage, and bore the maiden name of Gowen. 
The father of our subject learned the mil- 
ler's trade and also shoemaking in "V^ermont, 
and soon afterward went to Franklin county, 
New York, and later lived in St. Lawrence 
county, where he operated a shoe shop and 
sawmill. He reached the age of seventy- 
eight years, and the mother of our subject 
survived him several years. She was a 
daughter of Moses Wright, a farmer in 
Vermont, who died in St. Lawrence county. 



New York, aged over eighty years. The 
maternal great-grandfather of our subject, 
Moses Wright, served as a scout in the Con- 
tinental army, and had a number of exciting 
adventures and skirmishes with Indians. 
The Wright family was of English origin. 

Our subject received a common school 
education in his native place and in 1844 
came to Wisconsin via the lakes, Buffalo 
and Milwaukee. He took up government 
land in Otsego and Fall River townships, in 
Columbia county, and lived there about ten 
\ears. He disposed of his interests in 1850 
andremo\-ed to Sauk county, purchasing land 
from the government in Westfield township. 
He walked to the land otfice in Green Bay, 
one hundred miles, to enter his land in Otse- 
go townshii) and also to Milwaukee to 
eriter claim to the land in Fall River town- 
ship. He now owns one hundred and twen- 
ty acres of land with good buildings which 
he has erected, and his farm is admirably 
adapted to the raising of stock, which branch 
he conducts chiefly. Li\-ing springs on the 
farm furnish an abundance of excellent water 
fur the ilomestic use and for stock, and he 
is breeding short horn cattle to some extent, 
also sheep and other stock. 

Mr. Emery enlisted August 15, 1862, in 
Company F, Twenty-third Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Infantry, and was discharged June 29, 
1865. He spent the first season along the 
Mississippi river and in Texas, and took part 
in the siege of Vicksburg. He was over- 
come by the heat and sent to the hospital boat 
on the Yazoo river, and from thence to Mem- 
phis. He rejoined his regiment at New 
Iberia, Louisiana, in November, 1863, and 
was later in the hospital at New Orleans, 
from whence he was transferred to the in- 
valid corps and sent to Washington. Dur- 
ing the remainder of the war he was em- 
ployed on guarding the plantations in Ver- 
ginia, near Washington, which the govern- 
ment confiscated on account of the owners 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



607 



having joined the Confetlerate army. Tiie 
Confederate general Mosby, \isited the 
camp as a teamster while Air. Emery was on 
dnix, l>nt it was not until afterwartl when he 
saw his portrait that he knew who the gen- 
tral was. 

Our subject was married April 25, 1852, 
to Margaret Baird, daughter of William A. 
and Maria (Van Horn) Baird, natives of 
Charlestown, Montgomery county, New 
York, the former of Scotch and the latter of 
Dutch lineage. Mrs. Emery's father came 
to A\'isconsin in 1852 and resided in Colum- 
bia county until 1854, when he settled in 
Westfield township, Sauk county, where he 
died at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. 
Baird was a cooper by trade and did more 
or less at his trade in \Yisconsin. Mrs. 
Emery's mother survived him until 1884, 
when she died at the age of eighty-nine 
years. Mrs. Emery was born in Volney, 
Oswego county, New York. The following 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Emery: Lina M., now Mrs. Benjamin Sea- 
mans, of Dunjap, Iowa; Nelson \\., who 
married Nancy Brown, of Franklin town- 
ship; Martha J., now Mrs. Hiram Prouty, 
of Bear Creek township; Angie, now Mrs. 
Albert Hines, of Janesville, Wisconsin ; 
Mary, now Mrs. W. Tibbitts, of Reedsburg 
township; Ella, now Mrs. James Taylor, 
of Dunlap, Iowa ; George M. married Sarah 
Schluter, daughter of Henry Schluter, and 
resides on the home farm ; Ida May, the wife 
of Charles Gregory, of South Haven, Michi- 
gan. Four of the children have been teach- 
ers, and George and Nelson for several years 
have operated a sorghum mill. Air. Emery 
has filled many of the offices of his township, 
and is a prominent worker for his commu- 
nity's interests. He has been a member of 
the Republican party since its organization, 
and voted for Zachary Taylor in" 1848, 
ai. the first presidential election held in Wis- 
consin. 



HENRY SEYMOUR HOLDEN. 

Henry Seymour Ilolden, an honored 
\eteran of the Civil war, and for many years 
an influential citizen of Wisconsin, is now 
passing the last years of his life in Fairfield 
township, Sauk county. He was born in 
Kingville, Ashtabula county, Ohio, January 
13, 1826, and is a son of Ambrose and Sylvia 
(Dunton) Hol.den, both native to the soil 
of Vermont. Ambrose Holden came of a 
large family in Vermont, and soon after the 
war of 1812 removed to Ohio, and spent 
the balance of his days in Ashtabula county, 
where he died at an advanced age. He was 
a Whig and a member of the Alethodist 
church. His wife was left an orphan in 
early life, and was adopted by Elijah Dun- 
ton, who came from Vermont into Ohio, 
where he was a popular hotel keeper. To 
Ambrose Holden were born thirteen chil- 
dren, of whom only one, the subject of this 
biographical sketch, located in Wisconsin. 

Hem-y Seyinour Holden grew to inan- 
hood on what was then the frontier line of 
civilization and recei\'ed but a limited edu- 
cation. He had a ready mind antl a quick 
perception, and close study of the great 
world around him has very largely supplied 
the lack of schooling. When he became old 
enough to care for himself he was set to 
learn the trade of carriage maker at Geneva, 
Ohio. He became a capable workman, and 
in 1850 came west to Dundee, Illinois, where 
he worked at his trade, and conducted a 
wagon shop for some years. He enlisted in 
the Federal army September 11, i86i, and 
became a member of Company I, Fifty- 
second Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He 
spent three years in active service, and was 
discharged at Rome, Georgia, October 24, 
1864. He had an extensive and varied ex- 
perience as a soldier, and was under the com- 
mand of Rosecrans, Grant and Sherman 
while they had command of the Army of 



608 



COMPENDIUM ^OF BIOGRAPHY 



Tennessee, in which his mihtary service was 
very largely contained. He passed through 
some of the bloodiest scenes of the war. At 
Shiloh o\'er one-third of his regiment was 
killed or wounded, and at Corinth he was 
under tire for two days. At that point he was 
detailed to duty in the government wagon 
shops, and was kept at this work until May, 
1864, when he rejoined his regiment, at 
Kingston. Georgia, and continued on active 
duty until after the fall of Atlanta, taking 
part in many serious engagements, escaping 
without a wound, though often exposed to 
danger on the firing line. 

After ^Ir. Holden had returned from the 
war he came to Baraboo, Wisconsin, and fol- 
lowed his business, wagon-making, in that 
thriving city. He bought a farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres in the town of Fair- 
field, soon after coming into the state, which 
constitutes his present home. This land he 
has converted into a very choice estate. It 
is provided with ample and commodious 
buildings, and has every facility for farm- 
ing operations that the times require. In re- 
cent years he has rented the farm, though 
still continuing to make it his home. He 
was married, October 10, 1847, to Eliza- 
beth Cowles at Geneva, Ohio, where she was 
born and reared. She was a daughter of 
Alpheus and Polly Cowles, and died June 
30, 1 89 1, when over sixty-nine years old. 
Her father was a veteran of the war of 
1812. He came to \\'isconsin and died in 
Fairfield township wlien ninety years of 
age. He was an acti\e and energetic man, 
of rugged honesty. He was a strong Abo- 
litionist, and an earnest and pushing char- 
acter. In early life he studied for the Pres- 
b\'terian ministry, but became a Free 
Thinker and gave up all thoughts of tlie 
pulpit as a place for him. Air. and Mrs 
Holden were the jiarents of five children : 
Sylvia M. was born March 9, 1849, mar- 
ried Miles Duston, and d'ed May iS, 1871 : 



Jane Annie, born January 31, 1852, married 
T. H. W'arne. antl died April 14, 1895 ! Fran- 
ces L., born May 31, 1855, died September 4, 
1859; Ruby R., born April 25, 1857, mar- 
ried George Clark, and died October 2, 
1880; Harriet K., born May 21, i860, mar- 
ried Fred Milner, and has her home in the 
town of Baraboo. Mr. Holden has twelve 
living grandchildren and eight great-grand- 
children. He has always been a Republican 
since the formation of the party. He voted 
for Taylor in 1848, and, though not a pol- 
itician, has filled from time to time various 
local positions of trust and responsibility. 
Throughout his entire life he has held the 
confidence and esteem of all wdio knew him 
and well deserves the peace and comfort that 
crown his last davs. 



A. E. HECOCKS. 

A. E. Hecocks, wdio has spent his entire 
life in Adams county, has been actively iden- 
tified with its agricultural interests. He was 
born at Davis Corners, Adams county, De- 
cember 25, 1852, and is the oldest son of 
Ephraim and Lucinda (Campbell) Hecocks, 
natix'es of New York State and honored pio- 
neers of Adams county, Wisconsin, having 
located here in 1847 among the first settlers. 
The father took up a squatter's claim near 
Davis Corners, in Jackson township, and in 
early days worked on the government sur\-ey 
in this locality, being connected with the 
laying out of all the roads in his \-icinity. 
He also helped organize townships and 
school districts, and in many ways was prom- 
inently identified with the development and 
improvement of Adams county. Being a car- 
penter by trade, he erected the first house in 
Dell Prairie township, on the farm now 
owned l)y Jackson Bagley. He had an ex- 
tended acquaintance throughout several 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



009 



counties, was high!_\- esteemed l)y all who 
knew him, and most creditably filled nearly 
every office in his township. After an honor- 
able and useful life he died at Davis Corners 
June 19, 1877, and was buried there. 

Alonzo E. Hecocks, the subject of this 
review, received such an education as the dis- 
trict schools of the county afforded during 
his boyhood. He assisted his father in clear- 
ing and impro\-ing the home farm and re- 
mained under the parental roof until twenty- 
three years of age when he began farming 
iiV. his own account. In his labors he met 
viith well-merited success, and at the end of 
three years came into possession of the old 
homestead, consisting of one hundred and 
thirty acres under excellent cultivation, and 
here he has since carried on diversified farm- 
ing with marked success. 

On the 1 8th of December. 1874, 2slr. 
Hecocks was united in marriage with Miss 
Rozena \'. Foat, who was born in Racine 
county, Wisconsin, in March, 1853. Her 
parents, Stephen D. and Lois (Clark) Foat, 
were also pioneers of Jackson township, 
Adams county, having located at Davis 
Corners in 18^7. Her father was a native 
of England and emigrated to the United 
States when a small boy. He became one 
of the leading and prosperous farmers of 
Adams county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hecocks 
were born fi\'e chiklren, namely: Clarence, 
who is married and resides in Adams coun- 
ty-; Tressie, wife of Fred Bowers, a promi- 
nent young farmer of Jackson township; 
Effie, who has prepared herself for teaching 
in the high schools of Kilbourn City and 
A\'estfield, Wisconsin; and Dorcy and Arch- 
ie, both at home. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Hecocks 
has affiliated with the Republican party, and 
has taken quite an active and prominent part 
in local ]3olitics, filling various township of- 
fices with credit to himself and to the entire 
satisfaction of the general public. He was 



one of the organizers of the Farmers' Alli- 
ance of Adams county and was chosen its 
first president, which position he filled for 
several years, managing its affairs with 
wonderful discrinfination and ability. He 
lias manifestetl his interest in educational af- 
fairs by efficientl}' ser\ing as a school officer 
for twenty-five years, and is responsible for 
nianv impro\-ements made in the schools. 
When the ci i-(i])erati\e cheese factory was 
established, he became a stockhnlder in the 
company and was chosen an officer. It will 
thus be seen that he has been prominently 
identified with many worthy enterprises, and 
he is therefore justly numbered among the 
most progressi\-e and useful citizens of the 
community. He is a member of the Home 
Forum, and is lieUl in high regard by all 
who kiiLiw him on account of his sterling 
worth. 



JOHN CHESTER JARVIS. 

John Chester Jar\-is is a successful and 
ii'.fluential farmer of Pacific township, Co- 
lumbia county, where he is now at the \-ery 
prime of his powers, and commands the re- 
spect and regard of all who know him. He 
was born at Terry, Lincolnshire, England, 
and is a son of William and Hannah (Ches- 
ter) Jarvis, both natives of Terry, They 
came to the L'nited States a few weeks after 
the birth of the subject of this article. In 
England William Jarvis was employed as 
a groom on an estate for a number of years. 
Later he was engaged in farming. Upon 
coming to America he was six weeks on the 
ocean. He landed at New York and came 
by the great lakes to Milwaukee. There he 
hired teams to take his goods and family to 
Fox Lake, and when he reached his des- 
tination he had but five English so\ereigns. 
Four years later he bought wild land in the 
town of Scott. Cohunbia countw This he 



610 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



cleared and thoroughly improved, and now 
owns as handsome a quarter section as is to 
be found in this part of the state. He is now 
about seventy-eig'ht, and his wife seventy- 
six. His mother, Elizabeth Jarvis, came 
to C(jlumbia count^■, and died Januar}- 24, 
1874, at the age of eighty-three. The fa- 
ther of Mrs. William Jarvis, John Chester, 
was the owner of several vessels engaged 
in the coasting trade in England, and was 
a man of more than the usual ability. Air. 
and Mrs. Jarvis had four daughters and two 
sons, the eldest of whom was John C, the 
subject of this writing. Elizabeth married 
a Mr. Flanders, and is now dead. George 
lives in the town of Scott, and Sarah, who 
is Mrs. Hiram Horner, of Cedar Falls, \\'is- 
consin. Emma married Alliert Hewitt and 
is now dead. Charlotte, who is dead. There 
have been born ten grandchildren, of whom 
nine are now alive, and one great-grand- 
child. 

Jolm C. Jarvis lias lived in Columbia 
county from early boyhood. He attended 
district school and availed himself of such 
educational advantages as the times afforded. 
At twenty-two he was a farm hand, and the 
ne.\t year he rented a jjlace for himself. In 
the spring of 1876 he removed to his present 
farm in the town of Pacific. Here he bought 
forty acres of wild land. He cleared the 
ground and built a small house and barn. 
From time to time he has added to, his farm- 
ing land until he now owns a fine place of 
two hundred acres. It is highlv improved. 
He follows mixed farming, and has some 
fine grade li\-e-stock on the place. 

Air. Jarvis was married, October 30, 
1S73, to Alary, daughter of Chauncey F. 
and Alma (Barker) Roberts. A sketch of 
her father appears elsewhere in this work. 
Mrs. Jarvis was born in the town of Scott, 
and is the mother of four daughters : Su- 
san, who is Mrs. Frank Whittingham, of 
Pardeeville, and has one boy, Chester; Isa, 



Mrs. Chester Yunker, who is living at Oak- 
k.nd, California; Mary, a teacher in the 
public schools, and Alma, who is at home. 
Both Isa and Mary have had an extensive 
and creditable experience as teachers. Alma 
is still attending school. The parents have 
given much attention and care to the educa- 
tion of their children, and an air of culture 
and refinement pervades the home. Mr. 
Jarvis has been a lifelong Republican. He 
has filled some of the township offices, but 
usually declines to serve. Farming is his 
business, and he does not propose to turn 
aside from his life work for any slight con- 
siderations. For fourteen years Mr. Jarvis 
owned and conducted a threshing machine. 
He is one of the well-known men of Co- 
lumljia countv. 



ARTHUR AAIASA PORTER. 

A reputation for enterprise of the right 
sort is a mighty help towards success, and it 
is this kind of a reputation which makes 
the subject of this sketch among the most 
prominent young men of Columbia county. 

.Vrthur Amasa Porter, son of John Lor- 
enzo anil Ann Eliza (Boies) Porter, was 
born at Pacific, Columbia county, Wiscon- 
sin, on the north one-half of northeast quar- 
ter of section 22i, township 12, range 9, July 
15, 1857, where his boyhood days were spent. 
Upon reaching his majority he taught school 
in different parts of his native county for 
about twelve years, until 1889, when he was 
commissioned postmaster at the office at Pa- 
cific, which position he held till he was 
elected register of deeds for Columbia coun- 
ty in 1894, and re-elected in 1896. During 
this time he made a complete abstract of 
titles of Columbia county, which are now 
Ins personal property, and which, in conjunc- 
tion with real estate, furnishes him a \ery 
lucrative business. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



613 



In the fall 1898 the Republican party 
of his county showed their appreciation of 
his ability and tact by electing him chairman 
of the county committee, and re-electing him 
in 1900, which position he still fills to the 
entire satisfaction of his part}-. In the 
spring of 1900 he was elected ;i delegate ti.i 
the Republican national convention lield at 
Philadelphia June 19, 1900, from the Second 
congressional district of Wisconsin. 

He was married April 23, 1883 to Mary 
A. Rhynesmith, daughter of John L. and 
Elmyra (Harvey) Rhynesmith, and grand- 
daughter of Charles Ryhnesmith, and great- 
granddaughter of John Rhynesmith, of "Bin- 
gen on the Rhine." She was also grand- 
daughter 'if Francis Marzale on her mother's 
side. Two chiklren are the result of this 
marriage; Hazel E., born ]\[ay 13, 1889, and 
Glad}-s Marion, born May 11, 1894. 

"Sir. Porter is now living in the city of 
P'ortage. and though he began life as a poor 
boy, hewing out his own way, he is now in 
comfortable circumstances, and still owns 
his interest in the farm which his father 
bought when he first came to Wisconsin. 
His father, John Lorenz^i Porter, son of 
Amasa Porter, was born in Seneca county, 
New York, September 14, i8j8, and came to 
Pacific, Columbia county, Wisconsin, from 
Erie county. New ^'ork, in the year 1856. 
He married Artemesia Bates, Xo\ember i, 

1849, who died in Xuxember, 1850, leaving 
one son, Dewitt D., who was born July 20, 

1850, and now lives in Portage, having mar- 
ried Sarah Merwin, and has three children : 
Yinnie, Mamie and Frank. I\Ia\' 12, 1854, he 
married Ann Eliza Boies, who was born 
October i, 1826, in Erie county. New York; 
she was the daughter of Warren Boies, who 
was born October 27, 1728, and died Sep- 
tember 16, 1839, and Polly Patterson, 
daughter of Ebenezer and Rebecca (Gibbs) 
Patterson, who was a direct descendant of 
Israel Gibbs, of Lenharn, Yorkshire, Eng- 



land. By this second marriage there were 
three children : Arthur Amasa, the subject 
ci this sketch; Leslie Lewellyn, born June 
20, 1859, living at Oregon City, Oregon, 
married Ora Spangler in September, 1899; 
and Frank Flint, born October 31, 1862, liv- 
ing at Denver, Colorado, and married to 
Alma Peterson, having one child, Doris E. 

John Lorenzo Porter was among the old 
and most prominent citizens of Columbia 
county, having settled on the large farm in 
the town of Pacific, section 26, north one-half 
north-east one-quarter and part of section 
23, township 12, range 9, which was his 
home until 1889, and where his three young- 
est children were born, when he moved to 
Portage to spenil his days in well earned 
ease. 

In 1873 Mr. Porter was elected to the 
Wisconsin legislature; he was an ardent 
Republican and a forcible speaker, and at 
once took a leading position among the 
members of that body, being a man of strong- 
convictions, of more than ordinary intelli- 
gence and breadth of information, an om- 
niverous reader, well thought of by his 
neighbors and a useful, upright citizen. He 
died at Portage, Wisconsin, June 16, 1897, 
and is "at rest" in Pacific cemetery, and lies 
side by side with his father and mother and 
many other relatives who were buried there 
years ago. 

Amasa Porter, grandfather of Arthur 
Amasa Porter, was born March 12, 1804, 
and died at Pacific. Wisconsin, April 13, 
1872. He married Eliza \\'eatherlo May 
18, 1826. She was born October 19, 1802, 
and died January 2^. 1873. Their family 
consisted of seven children, viz. ; Samuel 
W., born ]\Iarch 19, J 827, died December 
6, 1889. He was married to Eunice Calk- 
ins, having two children who died in in- 
fancv: John Lorenzo, the father of the .sub- 
ject of this sketch; Jacob \\'ilbur. born Sep- 
tember I, 1830, married Martha Calkins and 



614 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



liad eiglit cliildren : Adora EUer, Adilla 
Flower, Stella Cumniings, Anna Wrighton, 
Eugenia Fairbanks, (irace Lo\ e and Mark ; 
Erastus Alexander, horn August 21, 1834, 
married Maria Bump, and has four chil- 
dren, Orlo, Almon, William and Lida Jones; 
Sarah, born March 29, 1837, married Ben- 
amin F. Bull, they having five children, Guy, 
Milton, Lorenzo, Frank and Zella ; Mina, 
born No\-ember 3. 1838, married Peter 
Drake, and has four children, Earl, Carl, 
Mark and Kitt)' ; Lavina and Schuyler died 
immarried. 

Eliza W'eatherlo's father. Samuel \\'eath- 
erlo, was born January 31, 1776, and died 
February 18, 1862. He married Lavina 
Daly in 1798. She was born August 16, 
1784, and died July 16, 1855. 

Alexander Porter, a great-grandfather of 
Arthur Amasa, grandfather of John Loren- 
zo, the father of Amasa, was born December 
16 (or 14). 1756, at Hebron, Cortnecticut, 
and died at Freedom. New York, and he was 
the son of John and Sarah Porter. He en- 
listed June II, 1775, in the Sixth Company, 
"Champions," Eighth Regiment, command- 
ed by Abijah Rowell. April 28, 1783, he 
married Zurviah Phelps, who was born April 
24, 1762, and died December 12. 1841. She 
was the daughter of Silvanus and Zurviah 
(Sweetland) Phelps, who were married July 
16, 1755- 

Alexander Porter had eight children : 
Lucina, Polly, Hannah. Alexander. Are- 
thusia, Saphronia, Emcle and .\masa. 
Polly married Calvin \\'. IMoffett, who 
had nine children, Edwin, Lucina, Ada- 
line, Louisa Sager, Orlando, Erastus, Chaun- 
cey, Calvin W. and Amanda Sturtevant, of 
Cleveland, Ohio. Hannah, born May 2, 
1790, died April 9, 1878. She was mar- 
ried to Eli Hyde and had nine children : 
Abijah. born April 15. 1810, married Eunice 
Green and had *\\q children. J(_)hn II. and 
Clark ; Reuben ; Eliza, married October 28, 



1836, to James Chalker; Alniina; Xelson ; 
Silvester, born May i. 1820; Julius, b(irn 
March ly. 1822; Laura; Harriet, born De- 
cember 21, 1827, married to Francis C. 
Heath June 20, i8=;7; Alexander, Jr., set- 
tled in northern Pennsylvania, had a number 
of children, one being Dr. Abel Porter ; Are- 
thusa, born October 4. 1796, died March 18, 
1864, was married in October, 18 17, to Lu- 
ther Battles and had ten children : Zurviah, 
born December 18, 181 8, married James 
E. Keyt ; Edwin D., born July 22. 1820; 
Mary; Sarah, born December 25, 1823, mar- 
ried John Presby ; Luthen, born September 
29, 1826; Newton, born May 10, 1828; 
Henry D., born October i, 1836: John T., 
born November 14, 1839; Sophronia mar- 
ried Nathan Corwin and had five children : 
Harvey, Mary J. Lingenfelter, Angeline 
Haws, Charles Corwin and Juliette; Emele 
Applebee (Keokuk, Iowa) and Amasa. 

Arthur A. Porter's ancestors, as far back 
as we can trace them at present, are as fol- 
lows : 

John Porter, born in England, went to 
Dorchester. Massachusetts, in 1630, and to 
Windsor, Conneoticut, about 1639; married' 

Rose . He died at W' indsor, April 22, 

1848, and she died at Windsor, July — , 
1647. 

John Porter, born in England, 1620. first 
child of above (came to this country in ship 
"Planter"). Married Mary Stanley. 1650. 
She \\'as daughter of Thomas Stanley, from 
England, 1635, thence to Hartford, Con- 
necticut, 1636, thence to Hadley, Massachu- 
setts. He died at Windsor, August 2, 1688, 
and she died at Windsor September 13, 
1688. 

John Porter, born January 3, 1651. first 
child of above, mafried. December 16, 1669, 
to Joanna Gaylord, daughter of Walter 
Gaylord and Mary Stebbins. Walter Gay- 
'lord was son of William Ga}-l<n'd. Windsur, 
1 637- 1 673. Mary Stebbins was daughter 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



615 



of Edward Stebbins, Hartford, 1639-1650. 
jdlin TorttT died January 4. i')')'). and his 
wife died in 171 6. 

David Porter, born Oetuber 10, 1685, 
i'.rst ehild of above, married, Januar3'3, 1707, 
Anna Phelps, daughter of Captain Tim 
Phelps, son of William Phelps, from Eng- 
land to Dorchester, 1634, and Mary Gris- 
wold, daughter of Edward Griswold, from 
Kenilworth, England, to Windsor, Connect- 
icut. David Porter died , and his 

wife died at Hebron, January 24, 1767. 

John Porter, born September 18, 17 14, 
fourth child of above, married, June 2;^. 
1738, to Sarah Mack, probably daughter of 
Elisha ^lack, son of Josiah Mack, from 
Scotland, originally, to Lyme, Connecticut, 
and Mary Ellis, daughter of John Ellis, 
Sandwich, Massachusetts. John Porter died 
October 3, 1762. 

Alexander Porter, born in Hebron, De- 
cember 14 or 16, 1756, seventh child of 
above, was married, April 28, 1783, to Zur- 
viah Phelps. He has three brothers and four 
sisters: John, born February 10, 1741 or 
1742, died October 3, 1762; Daniel, born 
June 21, 1744: Lydia, born March 16, 1747; 
I\Iary (or Margary), born May 31, 1749: 
Joel, born January 28, 175 1 i:)r 1752; and 
Ann, Lebanon, Connecticut. 

Arthur Amasa Porter's mother, being a 
Boies, w'as of French descent. The name 
Boies was originally Du Boies and their 
progenitors came from France and were 
Huguenots. During the persecutions of the 
Protestants from Charles IX (1560) to 
Louis Xni ( 1610-1643), when the Jr'rotest- 
ant power was crushed Ijy the influence of 
Cardinal Richelieu, then the [wwer behind 
the throne, they fled to Scotland and took 
the name of Boies. During the protectorate 
oi Oliver Cromwell, they went to L-eland and 
afterward emigrated to America. Deacon 
David Boies came to America about 1727, 



settling at Plopkinton, and removed to Blan- 
fiird, Massachusetts, and died in 1752, at 
the age of sixty-three; he was the father of 
William Boies and grandfather of Joel Boies 
(No. I ). There were four Boies brothers — 
Elias, David, William and Joel ; Joel (No. i ) 
married Betsey Blair; he died March 28, 
1809, aged fifty-four; his wife died Febru- 
ary 16, 1854, aged ninety-two. They had 
nine children: Nancy died October 8, 1799, 
aged fifteen; Charlotte died July 29, 181 5, 
aged thirty-two; Warren died September 
16, 1838, aged fifty-three; Joel died Febru- 
ary 16, 1845, aged sixty-two; Wilder died 
October 4, 1850, aged fifty-six; Jarvis; Eber 
died March 8, 1873, aged seventy-eight; 
\Villiam died March 14, 1885, aged eighty- 
four ; and Watson. 

Warren Boies had seven children : Char- 
lotte, born August 4, 1815, married M. C. 
Woodworth, September 8, 1840, and died 
April 5, 1893; their children being, Albert, 
Frank, Lida, Lucy and Loving Winans ; 
Hilton Warren, born December 14, 1817, 
married Evelyn Rockwell April 16. 1851, 
died December, 1876; Nancy, born Decem- 
ber I, 1 8 19, married John W. Palmer Feb- 
ruary I, 1844, died in 1897; her children 
are, Alzina Curtis, Ralph L., Mary E. Teeter, 
Warren J., Laura and Estella; Lorens, born 
June 17, 1 82 1, died February 12, 1846; 
James J., born September 22, 1824, mar- 
ried Lucy Stockwell November 15, 1853, 
h.ad two children, Mollie and Lucy ; Eliza 
Ann, born October i, 1826, married John 
L. Porter; Antoinette, born April 29, 1832. 
Warren Boies, born October 2~, 1788, died 
September 16, 1839, married Polly Patter- 
son, I^eljruary 20, 1S12, wln) w;is Ixirn June 
29, 1789, and died January 3, 1853. 

Mr. Porter has just reason to feel proutl 
of his long line of ancestry. Socially he is 
a member of the Masonic fraternity, and 
has attained the thirty-second degree in that 



616 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



: aiKl noWe r/rrler, A pr/rtrait of this 
•Jal dtizen apfiears elsewhere in this 



ARTHUR H, 3fASO\, Deceased, 

Arthur H- Mason, deceaserl, was one of 
the most amWtious, enterprising ami indus- 
trious men of Gig Spring, W'isc^/nsin, as well 
as (^jfle of its highly respecter! and honored 
citizens. His influence was always found 
on the side of right, and he cheerfully gave 
his suppr>rt to every enterprise calculaitefl to 
a/lvance the m</ral f/r material welfare of his 
town and countv, 

3fr, Mason was born in Pacific, OoJutn- 
bia county, Wisconsin, March 8, 1861, a sr/n 
of Hiram ff, ami Emeline (Bump; Mason, 
of viht/m further mtntu/n is marie on an- 
other page of this volume. He was e^lucated 
in the common schools of >\dams county, 
Wisconsin, ami worked for his father tmtil 
sixteen years of age, when he bought his 
time and starter! out to make his own way 
in the world, following various occupations 
until after his marriage, 

On the 19th of May, 18S7, Mr. Mason 
i Miss Mina L. Clark, who was tiorn 
- r 25, 1865, in Hammond, Pennsyl 
vania. of which state her parents, Lewis C. 
and Harriet (iWf^ty) Clark, were also na- 
tives. Fr/r generations her ancestors have 
ioMovr&l the occupation of farming. Her 
parents were married in 1864, and in 1870 
they remwed, with tlieir family, to Wis- 
consin, locating first in Portage and later 
making their home in Black River Falls and 
rvj'arshfield. In this state the father engagcl 
in lumljering. Mrs, Mason was e^Iucated in 
the public schools of Portage and at the age 
01 nineteen commenced learning the dress- 
maker's trade, in which she became very 
profident and which she followed for three 
y<-^ri V-rV-r^ b»rr marriage. To our sub- 



ject and his wife were liorn three children; 
Elugene A., born Augtist 2, 1888; L.ana E., 
bom July 7, 1894; and Hiram L., bom July 
22, 1896. 

After his marriage, in 1887, Mr. Mason 
located in West Superior, Wisconsin, where 
be marie claim of one humlre^! am! sixty 
acres of land am! lived thereon for so'eral 
years, but finally lost it through railroad 
litigation, which was a sad Mow to his busi- 
ness prospects for a time. He then renKrt-ed 
to the Phillips farm in Big Spring, Arjams 
county, where be successfully engaged in ag- 
ricultural pursuits until his death, which oc- 
curred July 7, 1898. In (894 he and his 
wife had uniter! with the MetfKxlist Episco^ 
pal church, am! at the time of his death he 
was serving as trastee of the church and 
superintendent of the Sunrlay school- He 
was instrtunental in organizing the Good 
1 etnplars Irjdge at Big Spring, took an act- 
ive part in carrying forward the wrjrk, and 
was the worthy chief templar rjf the lodge. 
He also held offices in the Modern Woodmen 
camp, of which he was a prominent member, 
ami was a Republican in politics.' He was 
greatly attached to his family and found 
his greatest enjoyment in the home drcle. 
He was public-spirited and progressive, and 
in his death the aimmamty rtahztA that it 
harl lost a valuer! dtizen. 

Mrs. Mason has since purchaser! a gorxJ 
farm of eighty acres, kmjwn as the Braley 
farm, which is improver! with grxx! Imild- 
ings, ami which slie successfully operates- 
She is a mrjst estimaljle lad}-, and, like Iter 
husband, makes many friends. 



WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER MEYER. 

William Christr^jher Mej'er, a prc»sper- 
ous and intelligent agriculturist of Reeds- 
burg, Sauk county, Wiscr^nsin, who has met 



COMPENDIUM OV BIOGRAPHY. 



CM 



with a well-ilescn-ed success i: 'm 

calling, is a native of Germany, his birth 
having ^xcurred in Sudeliurg, province of 
Hanover, February 27, 1863, His j/arenLs, 
Henry and Dorothea (Meyer) Meyer, came 
with their family to the United States in 
1864, and se*' Qenwoo^l, Gx4c 

ccxmty. Ilh'nf>i in^ t/^> Will coun- 

ty. • ' '■ father 

hi'. * vr, Iwt 

in tftis iJjuUiij i»fc i-VjiOW; 

suits, and became one 01 
tial and prf^perf/asi farmers, as weii as one 
of the nvist highly esteemerl c;'.;/.',-?, -, vf his 
ammmnity. In October, 189. v 

Keedstiurg, Wisconsin, where ;.<. ..... ... re- 
tirement frf.»m active labf^ until called from 
this life FeJfl-uary 26, 1893, >.♦ • - 
se*'enty years, Hb wife is st: 
at the age of .%e\-enty-6e*-en j-ear-,. 

William C. ilej-er, the subject of this 
review, grew u^ mimWjfA in GyA county, 
Illinois, ami f'/r v^r?n^ ye?.r* h«; *v<r'»s»fully 
carrie'l '/n a f-, • <t .state, 

Cotning to Si ;r: *':'; 

fall of 1894, lie i/^A>k charge of a 
eighty acres in Keed*l.»urg f^wnshi;., 
his father ha^l purchased a short time be- 
fore his death. It is now nearly all under 
a high state of cukivatvjn and most ad- 

mjr<' - ■ .red. He has .- - ■ 

1/ar ; now 1^54 ?' 

re»i'ie:.'-e ar.'l ;.ai 
: the c^/nveniences 
a;. //n a nvAe\ farm 

of .. In connection 

wjifi '4t:^!t:rn) iarum.a^ ht give* some atten- 
ti'/n t^/ dairying, lie'-.i'ie* his farm here he 
still owns a valuable }Wece of two hundred 
and twenty acr^ near Crete, Illinois, 

Mr. Meyer wa» married October 13, 
1891, to MiM Dora Lorenzesi, who was 
bom in Uphonfon. Holstein, (iertmny, and 
Clone to America in J 889. Her parent*, 
Skr/izi P. and Bendina /"YeiMm) I»renzen, 



are now living near Crete, Illinois. To our 
.subject ami his wife have Ijeen lx.»rn the fol- 
lowing children : Dora Bemlina, Alvina Au- 
gusta, Alma Louisa, and Esther Magdalena. 
The family hold meml^ership in St, Peter's 
Lutheran church at Keerlsburg, an/1 are quite 
prominent in the l^est s^jcial circles of their 
community. Since casting his first vote Mr. 
Meyer ' 'the Republican 

I*arty iently served as 

• 4- 



JAMES SCOTT. 

James Scott, one of the nv.>st highly-es- 
"iemed pi'/neers of OJumbia county, is now 

ring in retirement in Pardeeville, in a 
af/me of m<.<re than u.sual a/tnUjrU, the result 
of a well-spent career. He was Ix^rn in Liv- 
ingston a maty, Sew \'/tk, April jx, 1819, 
and was a son of Matthew ami Anna (Gil- 
man) Scott, who were natives of Livingston 
county, 

Our subject's grandfather, James ;->'/'•, 
^jne from ScAlaml i.n'' !.'':! '/. ^jr/ H/ivari'jA 
age in Livingston c ': town of 

Scottslmrg was namt vnor. The 

father of oor subject was a successful 
farmer and died in Livingston county at 

)e age of forty-eight years. The mother 
-urvived him se^'eral years. Her inlh(:r, 
Henry fiilman, was of German lineage and 
came fr'ym Perini»ylvania, and the m;i'' 
grandmother of '/ijr -m^ >]"/:*., Arirm G; 
reache/1 old age in L; ;nty. Our 

subject wass '.>ne of /; '.-n, an'l h"; 

and hi* Wother, .Matthew, wm.» nov/ r 
at Scottsl/urg, New V'ork, are the on;^. 
viving mem^ierh of the family, 

James 5>cott is the only one of his fa- 
ther's family who came to Wisconsin, He 
located in Racine county in the fall of 184/^, 
and f'^rtjr vear* later moved to OAumhin 



618 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



count}', where he Hved about three years in 
Marcellon and kept a tavern known as the 
"Fox River Honce," in partnership with his 
fatlier-in-law, Abram L. Crippen. He then 
bought one hundred and sixty acres of wild 
land in the t(j\vn of Wyocena and soon 
afterward purchased one hundred and forty- 
three acres adjacent in the town of Spring- 
vale. He afterward bought one hundred and 
ten acres in Springvale township and ten 
acres of marsh land in Wyocena township. 
He resided on his farm and brought two 
hundred and seventy-five acres to a high 
state of cultivation. He rented the farm in 
1893 and removed to the village of Pardee- 
ville, where he erected his present com- 
fortable home. 

Our subject was married, October 21, 
1847, to Phcebe Maria Crippen, daugh- 
ter of Abram L. and Maria Crippen, of 
Waterford, Racine county, Wisconsin. Mrs. 
Scott was born in Livingston county, New 
York, May 6, 1831, and died October 12, 
1867. The following children were born to 
this union : Ida died at the age of fourteen 
months; Frank died in his eighth year; 
twins, who died in infancy; Ada, now Mrs. 
R. Falconer, of Camp Douglas, Wisconsin ; 
and Fred, residing in the town of Wyocena. 
Mr. Scott was married to Mrs. Phoebe C. 
Williams October 5, 1870. Mrs. Scott was 
the widow of Morris S. Williams, of whom 
farther notice is found in the sketch of R. 
M. Williams. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have 
one daughter, named Minnie May, now 
Mrs. Harry Atkinson, of Springvale town- 
ship. Mr. Scott has seven grandchildren. 
Mrs. Scott bore the maiden name of 
Phcebe C. King. She was born in Che- 
nango county. New York, and was a daugh- 
ter of Jeremiah H. and Mary (Merrihevv) 
King, who were natives of New York, 
and pioneers of Chenango county, that 
state. Her father reached the age of sev- 
enty-five years there, and the King set- 



tlement near Norwich was founded by his 
family. Mrs. Scott's grandfather, John 
King, served in the Continental army. Mrs. 
Scott's former marriage occurred October 
25, 1849. Four children were born to this 
union, who were as follows: Robert M., re- 
siding in Pardeeville; Sarah Jane, who be- 
came the wife of F. A. Healy and is now de- 
ceased; Mary, now Mrs. John Baillies, of 
Springvale township; and Cliarles H., an 
architect at Pardeeville. i\Irs. Scott has 
twenty-one grandchildren and one great- 
grandchild. While residing in New York 
Mr. Scott was a member of the New York 
militia. He is a Republican, but in early 
life was a Whig and voted for Harrison in 
1840. 



MRS. A:MELIA HYATT. 

Mrs. Amelia Hyatt, nee Seward, of New 
Haven township, Adams county, Wisconsin, 
is a worthy representative of an old and hon- 
ored family of this state, and is one of its 
pioneer teachers. She was born in Almon, 
Allegany county. New York, November 12, 
1838, a daughter of Enos and Mary (Hop- 
kins) Seward. Her maternal grandfather 
was a soldier of the Revolutionary war and 
was killed by the Indians. He possessed 
long, curly, red hair, and his death was ascer- 
tained by finding his scalp in possession of 
the Indians. His father, then an old man, 
conducted twenty women and children on 
foot through the forests from Pennsylvania 
to Connecticut, as their luisbands and fathers 
v.-ere all in the war and the Indians had be- 
come very troublesome. A brother of Mrs. 
Hyatt's paternal grandmother was one of 
the first settlers of Stevens Point, Wiscon- 
sin, and the town was named in his honor. 
He was a trapper and fur dealer. Her fa- 
ther, Enos Seward, was a near relative of 
William H. Seward, President Lincoln's 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



019 



secretary of state. The record of the Seward 
famil^• can be traced Ijack to 1760. They 
were pioneer settlers of Allegany county, 
New York, where they made their first im- 
provements, and assisted in (organizing the 
school districts and estaljlishing churches, 
etc. 

Mrs. Hyatt was educated in the common 
schools of New York and Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, having come to this state in 
1852. At the age of fifteen years she com- 
menced teaching the first district school in 
what is now known as the Vroman district 
of Jackson township, Adams county, con- 
ducting the same in a building twelve feet 
scjuare, intended for a smoke house. She 
received a dollar and a quarter per week 
and "boarded round"' among the scholars. 
She continued teaching for four years, and 
among her scholars were Mrs. Frazier Ox- 
ford, Janie Johnson and Bill Johnson. Her 
sister, Amanda, taught the first school in the 
Ward district of New Haven township, 
Adams county. 

On the 31st of August, 1858, Miss 
Amelia Seward gave her hand in marriage 
to W. F. Hyatt, of New Haven township, 
who was born September 29, 1832, in As- 
cctt, Ontario, Canada, and came to Wiscon- 
sin in 1856. His father, Abraham C. Hy- 
att, was born in Connecticut, but at an early 
day went to Canada, traveling on horse- 
back. W. F. Hyatt worked in the pineries 
and at other occupations until 1864, when he 
purchased eighty acres of rich and arable 
land in New Haven township, Adams coun- 
ty, to which he afterward added a forty-acre 
tract, and upon which he made many use- 
ful and valuable improvements. In Octo- 
ber, 1864, he enlisted in Company D, Sev- 
enth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and re- 
mained in the service until the close of the 
war, participating in many hard-fought en- 
gagements and in the Weldon railroad raid. 
He was finally taken ill and sent to a hos- 



pital in Washington, D. C, from which he 
was discharged when hostilities ceased. On 
I'ris return home he resumed farming, and 
was accounted one of the most successful ag- 
riculturists of his community. He was a 
man of high moral worth, was reared in 
the Universalist faith, and was greatly at- 
tached to his family. He ever took a com- 
mendable interest in public affairs. He died 
May 3, 1890, and his death was widely and 
deeply mourned. Mrs. Hyatt now success- 
fully carries on the home farm and has dis- 
played good business and executi\-e al.)ility 
in the management of her affairs since her 
liusband's death. 

In the family were the following chil- 
dren: Nora is the wife of Charles Hartson, 
a farmer and business man (jf New Rock- 
ford, North Dakota. Orilla, wife of H. 
Tyler, died August 24, 1890, and was 
buried in Plainville, \Visconsin. Irvin L. 
died in infancy. Eda is the wife of Dell 
Foot, a farmer of Jackson township, Adams 
county. Katie is the wife of Willis Turner, 
of Oxford, Wisconsin. A. Maxie, born 
February 16, 1874, was educated in the 
common and high schools of Augusta, and 
now has charge of his mother's farm. He 
is an industrious and temperate young man, 
and highly respected by all who know him. 
He was married, May 31, 1899, to Lulu 
Koss. Edna is the wife of M. Holian, a 
farmer of Dell Prairie township, Atlams 
county. 



WILLIAM CUFF, Dece.\sed. 

William Cuff, deceased, was for many 
years one of the most successful farmers 
of the town of Lowville, and is remembered 
by many of the older citizens of Columbia 
county as a man of exceptionally fine char- 
acter and manly c|ualities. He was born in 
Somerby, England, February 4, 1830, and 



620 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



died ill tlie town of Lowville, August i, 
1 89 1. He was a son of James and Mary 
(Chandler) Cuff. James Cuff' was a miller 
by tratle and died in England. His widow 
afterwards came to this state, and died at 
the home of our subject when over seventy- 
five years of age. 

William Cuff learned the miller's trade, 
and in 1855 sought a home in this country. 
He spent some two or three years in Toron- 
to, Canada, where he worked as a miller, 
and then came to W'isconsin, and made his 
appearance in Columljia county in 1857. 
He was here a short time onl}', returning to 
Wilson, Canada, to run a mill. In i860 
he again entered this state, and for a time 
was in charge of a mill at .Apjileton. On the 
occasion of his first visit to the state he had 
bought a ninety-acre farm in Lowville, and 
to this he presently removed, and devoted 
the rest of his life to its cultivation and 
increase. At the time of his death it con- 
sisted of nearly six hundred acres, partly 
in Low\ille, and ])artly in the town of De- 
korra. He had made ample improvements, 
and was largely interested in stock raising. 
Mr. Cuff was a Democrat in politics, 
but never sought or accepted public office 
of any kind. He was reared as a member of 
the Episcopal church, but after he came to 
this county was a regular and devoted at- 
tendant upon the services of the Presbyterian 
church. He began life with very little 
money, but by industry and economy liad 
amassed a very comfortable fortune years 
before his demise. He was widely known, 
and very highly regarded both for his busi- 
ness ability and integrity of character, 
winning and holding many sincere friends. 
He was married May 10, 1857, to Ann 
Connells, a daughter of Cornelius and Han- 
nah Connells, of Highland Creek, a small 
town near Toronto, Canada. The entire 
family were natives of England, and Mrs. 
Cuff was brought to Canada when a small 



child. Her father died in England, and 
her mother in Canada when about sev- 
enty years old. Mrs. Cuff was the moth- 
er of the following named children : Henry 
died at the age of four years; Martha, now 
Mrs. Isaac Curtis; William John died at 
Rio, November 10, 1899, aged thirty-nine 
years; Mary Margaret is a missionary of 
the Presbyterian church, and has her home 
in the city of Wausau, Wisconsin; David 
Lafayette lives on the home farm; Lillie 
\'ioletta is Mrs. Fred Henry, of the town 
of Lowville : James Henry died April 29, 
1872. at the age of four years; George Ed- 
ward Napoleon, born October 6, 1874; Ar- 
thur Horatio died January 23, 1895, aged 
twenty-six years ; Charlie Frank died 
October 26, 1896, at the age of twenty- 
five years; Maria died in infancy; Hen- 
rietta EUzabeth is Mrs. Carl Drake, of 
the town of Lowville; Royal Augustus 
Chandler is at home. Mrs. Cuff has elev- 
en grandchildren. She is a member of the 
Presbyterian church at Rocky Run. Per- 
sonally she is a lady of marked vigor and 
industrious habits, and displays remarkable 
abilit}' in handling the large farm left in her 
chars'e. 



JOHN JACOB GATTIKER, Dece.vsed. 

John Jacob Gattiker, deceased, through 
forty years of his identification with Sauk 
county enjo\-s the highest respect of his 
fellow citizens by reason of his strict in- 
tegrity, true manhood and intellectual attain- 
ments. He was a gentleman of refinement 
and culture, and his deportment was always 
courteous and kind. His devotion to the 
pubfic welfare also made him a valued factor 
in public life, and by his death Baraboo was 
deprived of one of her best citizens. A por- 
trait of him appears on another page of this 
volume. 




JOHH JACOB GATTIKER. (Deceased.) 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



G23 



y 



Mr. Gattiker was born in Zurich, Swit- 
zerland, April 1 8, 1826, a son of Henry and 
Maria M. Gattiker, also natives of Zurich, 
and representatives of good old Swiss fam- 
ilies.' The father was a teacher and fol- 
lowed that profession in Zurich through- 
out life, dying there when our subject was a 
young man. In 1871 his widow came to 
tile new world and died in Baraboo, Wiscon- 
sin, the same year, at the age of seventy- 
six. 

Our subject was given excellent educa- 
tional ad\antages, and at the age of twenty 
graduated from a college in Zurich, after 
which he engaged in teaching for ten years 
in a gymnasium there, where the languages 
and higher branches were taught, his special 
studies being French, mathematics and 
Italian. Later he was a i)ri\ate tutor in an 
English family at Chamberi, Italy. 

In 1855 Mr. Gattiker came to the United 
States and located on a farm in Honey 
Creek township, Sauk county, Wisconsin, 
where he devoted his energies to agricult- 
ural pursuits for a time. It was not long- 
before his true worth and ability became 
known in this county, and in 1858 he was 
elected county clerk, in which capacity he 
served for eight years, making his home in 
Baraboo. He then embarked in the hard- 
ware business at that place, in company with 
his brother, A. Gattiker. and enjoyed an ex- 
tensive trade until he retired from active life 
in 1886. 

In May, 1851, Mr. Gattiker wedded Miss 
Mary Magdalene, daughter of Henry Trun- 
inger. She was born in Winterthur, Swit- 
zerland, October 30, 1828, and died in Bara- 
boo August 3, 1898. Of the six children 
born to them only three are now living. For 
th.ree years Mr. Gattiker was afflicted with 
slow paralysis, and death finally ended his 
sufferings April 2, 1895. He had led a busy 
and useful life and was held in the highest 
esteem by the citizens of Sauk county. He 



was not identified with any social or re- 
ligious organization, but took a commendable 
interest in all worthy public enterprises. In 
political sentiment he was a stanch Repub- 
lican and represented Baraboo in the coun- 
ty board of supervisors for a number of 
years, serving as chairman of that body two 
years of this time. He always took an act- 
ive interest in educational affairs and was 
chairman of the board of education when the 
first and second ward school houses were 
built. 



WILLIAM I. GALBRAITH. 

\\'illiam J. (;all)raith. a representati\'e 
and prominent farmer of New Haven town- 
ship. Adams county, Wisconsin, was born 
in Logan county. Ohio, October 2, 1849, 
and is the third son of William and Eliza 
( Woods) Galbraith, natives of the north of 
Ireland. The father emigrated to America 
in 1830 and toc4c up his residence in Logan 
count}', Ohio, where he followed his trade 
of shoemaking for a time and later en- 
gaged in farming with marked success. 
Ir. 1854 he came to Wisconsin and pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land 
in Dodge county, to the improvement and 
cultiwttion of \\hich he devoted his energies 
for two years. He then sold that place and 
mo\ed to Waupaca county, where he took 
up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of 
government land, but in 1862 he disposed 
of that property and bought another farm 
in Lynn township, the same county, which 
he commenced to clear and imorove. .\t 
the end of five years he sold out and started 
for Minnesota in a covered wagon, but on 
reaching Dividing Ridge he met his brother 
an.d together they returned to this state. 
He next purchased what was known as the 
Old Man Searles farm, just across the line 
from Adams countv. in Marquette count v. 
but after residing there for two months he 



624 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



traded the jilace fur the Piatt Staples farm 
on sections i and 2, New Haven township, 
Adams county. He soon had one hundred 
acres of the one-hundred-and-sixty-acre 
tract under a high state of cultivation and 
otherwise improved the farm, hut he finally 
sold the ]il.ace to his sons, and remi_)\e(l to 
Portage, where he was working at his trade 
of shoemaking at the time of his death, 
which occurred in 1878. Wherever known 
he was highly esteemed. 

In early life William J. Galbraith at- 
tended the common schools near his home, 
and aided his father m the improvement and 
cultivation of the home farm. On attain- 
ing his majority he and his brother, Charles, 
bought the home place in New Haven town- 
ship, which they subsequently di\'ided, and 
t;i his share our subject has added luitil he 
now has one hundred and eighty acres of 
land, of which all but fifty acres is now 
under a high state of cultivation and im- 
proved with good buildings. He has been 
prominently identified with the development 
of this locality, and has ever borne his part 
in its improvement. He now owns the 
Stockbridge place, upon which is a log build- 
ing forty-five years old and still in a good 
state of preservation. 

On the loth of October, 1S75, ]\Ir. Gal- 
braith led to the marriage altar Miss Carrie 
Smith, who was born in New Haven town- 
ship, Adams county, Wisconsin, April 5, 
1856, a daughter of A. D. and Polly A. 
(Bennett) Smith, natives of Pennsylvania 
and pioneers of this state. They located in 
New Haven township when it was almost an 
unbroken wilderness and their nearest neigh- 
bor was six miles away. In the eastern part 
of the township the father took up a large 
tract of government land, and the family 
lived in true pioneer style. Their hospitable 
home was ever open and many an early set- 
tler found accommodations with them until 
they could erect rude dwellings for them- 



selves. Mrs. Smith used to grind corn in 
the coffee mill for family use. . Fires had 
to be kept burning at night to keep the 
evolves away from the little pigs, and she 
once had an encounter with a bear, her 
weapon lieing a butcher knife. Mr. Smith 
was chosen judge of the county, and all legal 
questions for miles around were brought 
to him for settlement. He improved one of 
the best farms in the county, took an active 
part in laying out roads and organizing 
school districts, and was one of the most 
useful and influential citizens of the com- 
munity in those early days. He owned four 
liundred acres of valuable land, and as his 
fellow citizens placetl in him the utmost 
confidence, he was ne\'er called upon to give 
hiis note. He died in New Ha\en town- 
ship, in June, 1889, and his wife passed away 
two years later. Of the thirteen children 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Galbraith, five are now 
living, namely : Edith S., born September 
17, 1883; Helen V. G., June 29, 1885; Lee 
1\, born August 3, 1889; Julius E., born 
April 9, 1896; and Carrie J., born June 7, 
1899. 

At the last call of the government for 
troops during the Civil war, Mr. Galbraith 
enlisted and served for three months. As a 
Republican he takes quite an acti\-e interest 
in. the political affairs of the county, and has 
ably filled the office of township supervisor. 
He has held some school offices in his district 
for twelve consecutive years and has done 
much toward raising the standard of schools 
in the community. He is a far-sighted, ener- 
getic business man and has met with well- 
merited success in his endeavors. 



REV. OTTO HENRICH KOCH. 

Rev. Otto Henrich Koch, pastor of 
Zion's Evangelical Lutheran church, of Co- 
lumbus, Wisconsin, has for fifteen years 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



G25 



ministered faitlifully to the needs of his peo- 
ple and given powerful and effective aid to 
all influences which work for the advance- 
ment of the communit}'. Revered and loved 
by his own flock, he has also won the honor 
and esteem of all others who have seen his 
devotion to his calling. 

Mr. Koch was born in Barmenslow, 
Pomerania, Prussia, September 21, 1854, a 
son of Gottlieb A. and Regina (Darvitz) 
Koch, also natives of Germany, where the 
father followed the miller's trade until 1856, 
when he brought his family to the new world. 
For a time he engaged in farming near 
Watertown, Wisconsin, and later lived in 
the towns of Arlington and Leeds, Colum- 
bia county, but is now deceased, having 
passed away September 4, 1885, at the age 
of sixty-nine years. He took quite an active 
and prominent part in public affairs in his 
native land, and represented his district in 
the national congress during the revolution 
of 1848. His estimable wife is still living, 
at the age of seventy-seven years, and makes 
her home in Columbus. 

Otto H. Koch passed his boyhood and 
youth in this state, and after attending the 
Northwestern University at Watertown, he 
entered Concordia Seminary, at Springfield, 
rUinois, where he was graduated in June, 
1878. He at once entered the ministry of 
the Lutheran church, being ordained Au- 
gust II, of that year, at Lewiston, Minne- 
sota, where he had charge of two congrega- 
tions for six years. Since 1884 he has been 
pastor of Zion's church at Columbus, Wis- 
consin, and under his ministry the congre- 
gation has greatly increased, numbering 
about eighteen hundred people at the pres- 
ent time, but these figures, or indeed, any 
estimate of the material progress give no in- 
dication of the great work he has done in 
moulding and shaping to higher issues the 
lives of those to whom he gives his best 
thoughts. Li 1887 the church was rebuilt 



and enlarged and is now a fine modern brick 
edifice. A handsome and commodious brick 
])arsonage was also erected in 1885, and a 
fine school huuse was built in 1897. 'Sir. 
Koch also has charge of the parochial school, 
which numbers one hundred and thirt}- pu- 
pils, and employs two assistant teachers. A 
friend of the poor and oppressed, ever ready 
with helpful counsel for the perplexed or sor- 
rowful, he has a wide field for labor and well 
does he discharge its arduous and sacred 
duties. 

On the loth of October, 1880, Mr. Koch 
married Miss Bertha Sander, daughter of 
Frederick Sander, of Fond du Lac, Wiscon- 
sin, and they now have a family of five chil- 
dren : Ada, a graduate of the Columbus 
high school ; Hugo, a student of the North- 
western University of Watertown; Esther, 
a student in Zion's school, Columbus; Otto 
and Herbert. 



EDWARD LOUIS LUCKOW. 

Edward Louis Luckow, publisher of the 
''Sauk County Democrat," at Baraboo, and 
one of the most practical journalists of the 
state, is one of the native sons of Wiscon- 
sin, his birth having occurred at West Bend, 
Washington county, April 27, 1866. His 
parents were Charles and Johanna (Roen- 
beck) Luckow. 

Being a precocious lad, he completed the 
course at the West Bend high school at the 
age of fourteen years, but continued his 
studies as opportunity permitted for several 
years longer, mastering the German lan- 
guage in this way without any regular in- 
struction. He was always industrious and 
ambitious to improve his condition in life. 
One of his first occupations after leaving 
school was that of clerk in a store, but as this 
business was not congenial to his tastes, he 
soon abandoned it. 



626 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



While still a mere boy lie developed a 
genius for literary work and contributed reg- 
ularly to the columns of the "West Bend 
Democrat," one of the oldest papers in the 
state, at that time under the management 
of the well-known "Billy" Walters. He 
also devoted many of his leisure hours be- 
fore lea\-ing school to learning tlie printing 
business, and when he finally became a regu- 
lar employe of the establishment it required 
but a few weeks for him to become fore- 
man of the job department and in a short 
tmie he took entire charge of the office. 
Realizing the need of a wider field for the 
development of his talents, after a few years 
he left his native village, and secured a ]io- 
sition in Milwaukee, spending several years 
in that cit}- and elsewhere. 

July 9, 1886, he arrived in Baraboo and 
took charge of the office of the "Sauk Coun- 
ty Democrat" as foreman and local editor. 
He soon assumed the entire management 
of the paper, which was then owned by 
Kunge & Grotophorst, though the former 
became sole proprietor soon after Mr. 
lAickow's arri\al. He conducted the paper 
in the interest of ]Mr. Runge until February 
I, 1895, when he purchased the establish- 
ment. He at once began to improve and re- 
arrange the office and has fitted it up as a 
n:odel institution of the kind, demonstrating 
that a printing office can be kept as neat and 
orderly as a dry goods store or any other 
place of business. The "Democrat" is the 
only newspaper in Sauk county of that po- 
litical faith and has constantly improved un- 
der his charge, enjoying at present an ex- 
tensi\e circulation and advertising patron- 
age. 

Personally, Mr. Luckow has always been 
distinguished for his courteous manners and 
fair and impartial treatment of everyone 
with whom he comes in contact. Wherever 
employed he was always noted for his de- 
votion to the interests of his employers, and 



i;pon Ijecoming ))roprietor of this paper he 
received a number of very complimentary 
and congratulatory letters from noted jour- 
nalists with whom he had been associated. 
He has always taken a lively interest in 
the Wisconsin Press Association, which he 
has served as vice-president and in other offi- 
cial capacities. He has been several times a 
delegate to the National Press Association, 
and in 1897 was elected a member of the ex- 
ecutive committee of that organization. He 
was recently appointed to prepare a history 
of the Sauk County Press for embodiment 
ii! the histor)' of the W'isconsin press. For 
many years he has filled the position of cor- 
respondent for a number of city papers and 
still officiates in that capacity for several of 
the leading j(jurnals of the United States. 
In the spring of 1900 Mr. Luckow was 
elected mayor of the city of Baraboo, beat- 
ing his opponent by one hundred and nine- 
teen votes, although the city is strongly Re- 
publican. In the fall of 1890 he was the 
Democratic candidate for congressman for 
the third district of W^isconsin. 



HENRY N. OLSON. 

No foreign element has become a more 
important part of our American citizenship 
than that furnished by Sweden. The emi- 
grants from that land have brought with 
them to the new world the stability, enter- 
prise and perseverance characteristic of their 
people and have fused these qualities with 
the progressiveness and indomitable spirit 
of the w^est. Mr. Olson, of Mars, Adams 
county, Wisconsin, is a worthy representa- 
tive of this class. 

He was born in JMalmo, Sweden, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1845, and was educated in the 
Latin school at that place. During his 
youth he learned the carpenter's trade, which. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



627 



lie cnutinued to follow until coming to 
America at the age of twenty-two years. 
He firs.t located at Rockford, Illinois, where 
he worked at his trade mitil 1870, when he 
entered the employ of Harrison & Green, 
bridge contractors, and continued with them 
for six years in the capacity of timekeeper 
and foreman, laying out the work for the 
men. When he retired from raih'oad bridge 
buikling, he engaged in contracting and 
building on his own account in Milwaukee, 
Avhere he erected over three hundred houses 
which are still standing. He possesses ex- 
cellent ability in mechanical lines and has 
had a varied experience. As a skillful 
painter he has worked in a street car shop, 
doing the finest work in painting and letter- 
ing, and while there he invented a wheel 
scraper, which is now patented and in gen- 
eral use. On lea\'ing the employ of that 
company he returned to railroad bridge 
huilding. He is also a skilled iron worker 
and in many parts of Adams county ma}- be 
found manifestations of his handiwork. 

In 1868 Mr. Olson came to Adams coun- 
ty, and purchased a tract of lanil near Twin 
Valley, which he afterward sold, bnt re- 
purchased again in partnership with Mason 
Peterson, and is still actively identified with 
i)idustrial interests. His support is never 
\'.ithheld from any enterprise calculated to 
pro\-e of public benefit, and although he has 
ne\er been an office seeker, he takes an act- 
ive interest in political affairs. He merits 
and receives the respect and esteem of his 
fellow citizens. 



ALBERT WEBSTER FOSTER. 

Albert Webster Foster, a successful lo- 
comoti\e engineer, who has been a resident 
of Baraboo, Wisconsin, for more than half 
a century, and is one of its highly-respected 
citizens, was born in Barre, Orleans county. 



New York. March 11, 1844, a son of Ira 
and Amanda (Norton) Foster. The father 
was a native of Ohio, and when a young 
man went to New York. In 1S44 he cam^ 
to Wisconsin and first located on a farm at 
Delavan, and four years later came to Bara- 
boo, where he died in January, 1850, at 
the age of forty-one years. His wife, who 
was a native of Chautaucjua county, New 
York, died in Baraboo, in 1889, at the age 
of eighty-seven years. Her father was of 
English lineage and a farmer by occupation. 
Three of her brothers were soldiers in the 
war of 1812. Our subject is the youngest 
in a familv of six children, five sons and one 
daughter, the others being Elma, deceased 
wife of O. B. Hubbard ; Elvin, who died in 
Baraboo ; Charles, who was killed by light- 
ning at Pikes Peak, Colorado, in 1867; 
Rollin A., a resident of Winona, Minnesota; 
and William, who died in Baraboo, in 1864. 

Albert ^^^ Foster was four years old 
when brought by his parents to Baraboo, and 
upon the home farm near that city he made 
his home until twenty years of age, aiding 
iri its operation and working in a saw-mill 
a part of the time. In 1865 he made a trip 
to Pikes Peak, where he spent one year 
in freighting to the mines, and on his re- 
turn to Baraboo engaged in various pur- 
suits until 1876, when he became night 
baggageman at that place for the Chicago 
& Northwestern Railroad Company. Three 
years later he entered the train service as a 
fireman and since 1882 has had charge of a 
locomotive, for the past year running a time 
freight between Baraboo and Milwaukee. 
He has invested to some extent in real es- 
tate in \\'inona, Minnesota, and is now quite 
well-to-do. 

On the i_nh of September, 1889, Mr. 
Foster was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Mary Geeslim, a native of Mohawk, Her- 
kimer county, New York, where her par- 
ents, Timothy and Lucy Hess, were also 



628 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



born. In 1865 the Hess family moved to 
Minnesota and settled near \\^inona, where 
the father died in 1889, the mother in 1874. 
Mr. Foster is a prominent member of 
Division No. 76, B. of L. E., at Baraboo, 
of which he has been chaplain for the past 
five years, and is a member of Baraboo 
Lodge, F. & A. M., and Baraboo Valley 
Chapter, R. A. M., while he and his wife 
both belong to the Order of the Eastern 
Star, and she is also a member of the La- 
dies Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Lo- 
comotix'e Engineers. Mr. Foster has always 
affiliated with the Republican party, but 
aside fnun \oting he takes no active part 
in political affairs. He is widely and fa- 
vorably known, and those who are most in- 
timatel)- acquainted with him are numbered 
among his warmest friends. 



CHARLES AUGUST COLONIUS. 

Charles August Colonius, ex-treasurer 
of C(jlumbia county. There is no element 
which has entered into our composite na- 
tional fabric, which has been of more prac- 
tical strength, value and utility than that 
furnished by the sturdy, persevering and 
honorable sons of Germany, and in the prog- 
ress of our Union this element has played 
an imi)ortant part. Intensely practical, and 
ever having a clear comprehension of the 
ethics of life, the German contingent has 
wielded a powerful influence, and this serv- 
ice cannot lie held in liglit estimation by 
those who appreciate true civilization and 
true advancement. One of the most influen- 
tial German-American citizens of Columbia 
county is C. A. Colonius, of Portage, who 
has lieen prominently identified with its busi- 
ness and political interests for some years. 

He was born in \\'.'echters1jach, province 
of Hesse-Xassau, Germany, April 13, 1836. 



a son of George Christian and Johanna 
(Weber) Colonius. The original home of 
the family was at St. Goarshausen on the 
Rhine, where the ruins of Colonius castle 
are still seen, and representatives of the fam- 
ily still reside there. The grandfather and 
several other ancestors of our subject were 
ministers of the Reformed church. The fa- 
ther was Ixirn January 26, 1785, in Hohen- 
solms, province of Wetzlar, Rhenish Prus- 
sia, and spent the most of his life as a ober 
kammerrath (chief oiTicer) under the Prus- 
sian go\-ernment at W'aechtersbach, ha\'ing 
super\'ision o\-er a considerable tract of 
country. He died April 9, i860. His wife 
was a native of the erand duchy of Hesse 
and was a sister of George Weber, who held 
a government position, as conservator or 
treasurer at Buedingen. Our subject is one 
of a family of four children, three sons and 
one daughter, the others being as follows : 
Henry, who came to the United States in 
1849, was judge of Jeft'erson county, Wis- 
consin, for fi\'e terms, or twenty }'ears, and 
there died in August, 1896; George died 
in German}- ; and Maria is now Mrs. Will- 
iam Van Carlshausen, of Alten-Hasslau, 
province of Hesse-Nassau, Germany. 

Charles A. Colonius, of this review, re- 
ceived a good classical education in a gym- 
nasium at Buedingen, and remained in his 
nati\e land until nineteen years of age. In 
May, 1854, he sailed for the new wxirld and 
spent five years in the regular army under 
General Sidney A. Johnston and General 
Harney, in this country, returning to Ger- 
many at the end of that time on account of 
the death of his father. On again coming to 
America, in 1862, he located at Watertown, 
Wisconsin, where he enlisted the following 
spring in Company K, Third ^^'isconsin 
Cavalry, which was employed in scuuting 
and skirmishing with Generals Price and 
Marmaduke's forces in .\rkansas until the 
close of the war. Though in many pre- 



COMPBXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



(329 



carious positions he fortunately escaped un- 
Wdundeil. 

Aftei" the war Mr. L'nlnnius. carried on a 
commission Inisiness in W'atertown for a 
time, and in tlie winter of 1867-68 located 
at Columl)us, Wisconsin, where lie was em- 
])loyed as clerk in a general store for sev- 
eral years. In June, 1874. he became a ]iart- 
ner in tlie mercantile firm of George Linck 
& Company, with which he was connected 
until December, 1880. In the meantime he 
liad served as alderman and city treasurer 
of Columbus, resioning the latter office on 
hiis removal to Portage in January, 1881, to 
assume the duties of county treasurer, to 
which position he had been elected the jjre- 
vious fall. Here he has since made his 
home, and for four terms, or eight vears, he 
served as countv treasurer, with credit to 
himself and to the entire satisfaction of his 
constituents. Afterward he was agent for 
the Northern Pacific Express Company at 
this place. In 1890 he was one of the incor- 
porators of the First National Bank, of 
Portage, and served as assistant cashier until 
January, 1898, when he retired from active 
business, although he is still a director of 
the bank, which is one of the leading finan- 
cial institutions in the county. 

In 1866 Mr. Colonius married Miss Jo- 
sephine Brucher, a daughter of Daniel and 
Elizabeth Brucher, of Elba, Dodge county, 
Wisconsin. The father died in that county 
in 1857, at the age of sixty-nine years, the 
mother in 1870, at the age of seventy. Mrs. 
Colonius was born in St. Wendel, Rhenish 
Prussia, and came with her family to Amer- 
ica in 1847. By her marriage she has be- 
come the mother of five children, but four 
died in infancy, the other survivor being 
Jessamine May. The family are connected 
Avitli the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
which j\Ir. Colonius is a trustee. In the 
summer of 1892, with his wife and daugh- 
ter, he made a trip to Germany, and spent 



several months in \-isiting the birthplace of 
himself and Mrs. Colonius, as well as other 
points of interest. He was somewhat sur- 
prised to note the rapid development of the 
mining and manufacturing industries in and 
around his nati\e ]>]ace, by which the same 
had been transformed from an agricultural 
region into a field of commercial activity. 
Socially he is a member of Columbus Lodge, 
No. 78, F. & A. M. ; Fort \\'innebago Chap- 
ter, No. 14. R. A. M. : Fort \\'innebago 
Commantlery. Xo. 4. K. T. : and Bethlehem 
Chapter, Xo. 100, O. E. S., at Portage, 
which he and his wife assisted in organiz- 
ing. Since casting' his first presidential \'ote 
for Lincoln, in i860, he has been a stanch 
supporter of the Republican party, and lie- 
sides filling the oflices already mentioned, 
he iias served as a member of the school 
board of Portage since 1894, and as its presi- 
dent since 1895. As a citizen he meets every 
requirement and manifests a commendable 
interest in everything that is calculated to 
promote the welfare of his adopted city and 
county in any line. Mr. Colonius is a 
member of Rousseau Post, No. 14. Ci. A. 
R., of Portage. 



EZRA WILSON, Deceased. 

Ezra W'ilson, deceased, was for many 
years a- highly esteemed and honored citizen 
ef Richfield township, Adams county, \\"is- 
consin, his home being on section 2, where 
his widow still resides. He was born in 
W^yoming county. Pennsyh-ania, August 8, 
1826, and first came to Adams county, this 
state, in 1872, but after living here awhile 
he removed to Green Lake county, and did 
not return to Adams county until 1880. In 
early life he worked at the carpenter's and 
millwrght's trades, but devoted his last years 
to farming, owning and operating one hun- 
dred and forty-five acres on section 2, Rich- 
field township. 



630 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



]\Ir. Wilson was twice married, his first 
wife lieing Aliss Jemima Sciiooly, of Penn- 
sylvania, who died in Dartfijrd. Green Lake 
county, ^\'isconsin, Decemloer 27, 1869. V>y 
that union nine children were horn, namely: 
William; Jennie, Avife of J(3hn Brooks, of 
Junction Cit}', Portage county, ^Visconsin ; 
jMark, who married Irene Allen and \\\cs 
ii' Georgia; La\-ina, wife of John Banker, r,f 
Berlin, Wisconsin ; Lois ; \\'alter, who mar- 
ried \'ii_ila Da\-3', and is also a resident of 
Berlin; Charlie; and Emma, wife of Frank 
Leach, of Adams county. 

On the 23d of January, 1S74, at Green 
Bay, \\ isconsin, Air. A\'ilson married Miss 
Sarah Linch. who was born in Orange cijun- 
ty. Xew York, May 17, 1S56. and came to 
Green Lake county. \\'isconsin, in 1868, with 
her parents, Aaron and Sarah (Baird) 
Linch. The father, who is a farmer by 
occupation, is still a resident of that county. 
He ser\'ed for three months as a soldier i->f 
the Civil war at the l)eginning (jf that con- 
flict. His children are ]\Iary C, wife of 
Joseph Taylor, of Dartford, Green Lake 
count}-; Angeline. wife of John Hubert, of 
South Dakota; Martha A., wife of U'illiam 
Wilson, (jf Antigo, Langlade county, Wis- 
consin; Joseph, who married Eva Collen, 
and lives in Illinois; Dwight, who married 
Sarah B. Wilson, and makes his home in 
Dartford, Wisconsin; Sarah, widow of Ezra 
Wilson, oiu- su1)ject; WiUiam H. ; Cassie, 
wife of a ^Ir. Davis, of Columbus, Wiscon- 
sin ; Benjamin, who wedded ]\Iary Otto, and 
lives in Rush Lake, Green Lake county; Jo- 
siah, who married Lillie Bradley and re- 
sides in Dartford; and Lizzie, wife of Willis 
Bonnell, of Dartford. By his seci.md mar- 
riage our subject had two s(.)ns : Lorenzo; 
and Orin O., who married Lax-ina Labrence 
and li\-es at home, where he owns twenty-fi\'e 
acres of land. 

^Jr. Wilson was a soldier of the Cix'il 
war, enlistiup' at Madison, Wisconsin, in 



Company I, Thirty-first W^isconsin Volun- 
teer Infantry, and in later years he was an 
honored member of Tom Eubank Post, No. 
150, G. A. R.. at Plancock, Wisconsin. He 
v.as well and favorably known and was just- 
ly entitled to the high regard in which he 
v.-as held by his fellow citizens aufl by all 
w ho knew him, for he led an upright, honor- 
able life, and was true to every trust reposed 
in him. Mrs. \Vilson was a member of the 
Relief Corps at Llancock. 



JAMES C. M.\cKENZIE. 

James C. MacKenzie, Portage, Wiscon- 
sin, is a son of old Columbia county, and 
is the newly-elected sheriff of the county. 
He, although a comparatively young man, 
has already made his mark in the world and 
is already known as a very shrewd Ijusiness 
man and a very popular citizen. 

He was born October 19, 1864, and his 
father, Hon. John MacKenzie, a nati\-e of 
Scotland, came to this country in 1S48. He 
lived for a short time in Racine, and came 
to Columbia county the following year. 
Here he was a farmer for a time, and then 
became a miller at DeKorra, where he 
bought an extensive milling plant, which has 
made that name quite famous. It was the 
first in this part of the state. He carried 
it on until his death in May, 1892, and the 
business has since been continued hv mem- 
bers of the family. The father was a man 
o: ability, and in politics was an ardent sup- 
porter of the Republican party, being elected 
by that organization to the state legislature 
in 1883. His wife was Mary Wilson in her 
maidenhood, and her father, James Wilson, 
was a pioneer settler of Columbia county. 
She is still living on the old homestead. 

James C. MacKenzie is the third in a 
familv of eight children, and was educated 




JAHES C. MACKEHZIE. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



m% 



ill the ccmimon schools, and also at t1ie 
Povnette high school. His Inisiiiess life be- 
gan as a salesman for the DeKorra 
mill. He continued in this capacity un- 
til he had reachetl his twenty-third 
3ear. For the last thirteen years he has lieeu 
engaged in the hotel business at Portage. 
Politically lie has always been a Kepulili 
can, and fur many years lie has taken acti\e 
interest in the work of the party in this 
county. His standing in the party is at- 
tested by the fact that he was chosen on the 
second ballot at the county conyention of 
August 19, 1900, for the Republican nom- 
ination as sheriff, out of a list of ft\e good 
rnen Ijefore that bod}-, and was elected No- 
vember, of the same year, b}' a yjlurality of 
two thousand six hundred and forty-one, 
the largest ever giyen ftir a county officer in 
Columbia county. 

Mr. ]\IacKenzie and Miss Anna J. Bug- 
lass, of IMauston, Wisconsin, were married 
November 23, 1897. He is a member of the 
Knights of the Maccabees, and has been 
commander of the Portage Tent, N(3. 122, 
since its organization. He is also a mem- 
ber of the .\ncient Order of United ^\'ork- 
men, and the ^Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. He is yice-]3resident of the local as- 
sembly of the Equitable Fraternal Union. 

Mr. MacKenzie has hati excellent Ijusi- 
ness training and from that and the well- 
kno\yn sterling integrity and well-directed 
energ}- of purpose that are his leading char- 
acteristics, it is confidently expectetl that 
he will fill the responsible office of sheriff, 
to which he has just been chosen, in a 
nianner tn his credit and the satisfacti(Mi of 
the electors of the county. The majority 
of the people of Columbia county are con- 
gratulating themselves that so able and hon- 
est a man has been chosen to fill the office. 
A portrait of Mr. MacKenzie adorns one 
of the pages of this volume, and will be wel- 
comed l)v a large circle of friends. 



CHARLES BAKER. 

Charles Baker, of Portage, is now living 
a retired life in the enjoyment of a rest which 
he has truly earned and richly deserves by 
reason of his industrious efforts of former 
years. Accomplishment and progress ever 
imply labor, energy and diligence, and it 
was those qualities that enabled our subject 
to rise from the ranks of the many and stand 
among the successful few. He is now one of 
the highly respected citizens of Portage, and 
his long residence in Columbia county and 
the active part he has taken in its develop- 
ment will entitle him to representation in its 
history. 

Mr. Baker was born in Polsam, parish 
of Wells, Somersetshire, England, June 14, 
1823, a son of William and Joanna (Emery) 
Baker. The father, who spent his entire life 
on a farm in Polsam and w-as extensively 
engaged in dairying, died in 1827, aged for- 
ty-one years, the mother in 1836, aged fifty- 
six years. 1 hev left a family of nine chil- 
dren, six sons and three daughters, namely : 
Harriet; Elizabeth; George; William; Caro- 
line, widow of James Chancellor, a resident 
of Portage ; Jose^ih ; Charles ; R<ibert, a resi- 
dent of Sacket Harbor, Xew York; and Hen- 
ry, twin Ijrother of Robert, who was for a 
numbier of years a government contractor at 
Yiuna, California, and was robbed and mur- 
dered while making a trip in Mexico. Only 
Caroline, Charles, Robert and Henry came 
to the United States and the first three of 
these are the only rej resentatives of the fam- 
ily now living. 

On first comine to America in 1840, 
j Charles P.aker located at Northport, Prince 
Edward's district. L'pper Canada, where he 
remained until 1 846, and then returned to 
England, where he was married. In August, 
1847, he again crossed the Atlantic and took 
up his residence in Canada, but the follow- 
ing spring came to Wisconsin and settled in 



GU 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Fort W'innebag'o townsliip, Columljia coun- 
ty, where lie turned his attention to agricult- 
ural pursuits. At that time the greater part 
of this region was still in its jirimitive condi- 
tion ; there was hut one house on the present 
site of the city of Portage : and he had to 
Iiaul all his supplies from Kenosha with an 
ox team and wagon, which he purchased on 
credit as he had but thirty-five dollars in cash 
on his arrival here. His first house was of 
logs with a hay roof, and although he ex- 
])erienced all the trials and vicissitudes of 
])ioneer life, he prospered in his new home as 
the time passed and cleared a large farm, 
owning at one time se\-en hundred acres of 
land. He gave considerable attention to 
the breeding of cattle, and had a large herd 
of high grade Durhams. Upon his farm he 
built a cheese factory in 1873 '^"'^l manufac- 
tured other dairy products besides cheese, 
keeping for this purpose fifty cows. A part 
of the farm is now owned by his sons, who 
carry on the whole, while he lives retired in 
I'ortage, having removed to that place in 
1887. There he owns a block of store build- 
ings and other \-aluabIe [iroperty, the rent 
from which adds not a little to his income. 

On the 6th of June, 1847, Mr. Baker 
married Miss Priscilla Stubbins, of Wookey, 
Somersetshire, England, who died in 1862, 
at the age of thirty-six years, lea-ving seven 
children, two of whom died in childhood. 
Those still living are Edmund S., an attor- 
ney of Portage; William Charles: Priscilla 
Ruth, wife of W. B. Cotant, of Xew Hamp- 
ton, Iowa ; George Watts, a resident of Tes- 
cott, Kansas; and Ralph, who lives on the 
homestead farm. Mr. Baker was again mar- 
r'ed, January 21, 1863, his second union 
being with Miss Clarissa Holloway, a native 
01 New York, and a daughter of James Hal- 
loway. By her he had three children, one 
of whom died in infancy. The son, Andrew 
Johnson, is now a farmer of Fort Winne- 
bago township; and the daughter, Joanna 



Emery, is the wife of Chester Cotant, of 
Decorah, Iowa. On the ist of March, 1868, 
Mr. Baker married Lura Howe, daugh- 
ter of Daniel and Hannah Howe, of 
Xew York. She died April 22, 1890, and 
on the 22d of the following October he wed- 
ded ]\Irs. Maria J. Berry, a daughter of 
Elisha and Juliet (Bartram) Bangs, the 
former a native of Lenox, Massachusetts, 
the latter of Reading, Pennsylvania. Mrs. 
Baker was born in Groton, Tompkins coun- 
ty, New York, and was first married Feb- 
ruary 19, 1856, to De Witt C. Berry. The 
same year they came to Wisconsin and set- 
tled in the town of Fort Winnebago, Colum- 
bia county, where Mr. Berry died September 
21, 1886, aged fifty-eight years. 

While a boy at Bristol, England, i\Ir. 
Baker remembers seeing in course of con- 
struction the first steamboat that ever crossed 
the Atlantic ocean. Three times he has vis- 
ited his native land since coming to this 
country, first in 1846, and again in 1858 and 
1 88 1, but prefers America as a home, for 
here he has prospered, being now one of the 
well-to-do and substantial citizens of his 
adopted county. He and his wife hold mem- 
bership in the Presbyterian church of Port- 
age, which she joined soon after coming to 
the county, and lx)th are held in high re- 
gard by all who know them. He has affil- 
iated with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows since 1844, has filled all the chairs 
in the local lodge, and was a member of 
Excelsior Encampment, No. 30, until it dis- 
banded. For some j-ears he was alsn con- 
nected with Patriarchal Circle, No. 4, and 
a member of the Grand Lodge of Wiscon- 
sin. Politically he has been a life-long Dem- 
ocrat, and is at present an advocate of free 
silver. In Fort Winnebago township he 
filled nearly all of the local offices, including 
that of justice of the peace, which he held 
there for thirtv years, and for three years 
in Portage. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



C35 



JOHN SMITH. 

John Smith, a prosperous and inteUigent 
farmer residing on section ii, Richfield 
township, Adams county, Wisconsin, was 
l)orn in Allegany county, New York, Sep- 
tember 26, 1849, 'iiid on the paternal side is 
of German descent, his great-grandfather, 
]\Iichael Smith, being a native of Germany. 
His grandfather. Michael S. Smith, was 
born near Bunker Hill on the day of the fa- 
wous battle at that place during the Revolu- 
tionary war. 

William A. Smith, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in the town of Galway, Scho- 
harie county, New York, October 9, 18 19, 
and was married in Allegany county, that 
state, March 25, 1847, to Mary M. Beeby, 
a native of the town of Brookfield, Madison 
county, New York. Her father, Seth Bee- 
by, a farmer by occupation, was born in Wil- 
braham, Massachusetts, July 21, 1782, and 
married Elsie Potter, who was born in 
Brookfield, New York, July 29, 1803. Her 
paternal grandparents were Zadock and Sar- 
ah (Leach) Beeby, the former born in Eng- 
land in 1744, the latter in New London, 
Massachu-setts, in 1742. Her father was a 
soldier of the Re\'olutionary war, and was 
taken prisoner by the Indians, together with 
his brother, who was massacred, but he 
managed to escape the night after his cap- 
ture and wandered about through the woods 
for thirteen days without anything to eat. 
He finally found a dead horse, on which he 
lived until he gained strength to crawl on 
his hands and knees, and in that way re- 
turned home. In 1863 the parents of our 
subject came to Wisconsin and first located 
in \\'aushara county, where they made their 
home for six years. Coming to Adams 
county at the end of that time the father 
I)urchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
land in Richfield township, upon which our 
subject now lives. On settling there only 



about forty acres had been cleared, and the 
other improvements consisted of a log house 
and a good barn costing seven hundred dol- 
lars. Throughout his active business life 
the father followed the occupation of a farm- 
er, and supported the Democratic party by 
his ballot. 

Our subject also devotes his time and 
attention to agricultural pursuits, and is now 
the owner of a good farm of two hundred 
and thirty acres, of which seventy-five acres 
are under cultivation. On the 8th of Janu- 
ary, 1870, at Richford, Waushara county, 
he was united in marriage with Miss Ad- 
die Mott. Her father, Almeron A. Mott, 
was born in Montpelier, Vermont, July 11, 
1825, a son of Abraham Mott, a farmer of 
that state. In 1849 ''•e was married to Har- 
riet Dow, also a native of Montpelier, borii 
January 20. 1823. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are 
the parents of four children, namely : Fran- 
cis, deceased ; Bertha, wife of Edward Car- 
penter, of Adams county, Wisconsin ; Myr- 
tle, wife of William Carpenter, of the 
same county ; and Archie J. In politics 
Mr. Smith is a Republican, and ne\"er with- 
holds his support from an}- enterprise which 
he believes will • ro\'e of pul)lic benefit. He 
is progressi\-e and public-spirited and kee]:)s 
well informed on the leading cjuestions and 
issues of the dav. 



ROBERT BELL. 

Robert Bell, a prominent farmer of Co- 
lumbia county, and a resident oi Hampden 
township, was born in the town of Brook- 
field, Waukesha county, April 14, 1845. He 
is a son of Francis and Margaret (Stewart) 
Bell, both natives of Ireland. They came 
to Milwaukee in 1839, and a year later 
moved to the to\\-n of Wauwatosa, and very 
shortly after that took up a farm in the town 



636 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



of Brookfiekl. Francis Bell is still livino-. 
iiud is eighty-four years of age. His wife 
died in 1851. 'I liey were the parents of 
fourteen children, of whcmi ten are still liv- 
ing. The}' may be briefly mentioned : 
James C. is in Arizona; Francis B. died in 
Brookfiekl ; Jane is Mrs. Harrison and lives 
in Nevada ; Robert is a resident of the town 
of Hampden, this county: Alary Ann died in 
1863: Stewart C. is in the town of Hamp- 
den; ]\Iartha was Mrs. Tubin and died in 
1897; William and Samuel are in Nevada; 
Elizabeth is Airs. Doherty. and lives in 
Washington ; George is an artist of note in 
Boston ; two others died in youth. 

Our subject was born and receiNxd his 
early education in Brookfiekl. In 1861 he 
enlisted in Company B, Fifth AVisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into 
the United States service at Madison. The 
regiment was sent on to Washington, and 
formed part of the immediate command of 
General Hancock, and was constituted an 
integral ])art of the Ami)- of the Potomac. 
He was present at ^\'illiamsburg, Freder- 
icksburg. Cold Harbor and Gettysburg, at 
■which ])oint he recei\-ed a se\'ere wound in 
the shin, the scar of which still remains. 
He came out of the army in 1864 in good 
shape, and silent the balance of that year in 
this state. In 1865 he went to Austin, Ne- 
vada, to work in the mines and in the quartz 
mills. He put in three hundred and fifty- 
nine days in one year, an indication of his 
steady and industrious habits. He spent 
three years in the mountains, when he came 
back to Wisconsin to make his home here 
the rest of his life. In 1869, with his broth- 
€-• as a partner, he bought one hundred and 
forty-four acres, the title of which has passed 
wholly into the hands of our subject. 

To this he has since added eighty acres 
and is the proprietor of an agricultural es- 
tablishment of one hundred and fifty-two 
acres of exceedingly choice land. 



Mr. Bel! was married February 14, 1874, 
to Flora M. Nelson, daughter of Le\'i and 
Hannah Nelson, both natives- of New 
A'ork. Two children are the result of this 
union : Kate, who is now Mrs. Adelbert 
Clark, and Jeanette, who lives at home. Our 
subject takes an independent attitude in poli- 
tics, and wishes always to vote for the best 
men regardless of part}' considerations. He 
is a member of the school board, and has 
been chairman of the town board, and, by 
virtue of this position, of the count\' board. 
He has a fine home, a good farm, and bears 
the reputation throughout the cmmty of a 
straightforward and honest man. 



ROBERT GREENWOOD. 

Robert Greenwood, a substantial farmer 
and influential citizen of Winfield township, 
Sauk county, Wisconsin, was born on the 
14th of August, 1839, in the town of Dent, 
Yorkshire, England, and is a son of Rob- 
ert and Eleanor (Jackson) Greenwood, the 
farmer also a nati\e of Dent, the latter of 
Lancashire. The paternal grandparents 
were Joseph and Betsy Greenwood, farming 
people, who reared a famil}? of seven sons. 
Besides the father of our subject only one 
of this number. Miles Greenwood, came to 
America, and he died in Canada soon after 
his arrival. 

Robert Greenwood, Sr., was a stone- 
mason by trade and was employed on public 
works much of the time in England. t)n the 
9th of May, 1848, with his family, he em- 
barked on a saibng vessel bound for the 
United States. They were thirty-eight days 
in making the voyage from Liverpool to 
New York, being delayed by fogs and 
storms, but finally arrived at their destina- 
tion in safety. After a week spent at Pough- 
keepsie, New York, they proceeded to Ra- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



637 



cine, Wisconsin, wliere they spent three 
years, and in June, 1852, came to Sauk coun- 
ty, locating in Wlnfield township. The fa- 
ther brought with him all of his family and 
etTects in one wagon, and on his arrival here 
his possessions consisted principally .of two 
yoke of o.xen, one cow and ten dollars in 
cash, with which to begin life on a new and 
undeveloped farm. He purchased a soldier's 
land warrant for one hundred and sixty acres 
for one hundred and thirty dollars, and so 
busy was he in clearing and improving his 
farm that the family had only slight shelter 
until fall, when a log house was built, though 
there was no floor to the same for several 
years. He was distinguished for his indus- 
trious habits and conscientious actions, and 
died December 3, 1894, at the age of nearly 
ninety years, honored and respected by all 
who knew him. In England he was a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal church, but never unit- 
ed with any congregation in this country. 
Politically he was a Republican. His worthy 
wife, who was reared as a Quaker, died in 
1872, at the age of sixty-eight years. To 
them were born nine children, namely: 
Elizabeth, now the widow of I. Gregory, re- 
siding" near Reedsburg; Robert, otvr subject; 
John, a resident of W'infield township, Sauk 
county; James, of Nebraska; Miles, of Win- 
field ; Joseph, who died at the age of twenty- 
one years; Isabel, who died at the age of 
eighteen ; Mrs. Margaret Dawson, deceased ; 
and Jane, who died in Nebraska. 

The subject of this sketch was in his 
ninth year on the emigration of the family 
to the new world, and during their three 
years' residence in Racine county, Wiscon- 
sin, he worked for his board and clothes on 
a farm near the city of Racine. At twenty- 
two he rented a farm, at the same time going 
in debt seventy tlollars for a yoke of oxen, 
which he paid for out of his farm crop. 
Feeling the great need of an education he at- 
tended school after this time and by stu- 



dious habits has become a well-informed 
man. In October, 1863, he offered his ser- 
vices to his adopted country and aided in her 
successful efforts to preserve the Union, en- 
listing in Company F, Third W'isconsin 
Cavalry, which was assigned to the Army of 
the Southwest, and was on duty under Gen- 
eral Blunt in Missouri and Arkansas, fight- 
ing bushwhackers under the command of the 
Confederate General Price. Fortunately he 
escaped capture and was never wounded, 
and after the close of the war was honora- 
bly discharged in November, 1865. In the 
fall of 1867 Mr. Greenwood purchased 
eighty acres of his father's farm, to which 
he has since added a forty-acre tract, and 
upon the place he has made many \aluable 
improvements which add to its attractive 
appearance, including the erection of a large 
and comfortable residence, commodious 
barns and other outbuildings. He now has 
about one hundred acres of land under ex- 
cellent cultivation ; for several years has been 
extensively interested in hop culture; gives 
considerable attention to stock raising and 
dairying; and for about four years also 
bought and shipped live stock at Reedsburg. 
On the nth of February, 1874, Mr. 
Greenwood married Miss Dora Cabstick, a 
daughter of George Cabstick, of New Lis- 
bon, AMsconsin, who came to this country 
from Dent, England. She died in ^larch, 
1870, in little less than a month after their 
marriage, and on the 22d of April, 1879, 
Mr. Greenwood wedded Miss Eveline L. 
Miller, who was born in Wal.worth county, 
Wisconsin, in i8si. Her parents, Harmon 
and Elizabeth (Darrow) Miller, were na- 
tives of Ohio, and are now living at Val- 
ley Junction, Wisconsin. The children born 
to our subject and his wife are James Gar- 
field, Joseph Henry. \'esta Belle, Eveline 
Elizabeth, Carrie Maud, Robert O., Benja- 
min Harrison, and George Lewis, all liv- 
ing; and Frank, who died in infancy. Mrs. 



638 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Greenwood is a faithful member of the Bap- 
tist churcli at Reedsbiirg, whicli tlie family 
attend, and our subject belongs to H. A. 
Tator Tost, G. A. R., at that place. Politi- 
cally he has always lieen identified with the 
Republican party, has most creditalMy and ac- 
ceptably filled the principal offices of Win- 
field township, and for the past nineteen 
years has been clerk of his school district. 



JOHN GEORGE ST AUDEN MAYER. 

John George Staudenmayer is a progres- 
sive German-American farmer now living in 
retirement in the town of Caledonia, Colum- 
bia county. He was born at Salach, Goep- 
pingen, W'urtemburg, Germany, April 21, 
1826, and though he has passed the age of 
three score years and ten he is still quite 
vigorous in both mind and body. His par- 
ents were John Leonard and W^alburga 
(Riecker) Staudenmayer. 

The father combined the pursuits of 
weaver and farmer, also doing duty for six 
years in the German army, though peace pre- 
vailed during the whole of that period. In 
1855, having been left a widower, he came 
to join his children in this country, but find- 
ing many of the customs which prevailed 
here uncongenial to his. taste, he returned to 
Germany after two years. In 1871 he once 
more came to Wisconsin, where he was 
heartily welcomed by many relatives and 
friends, but only enjoyed their hospitality 
for a short time, his death occurring the same 
year at the age of nearly seventy-two years. 
His wife had departed this life in April, 
1852, at the age of fifty-five years. Of their 
ten children only four survive, all of whom 
are now residents of Wisconsin. John G. i^ 
the eldest of this number; Mary, the widow 
of Peter Labuvi, lives at Woodland, Dodge 
county ; John, a well-known farmer of Cale- 



donia township; and Theressa, the widow of 
Fred Labux'i, also resides at Woodland. 

John G. Staudenmayer received a liberal 
education in an institution at Emuend, 
\\'urtemburg. He had intended to become a 
teacher, but after completing the course 
he spent one year as clerk in the office of a 
large estate. He then entered the army of 
Wurtemburg and served seven years, dur- 
ing which time the war of 1848, between 
Gemany and Denmark, occurred. During 
the first three years he held the rank of 
tourier or orderly of the company, and for 
the balance of the time he filled a similar 
position (stabs-tourier) for the whole regi- 
ment. After his discharge, in 1853, he came 
to the United States, reaching Portage by 
stage from Janesville. He spent the next 
year or two as a farm laborer and then en- 
tered sixty acres of government land in the 
town of Caledonia. As he had but two or 
three dollars upon his arrival in this county 
he was obliged to begin farming in a very 
humble and primitive manner, and his sub- 
sequent success furnishes a good example 
of what may be accomplished by prudent in- 
dustry directed by intelligence and discern- 
ment. After a few years he sold this farm 
and purchased another in the same town- 
ship, eventually acquiring a well improved 
farm of three hundred and forty-eight acres. 
At one time he also owned a section of land 
in Grant county. South Dakota, but in re- 
cent years he disposed of all his real estate 
and assisted each of his sons to obtain a 
good farm. 

Upon his arrival in this country he de- 
termined to become an American citizen 
and took considerable pains to fit himself for 
the duties and responsibilities of an Ameri- 
can citizen. Though he never received any 
instructions in the English language, he at 
once began to study the same and displays 
in his conversation an excellent knowledge 
of its grammatical construction. In a few 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



639 



years after liis arrival lie begj-an to be se- 
lected by his townsmen for positions of trust 
and has filled the most important offices in 
the town of Caledonia. For ten years he was 
chairman and eight j^ears its town clerk. He 
is now serving as notary public and health 
officer of the township. He has always been 
a dose observer of public affairs and at pres- 
ent finds himself unable to give conscientious 
support to any political party, though he en- 
deavors to discharge his duties as a citizen 
according to his judgment and knowledge. 
He was married May 29, 1855, to Mar- 
garet Naser. She was born at Blaufelden, 
Gerabronn, W'urtemburg, and came to the 
United States in 1854. Her parents, John 
C. and Barbara (Clingler) Naser, died in 
Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Staudenmayer have 
seven living children and twenty-eight 
grandchildren. Their children are named 
as follows: Theressa, widow of Jacob Joss; 
George; Sophia, now INIrs. William ]\Ic- 
Leish ; John L. ; William A. ; Edward R. ; 
and Mary, Mrs. James E. Jones. All are 
residents of Columbia county, except Mrs. 
Joss, whose home is at Juneau, Wisconsin. 



ORLANDO MATTHEWS. 

Orlando Matthews, the owner and oper- 
ator of a fertile and highly tilled farm on 
section 8, Big Flats township, receives his 
mail at the postoffice of the same name, and 
has won an enviable reputation as an honest 
and upright citizen of Adams county. He 
was born in the town of Granby, Oswego 
county. New York, April 10, 1843, and his 
ancestral stock long flourished in England ; 
his grandfather was native to the manor 
born. 

Marvin Matthews, the father of Orlando, 
was born August /, 181 7, and grew to man- 
hood in Oswego county, where he wooed and 



won Almina Burdick. She was born Decem- 
ber 26, 18 19, and proved in every way a 
worthy helpmeet to her frugal and indus- 
trious husband. In 1847 they came to De- 
lavan, Illinois, where they lived one year ; 
and then, -not satisfied with the outlook, came 
to W'isconsin, and secured a home near 
Waterloo. Eight years later he made anoth- 
er location, and one which proved to be his 
last, in Adams count}-. He died January 17, 
1859, leaving a valuable farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres of good Wisconsin 
land, and the priceless legacy of a nol)le 
name. He was an original Republican, and 
was the first justice of the peace at the town 
of Brownsville, which was afterwards 
changed to Big Flats. His father, William 
Matthews, was born in England, was bred to 
the sea, became a captain of a coast steamer, 
and died full of years and honor. 

Orlando Matthews, the subject of this 
\\riting, came to Wisconsin while still a lad, 
and was married to Laura Haven, April 22, 
1866, in the town of Preston, Adams county, 
\Visconsin. He is an extensive land owner, 
and has been singularly successful in all his 
dealings. His farm consists of four hun- 
dred and sixty acres, with two hundred and 
twenty under cultivation. The family man- 
sion is ample and convenient in every way, 
there is a large barn, and the farm is amply 
provided w'ith outbuildings suited to a mod- 
ern and progressive agriculturist. He is a Re- 
publican, and his good standing among his 
neighbors is evidenced by his frequent elec- 
tion to important local positions. W'hen he 
was twenty-three he was elected town clerk, 
a position which he held nine years. He was 
treasurer eight years, and in 1893 was made 
chairman of the town, and is still serving 
in that capacity. He has taken an active in- 
terest in county politics, fre(|uently attended 
the conventions, and is universally recog- 
nized as one of the leading spirits of the 
party in his town. He also is deeply in- 



640 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



terested in the public scliools, and does every- 
thing possible to promote their welfare and 
orderly administration. He made a home- 
stead entry of the original eighty acres on 
which his home now stands, and the balance 
of his extensive real estate holdings has been 
secured a little at a time. He is giving much 
alention to cattle breeding, and sometimes 
has a herd of fifty cattle at a time. The ex- 
treme newness of the country at the time of 
his settlement is evident by the fact that when 
he made his location there were only eleven 
farmers in the town, and that for fi\'e years 
they were without a local school. 

Mr. Matthews was a soldier of the Union 
army during the last montlis of that great 
struggle — the Civil war. the time of his ser- 
vice being within the period set by September 
24, 1864, and June 27, 1865. He enlisted 
from Big Flats and was discharged at Wash- 
ington, D. C. He was one of General Sher- 
man's soldiers, marched to the sea, and par- 
ticipated in the important battle of Kings- 
ton, North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Mat- 
thews are the parents of six children, only 
two of whom are now lixing : Ezbum mar- 
ried Christina Peterson, July 12, 1899, and 
is living at home. Ivatie is the wife of Fred 
A. Reid, a farmer in the town of Big Flats. 
There is one grandchild, Grace George, in 
the paternal home. Mrs. Matthews is the 
daughter of Charles and Margaret (Brown) 
Haven, and was born May 22, 1843, ^^ 
Franklin, Pennsylvania, and came into this 
state when quite young. Mr. Haven made 
his first home at Madison, afterwards at 
Fall River, Columbia county, and in 1858 
located in Adams county, where the remain- 
ing years of his life were spent. He was 
a cabinet maker and worked at his trade 
many years. He was born at Ogdensburg, 
New York, November 16, 181 2, and was 
married to Margaret Brown, June 19, 1842, 
at Franklin, Pennsylvania. Her father, Ja- 
cob Haven, lived at French Creek, St. Law- 



rence county. New York, man}- }-ears. and his 
mother (Streeter) lived to be one hundred 
and one years. Mrs. Jacob Ha\en was 
known when a girl as Catherine Streeter, 
and li\ed and died in French Creek, New 
\'ork. Altogether it is an interesting family 
iiistor}-, and repays close study. 



CAPT. ALEXANDER PRESTON EL- 
LINWOOD, Deceased. 

P'robably no man in Reedsburg was bet- 
ter known in that city and the surrounding 
country than Captain Ellinwood. Having re- 
sided in that place for more than two score 
or \'ears, and having been actively identified 
v/ith many public movements, he was 
brought into intimate contact with a large 
number of people and, though his views were 
not always in harmony with those of many 
of his contemporaries, no one will deny that 
his sentiments were honestly conceived and 
fearlessly expressed on all occasions. 

He was born near Peterboro, Madison 
county, New York, September 9. 1S33, and 
is a son of George \\^ Ellinwood and Han- 
nah J. Alexander. At the age of sixteen 
)ears he started out to make his own way 
in the world and spent the first season as a 
farm laborer at eight dollars per month. 
The ne.xt year he entered New York Central 
College at McGrawville, a progressive insti- 
tution, which was the second in the United 
States to adopt the system of co-education 
for both sexes. He spent several \'ears there 
earning the means to continue his studies at 
intervals, by such employment as he could 
secure. A jiart of this time he taught a 
country school for seventeen dollars per 
month and "boarded round." Later he was 
engaged as principal of a graded school at 
McGrawville, New York, but a few days be- 
fore he was to begin he learned that some of 




CAPT. ALEXANDER P. ELLIHWOOD. (Deceased) 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



643 



the patrons \vere seriously opposed to his 
being- employed on account of his "free 
thinking" principles, and determined to seek 
a ixisition elsewhere. In company with A. 
J. Warner, since famous as a leader of the 
'free silver movement," but at that time 
a penniless student like himself, he went to 
central Pennsylvania. They earned enough 
to meet their meager expenses by working 
for farmers along the route until they 
reached the Kishaco(juillas Valley, where 
they taught an acadein_\- until they had pro- 
cured sufficient means to return to college. 
The same indomitable spirit of perseverance 
w hich induced him to obtain an education 
at any sacrifice, characterized subsec^uent ef- 
forts and he never was known to abandon 
an undertaking which he set out in earnest 
tc accomplish. 

Having finished the sophomore }'ear at 
college, he took a trip through Canada and 
the west, arriving in Sauk county in 1858. 
He taught at Reedsburg and elsewhere un- 
til the beginning of hostilities between the 
north and south admonished him that there 
W'-ere more urgent duties to be performed and 
tb.at his assistance was needed in the preserva- 
tion of the Union. He accordingly directed 
the same enthusiasm to this work which 
had marked his efforts in other lines, and as- 
sisted in recruiting Company A, Nine- 
teenth ^^'isconsin Volunteer Infantry, which 
ir.cluded in its membership a number of his 
former pupils. He was enrolled December 
19, 1861, and was at once made second lieu- 
tenant of the company. The regiment 
served from that time until the close of the 
war, being employed most of the time in 
Virginia and North Carolina, taking part in 
a number of battles and skirmishes and suf- 
fering much from malarial fever. Though 
he was offered a much more tlesirable posi- 
tion soon after entering the ser\ice, he de- 
clined to part company with the men whom 

he had been instrumental in persuading to 
3* 



engage in the conllict, and continued to share 
their hardships and privations until his serv- 
ices were no longer needed and he was mus- 
tered out as captain of the company, Au- 
gust 9, 1865. 

Returning to Reedsburg Captain Ellin- 
wood organized and taught a select school, 
after which he was principal of public schools 
for se\'eral years, many of the successful 
men and women who were students at that 
time bearing testimony to the thoroughness 
of his instruction. Subsequently he was 
engaged at inter\-als in various lines of busi- 
ness ; at one time he was in the mercantile 
business, at another time in the lumber trade; 
during the pericid in which the cultivation of 
hops flourished in Sauk county he dealt 
quite extensivelv in that product, meeting 
with severe losses in the crisis of 1868, at 
which time most of his contemporaries were 
hopelesslv involved. In 1870 he purchased 
the square known as Mott's second addition 
to the \-illage of Reedsburg, for one hundred 
and fifty dollars. It was then a tract of 
wild land containing something over two 
acres. Thtiugh his lack of judgment was de- 
rided ])}■ the real estate dealers of that time, 
he built his residence thereon and set about 
the improxement of the property, which is 
now cij\ered with buildings and good resi- 
liences. From time to time he made addi- 
tional purchases, ac(|uiring at one time about 
three hundred acres in and adjacent to the 
city. The \'alue of all this property has 
greatly increased and much of it has been 
subdivided and improved. 

One of Ca]:)tain Ellinwood's greatest en- 
terprises was the conduct of the Reedsburg 
Fair, which he held annually upon his own 
grounds for seventeen years. He spared 
neither time nor money in fitting up the 
premises for this ])urpose and always paid 
all premiums promptly, though, owing to 
unfavorable weather, this was sometimes 
done at a hea\-y loss. The people soon began 



(544 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



to appreciate his efforts and heartily co- 
operated in the undertaking, making tlie 
fairs great successes as long as they were 
continued, but, owing to failing health and 
other considerations, he finally found it ex- 
pedient to abandon the exhibitions. His 
wife, to whom he was wedded December 
21, 1868, conducted the ladies' department 
of the fair and was of great assistance to 
him in this as in many other undertakings. 
The maiden name of this lady was Hannah 
Cottington. She was born at Waterville, 
New York, and is a daughter of Jesse and 
Rebecca (Forward) Cottington, who were 
among the worthy pioneers of Sauk county. 
The three boys born to Mr. and Mrs. El- 
linwood died in infancy. They reared and 
educated one adopted daughter, Edith, now 
the wife of E. A. Thompson, of Reedsburg. 
Captain Ellinwood maintained liberal but 
decided views on most public questions. He 
leaned toward the Unitarian faith, though 
not connected with any church. For forty 
years or more he was identified with the 
Masonic order and was active in the work 
of the Grand Army of the Republic, being 
a past commander of H. A. Tatur Post, at 
Reedsburg. The temperance cause always 
found in him a ready and able champion. 
The lively interest which he always mani- 
fested in public affairs led to his being 
chosen for the execution of numerous offi- 
cial trusts. For several years he was chair- 
man of the town and village and, though 
he vigorously opposed the incorporating of 
the city, was elected its second mayor; for 
several years he filled the office of chairman 
of the county board of supervisors, of which 
body he was a member for twenty years or 
more, and in 1877 and 1878 he represented 
his district in the Wisconsin assembly. He 
was one of the committee of five appointed 
by the county board to take measures for 
the relief of the poor in Sauk county, and 
in erecting the county poor farm buildings. 



a work he took much pleasure in, as he was 
a friend of the indigent and helpless. Be- 
ing naturally gifted with unusual powers of 
language and reason, he had no hesitation or 
eml^arrassmentin expressing his ideas on any 
topic in ]jublic or private, whenever occasion 
required. Although his position regarding 
matters of public policy was sometimes vig- 
orously assailed, he retained no malice to- 
ward any one and enjoyed the personal 
friendship and esteem of most of the people 
of Sauk county. 

Captain Ellinwood died February 6, 
1900. His body was escorted to the grave by 
many of his comrades of the Nineteenth 
regiment, six of whom acted as pall bearers. 
Many comrades of his company were pres- 
ent, as well as the members of H. A. Tator 
Post, G. A. R., and of the Woman's Relief 
Corps, and a large concourse • of friends. 
Mrs. Ellinwood is still residing in the home 
place, built in 1872. A portrait of Captain 
Ellinwood appears elsewhere in this volume. 



CHARLES ABRAM VAN AERNAM. 

Charles Abram Van Aernam, a well- 
known citizen of the village of Rio, Colum- 
bia county, Wisconsin, represents one of the 
prominent pioneer families of the county, 
and is himself a man of sterling worth and 
character. He was born in the village of 
Rio, October i, 1862, and is a son of Abram 
and Helen Van Aernam, of whom extend- 
ed notice is given in the sketch of A. E. 
Van Aernam on another page of this vol- 
ume. 

The subject of this article was about 
fourteen years old wdien his step-father, 
George Busch, removed to Cottonwood 
county, Minnesota, where he lived about 
two years. While still a boy he came back 
to Rio, and has since made it his home. Pie 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



G45 



attended the village school, and at the age of 
t\vent3'-two began life for himself as a farm- 
er on the old homestead, ninety-two acres 
of which he still owns. Tliis land he is 
at present renting, and puts in his time with 
a steam well-drilling plant, with which he has 
put down many valuable wells throughout 
the county. For about two years he was in 
a meat market, but finding it unsatisfactory, 
sold it out, and has given his time to his 
well business. He was married January 5, 
1887, to Miss Addie Ferris, a daughter of 
John R. Ferris, a pioneer farmer of Otsego 
township, whose biography will be found 
elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Van Aernam 
was born May 19, 1867, and is the mother 
of one child. Hazel, who was born October 
14, 1892. Mr. Van Aernam belongs to 
Mt. Pleasant Camp, of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, at Rio, and has been a life- 
long Republican. In local affairs he has been 
a man of considerable importance, and has 
served as a member of the village board of 
trustees, and takes a leading position in the 
community. 



PERRY CAVANAUGH. 

Perry Cavanaugh, an enlightened and 
progressive farmer, has a pleasant and at- 
tractive home on section 33, Lincoln town- 
ship, Adams county, and is a good repre- 
sentative of the sturdy yeomanry whose stout 
arms and mighty spirits have done so much 
to redeem the wilderness and make Wiscon- 
sin blossom like a garden. He was born in 
Erin, Chemung county, New York, Decem- 
ber 24, 1855. He is a farmer by choice, 
and is an honor to his calling. 

Perry Cavanaugh is a son of Charles and 
Mary (Catchim) Cavanaugh, who were mar- 
ried in 1850. They were then living in Dry- 
den, New York. They remained in the east 
some twenty years, and in 1870 found their 



way to Adams county, where the senior Cav- 
anaugh invested in a farm of two hundred 
acres, which is now the home of the subject 
of this sketch. Mrs. Charles Cavanaugh 
v.-as a woman of many marked traits. She 
was much respected by the community in 
which she lived, and beloved by her friends 
to an unusual degree. In the home circle 
her character shone supreme, and in the 
neighborhood she was treasured in many 
hearts. She was a daughter of John and 
Julia (Perry) Catchim, and with her par- 
ents was a nati\-e of New Jersey. John 
Catchim was a man of more than ordinary 
ability. In his early life he was a school 
teacher, and when twenty-three years of age 
moved to Chemung county. New York, 
where he set up a general store, and served as 
justice of the peace for nine years. After 
this he sold his store and bought a farm, on 
which the rest of his life was spent. He 
died in 1855. 

Charles Cavanaugh was Ijorn in the state 
of New York and was apprenticed early in 
life to the trade of a blacksmith, which busi- 
ness he followed for over forty years, more 
than twenty vears of that time in Wisconsin, 
his sons running the farm while he worked at 
his trade. Mrs. C. Cavanaugh was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church while in her na- 
tive state. 

Perry Cavanaugh came to Wisconsin 
with his parents, and at once took an active 
part in the busy world around him. He be- 
came a farmer, and the family homestead, 
on which he resides, has become, through 
his care and toil, a model farm in many re- 
spects. He pushed himself to the front early 
in life, and is regarded to-day as one of the 
leading men in his end of the county. He is 
a Republican in his political relations, and is 
an active party worker. He was married 
October 12, 1879. to Miss Delphine Bidwell, 
of the town of Easton, Adams county. She 
is a daughter of William Bidwell, of the town 



646 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of New Haven, a sketcli of wliose life aj)- 
pears elsewhere in this \'iilume. The union 
has proved a happy one and has been blessed 
by the coming of four children : Charles. 
Mary, Frank, and Fred, deceased. The last 
two named were twins. 



SAMUEL STAHL. 

Samuel Stahl is a highly esteemed citi- 
zen of Lodi, C(jluniljia county, Wisconsin, 
and retains unusual physical activity at such 
an advanced age as that to which he has at- 
tained. His has been a creditable career, 
and shows how industry and integrity will 
lift a man from the most humble conditions 
into afiluence and ease. Me began the world 
with little save a good character, a clear 
mind, an honest heart and habits of indus- 
try. 

Mr. Stahl was born in Columbia county, 
Pennsylvania, August 19, 181 1, and is a 
son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Bear) 
Stahl. The father of Abraham Stahl came 
from Holland and settled on a farm near 
Germantown, Pennsylvania, and was liv- 
ing there when the battle of Germantown 
was fought near his house, in the Revo- 
lution. Abraham Stahl was a miller and 
died about 1818, leaving his widow in 
very humble circumstances with nine chil- 
dren. Samuel Stahl was born in his fa- 
ther's mill, and was Ixmnd out on the 
death of that parent to an uncle by marriage. 
He suffered considerable neglect as well as 
abuse, and ran away when he was eight years 
old. This was in the early spring, and he 
was obliged to cross the Susquehanna river 
on the ice. There was an open space in the 
middle of the river, and he floated a rail 
across and crept over this on his hands and 
knees, making the perilous journey safely. 
He staved with his mother for a time and 



then went to live with another farmer, with 
v.hom he made his home until he was six- 
teen years of age. His early years were 
passed in extreme povert)'. He had but one 
pair of shoes the entire winter, and w^as in 
the habit of going barefoot throughout the 
summer and SDinetimes part of the winter. 
The young man did what he could to rem- 
edy defects of early education after he be- 
came his own master, which was at the age of 
sixteen. He went to both German and Eng- 
lish schools for a time, and entered a woolen 
mill, where he became a ready workman, and 
spent three years. When he was about twen- 
ty-one he made up his mind that he would 
be a farmer, and accordingly he went to 
Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he 
cleared a farm in the forest. In 1849 Mr. 
Stahl came to the west and spent a year in 
rvlihvaukee. In 1850 he came to Lodi and 
secured one hundred and sixty acres of 
choice farm land, which he still owns. He 
r;fterward became the owner of another 
farm nf two hundred acres, on which he 
made his home until 1894, when he moved 
into Lodi. He sold bis first crop of wheat 
in Milwaukee, and hauled it to that city with 
ox teams, requiring two weeks to make the 
round trip. He received forty cents a bushel 
for it. Wheat was not paying at any such 
figures, and Mr. Stahl turned his attention 
to live stock. For man_y years he dealt in 
cattle and horses on a large scale for the 
local and Chicago markets. He was a lum- 
ber contractor and spent several seasons in 
the Wisconsin and Lemonweir river piner- 
ies. Mr. Stahl has always been an active 
and industrious man, and in every calling he 
has commanded the confidence of both em- 
ployes and associates by his industry and 
manifest integrity. While still a young man 
he conducted a saw mill at Okee fur the 
owner, who spent the winter in the north. 
When a boy he worked for four dollars and 
fifty cents a month, considerably more than 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



647 



other boys of liis ag'e were able to commancb 
While Hviiig' in ■Milwaukee he was offereil 
four acres on the south side of Si)ring' sti'eet, 
about eighty rods west of the river, for one 
hundred dollars an acre. He preferred a 
farm, and thought it wiser and better for 
his famil}' to grow up in the country, and he 
has never regretted the refusal of this very 
great bargain, which was apparent even at 
that time. 

Samuel Stahl married, November 15, 
1832, JMiss Louisa, a daughter of Joseph and 
Mary (Carlisle) Rogers. Her father was 
the proprietor of a sawmill on "Race Island," 
in the Susquelianna ri\'cr, and lis'ed in Ly- 
coming count}-. I\Irs. Stahl was born in 
New Jersey and died in Lodi, Wisconsin, at 
the age of sixty-eight years. The date of 
her death was April 27, i8<S3. She was a 
member of the Baptist church in Lodi, and 
a lady of very superior character. She was 
the mother of ten children : Benjamin Frank- 
lin is an eclectic physician at Oakland, Cal- 
ifornia. Harriet Jane is Mrs. Elias Tallman, 
of Bancroft, Iowa. John Firman wore the 
Union blue as a member of the Twenty-third 
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was 
killed at Vicksburg, May 26, 1863, while 
carrying wounded from the field. Joseph 
Carlisle is a successful miner in the Klondike, 
but his home is in Bancroft, Iowa. Almira 
Ann is Mrs. Davison, of Bancroft, Iowa. 
Catherine Rebecca married Edward Streeter 
and died in Bancroft. William Edmund 
]i\-es in Burt, Iowa, and Winfield Scott in 
Bancroft. Louisa Adelaide was born April 
15, 1856, married David Burnett, and died. 
Mr. Stahl has forty-five living grandchil- 
dren, and fifteen or more great-grandchil- 
dren. Benjanu'n F. and Joseph C. also served 
in the United States army during the Civil 
war, and five of his grandsons enlisted dur- 
ing the late war with Spain. 

Mr. Stahl was married, in 1884, to Ellen, 
a daughter of Ephraim and Mecela (Grove) 



Kyes. This family came from western New 
A'ork to Ohio, and then in 1847 to ^\'iscon- 
sin, settling in Kenosha county, and mov- 
ing from there to the town of West Point, 
in Columbia comity, where the husband and 
father died September 11, 1876, at the age 
ol sevent_\-iive. In early life he was a miller. 
His wife died July 10, 1870, at the age of 
sixty-three. Mrs. Stahl was l)orn in Keno- 
sha county December 27, 1851. Her ma- 
ternal grandfather was a weaver near Buf- 
falo, and her paternal, grandfather a miller 
in New York. Some of his brothers and 
brothers-in-law served in the Revolutionary 
armies. Mr. Stahl has long been a Mason, 
also a member of the Order of the Eastern 
Star, and he is a Republican of many years' 
standing. He voted for Henry Clay in 1832 
and has since been a voter at every presiden- 
tial election since that time. He has filled sev- 
eral town offices with marked ability. He 
was school treasurer for thirty-seven years, 
and is respected and liked by all who know 
him. 



REES JAMES DAVIS. 

There is no class of biographies which is 
more interesting to read than that of the in- 
dustrious and enterprising farmer's boy, wlio 
has risen unaided from humble circum- 
stances to a position of affluence and com- 
fort. Prominent among the men of Sauk 
county who have thus laboriously toiled on- 
v,-ard and upward is the gentleman whose 
name stands at the head of this article. 

This well-known farmer of Winfield 
township was born in Adams, Jefferson 
county, New York, July 21, 1834, and is a 
son of Amos and Rachel (James) Davis. 
The father spent bis entire life as a suc- 
cessful farmer in Jefferson county, and there 
died at the age of nearly eighty years. His 
ancestors were among the early settlers of 



648 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



New England. His wife, who was of Welsh 
descent, her father being a native of Wales, 
departed this life at the age of seventy-five. 
Her mother li\-ed to be nearly eighty years 
old. Our subject is the only son in a fam- 
il\' of six children, his sisters being Celes- 
tine, wife of C. D. Hunt, of Jefferson coun- 
ty, New York ; Harriet, wife of David Ran- 
som, of Sauk county, Wisconsin; Mary, 
wife of D. Lair, of Marshalltown, Iowa; 
Carolina, wife of James McGuire, of New 
York : and Martha, wife of Orrin Durham, 
also of New York. 

The l>oyhood and youth of our subject 
was spent upon a farm in his native state, 
and his education was accjuired in its public 
schools. .\t the age of sixteen years he be- 
gan to support himself as a farm hand, and 
on leaving home in ths spring of 1855 came 
to Rock county, Wirconsin, where he spent 
two years. From there he came to Sauk 
county and purchased a farm of one hun- 
dred acres in Winfield township, which at 
that time was all wild land, over which tht 
plowshare had never passed. He clearetl, 
improved and cultivated the place for twenty 
years, and then exchanged it for his present 
farm of one hundred and seventy acres in 
the same township. This is divided into 
highly-cultivated fields, rich pastures and 
timberland, and is well adapted to stock rais- 
ing, his specialty being the breeding of 
Hambletonian and Wilkes horses. Just 
after completing a fine farm house upon his 
place, in 1884, a cyclone swept over the 
farm, demolishing his residence and other 
buildings, together with twenty acres of 
wheat in shock, only three loads of the same 
being saved. Notwithstanding this mis- 
fortune he has steadily prospered in his new 
liome and has a well-improved farm, which 
lias been acquired through his own well- 
directed efforts and good management, for 
he arrived in Reedsburg with onlv twentv- 
five cents in his pocket, though he had paid 



fifty dollars upon his land prior to coming 
hither. 

On the i6th of February, 1857, ]\Ir. 
Davis was united in marriage with Ivliss 
Eliza Ann Seymour, a native of the town 
of Florence, Oneida county. New York, and 
a daughter of Ransom and Mary C. (Ran- 
som) Seymour. The father, a -carpenter by 
trade, was born in Winsted, Connecticut, 
June 9, 1804, and died in Lewis county, 
New York, May 27, 1845. His parents were 
Abel and Nancy (Humiston) Seymour, who 
died in Adams, Jefferson county, New York, 
at a ripe old age. He had a female relative 
who was shot by the Indians during the 
Revolutionary war. The children born to 
our subject and his wife were: John R., 
now a bookkeeper in a large feed dealing 
establishment in Minneapolis, Minnesota ; 
and Inez Adell, who died April 24, 1879, 
aged eight years. Mrs. Davis is a most 
estimable lady and a consistent member of 
the Baptist church. Since casting his first 
presidential vote for John C. Fremont, in 
1856, Mr. Da\'is has been an ardent sup- 
porter of the Repul.)lican party, but has 
never cared for the honors or emoluments of 
public office. He is well known and receives 
and merits the esteem of his many friends 
and acquaintances. 



HENRY A. FIELD. 

More than forty- four years have passed 
since this gentleman arri\'ed in Wisconsin, 
and he is justly numbered among the hon- 
ored pioneers and leading citizens of .\dams 
county. He was prominently identified with 
her agricultural interests for many years, 
but is now living retired on his pleasant 
farm in Dell Prairie township, near Kil- 
l)(>iu"n Citv. His is an honorable record of 
a conscientious man, who by his upright 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



G49 



lite has won the cuntideiice of all with win mi 
he has come in contact. 

Mr. Field was hcjrn in Chester. Windsor 
county, Vermont, March 26, 1821, and 
springing from good New England stock, 
he possesses the indomitable energy and per- 
severance which have e\er characterizetl the 
people of that localitv, ami ndw in his de- 
clining years he is able to enjuy the well- 
merited reward of an industrious life. He 
is the onl\- son of James antl Mehitable 
(Thurston) Field, thrift}- and prosperous 
farmers of Windsor county, A'crnnmt, where 
they spent the greater part of the'r l;\es. 
The father died in Chester, that county, in 
1850, and his widow afterward came to 
make her home with our subject in Adams 
county. Wisconsin, where she died at the 
advanced age of ninety-four years, being laid 
to rest in the Plainville cemetery. 

During his boyhood and vouth Ileiuw 
A. Field was employed on the home farm 
during the summer season, while through 
the winter months he attended the district 
schools, where he accjuired a good practical 
education. At the age of twenty-one, being 
the only son, he assumed the entire control 
of the farm, which he carried on until 1855. 
Being convinced that better opportunities 
awaited men of enterprise and intelligence 
in the rapidly developing west, he then came 
to the frontier of \\'isconsin and invested 
in land at Plain\il]e. He made his home 
at that place for a number of years, while 
he dealt to a considerable extent in wild 
lands. In 1866 he purchased the farm 
(near the village of Kilbourn) in Dell 
Prairie township, Adams county, which has 
since been his home. He is now the owner 
of about five hundred acres of good land 
in that township, well equipped with modern 
farm buildings, including a very commodi- 
ous and comfortable residence, where he is 
now li\-ing retired, enjoying the fruits of 
former toil. 



On the /th of February. 1850. JMr. 
Field was united in marriage with Miss 
01i\e T. Thurston, who was born in St. 
Lawrence county, X'ew York, and died No- 
vember 7, 1 89 1, at the age of sixty-four 
years, her remains being interred in Plain- 
ville cemetery. Her parents, John and 
Olive (Greeley) Thurston, were nati\'es of 
Chester, Vermont, and the mother was a 
representative of the same family as the illus- 
trious Horace Greeley. To Mr. and ^Mrs. 
Field were born three sons, of whom one 
died in infancy: Floyd A., born .Vugust 3, 
185S, is now a well-known business man of 
Kilbourn; and George H., born January Ji, 
i860, resides on the homestead farm. He 
married Mary A. Paine March 17, 1886, of 
Kilbourn. She died February, 1900. 

Although nearly four score years have 
passed over his head, Mr. Field still enjoys 
excellent health and is remarkalily vigorous 
both in body and mind. A Republican in 
principle, he has given little heed to the 
distribution of political honors and his only 
official service has been in the capacity of as- 
sessor for Dell Prairie township, which po- 
sition he most acceptably filled for a period 
of twent\' years. His successful career is 
the natural consecjuence of industrious and 
prudent habits when accompanied by discre- 
tion and integrity of purpose, and the his- 
tory of his life afi^ords an example Avorth}- 
the emulation of rising generations. 



\MLLL\M JONES EDWARDS. 

William Jones Edwards, an honored 
veteran of the Civil war and a worth}' rep- 
resentative of the agricultural interests of 
Columbia county, now makes his home in 
Portage. His early life was spent u]ion the 
other side of the Atlantic, being born in 
Dyfrun, Merionethshire, Wales. January r6, 
184,^ His father. Captain William Ed- 
wards, went to sea when a bo\'. and tinalU' 



650 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Ijecame commander of a bi'ig engaged in 
the coasting trade between Wales and Ire- 
land. On coming to the United States in 
1849, li*^ located on a farm in Caledonia 
townsliip. Columbia county, Wisconsin, antl 
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. 
There he died about 1875. at the age of 
sixty-three years. He was active in support 
of public schools, and ser\-ed as an iifficer 
in his district for a number of years. In 
early life he married Susanna Jones, also 
a nati\e of Dyfrun, and a daughter of John 
Jones, a farmer who lived and died in 
JNIerionethshire, Wales. Our subject's pa- 
ternal grandfather, Edward Edwards, was 
also a farmer l\v occupation, and a lifelong- 
resident of \\'ales. Mrs. Susanna Edwards 
died in P(jrtage, Wisconsin, in September, 
189S, at the age of eighty-eight years. She 
was the mother of five children : Edward, 
who died in boyhood; (jwen, wife of Evan 
R. Evans, of Racine, Wisconsin ; John, who 
died in boyhood; William J., our subject; 
and Robert, a resident of Portage. 

\\ illiam J. Edwards was only six years 
old on the emigration of the familv to 
America, and attended school more or less 
regularly in Columbia county, his ser\-ices 
being needed on the home farm after the 
death of his two older brothers. In Au- 
gust, 1862, he joined the boys in blue of 
Company C, Twenty-third Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Infantry, which was assigned to the 
department of the Gulf. From JNIemphis the 
regiment went to Haines Blufif, taking part 
in. the engagement at that place, and from 
there went to Arkansas Post. For forty- 
se\-en davs they partici]Mted in the siege of 
^''icksburg, were also in the siege of Jack- 
son, Mississippi, and later went to Xcw Or- 
leans, where thev joined (jeneral Banks' 
Red river expedition. On their return the\' 
were in camp at Baton Rouge iov a time, 
and then proceeded to Mobile, aiding in the 
capture of Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, Span- 



ish Fort and Fort Blakeley. They were at 
the last named place at the time of Lee's 
surrender. During the Red river campaign 
Mr. Edwards was slightU- wounded in the 
left arm by a spent ball. He took [lart in 
fourteen battles, and was constantly in act- 
'i\-e service with his comjiany for nearly 
three years, when the war ended and he 
was honorably discharged at Moljile, Ala- 
bama, July 4, 1865. 

Returning home Mr. Edwards resumed 
farming in Caledonia township, where he 
still owns a good farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres on sections 17, 20 and 21, but 
since 1897 has made his home in Portage. 
During the summer season he is employed 
as a bridge tender by the Chicago, Milwau- 
kee & St. Paul Railroad Company. 

In June, 1870, Mr. Edwards was united 
in. marriage with Miss Mary Owens, a 
daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Rob- 
erts) Owens, and a native of Schuyler, Her- 
khner county. New York, her parents having 
come from Wales and resided in the Empire 
state for a number of years. In 1853 they 
came to Caledonia township, Columbus 
county, Wisconsin, where the father died u 
few 3'ears later, and where the mother, also, 
died after survi\-ing him some years. Her 
mother, Mrs. Gwen Roberts, died in New 
\ork, at the age of eighty-one years. Of 
the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ed- 
wards, three died in infancy. Those liv- 
ing are : Thomas, a carpenter of Baraboo, 
Wisconsin; and Susan. 

Mr. Edwards is a deacon of the Baptist 
church at Portage, with which all the family 
are connected, and he is also a member of 
Rousseau Post, G. A. R., in which he has 
served as junior vice-commander. Politically 
he has always affiliated with the Republican 
party, but has never been an active politician. 
He has been found true to every trust re- 
posed in him, and in days of peace as in time 
of war is loyal to his adopted country. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



651 



WILLIA:\[ BRIi\FMI':R. 

\\'isconsin is indebted ti) Ciermany fur 
much i)f lier proo-ress, imt nnly in the arts 
and sciences, hut in lier material growth 
and des'elopment. W'ilham Urimmer, wiiose 
valualile estate, situated in Spi"in,t;\'ille town- 
ship, Adams county, lias furnished to the 
community in which he ,li\es an example 
of Avholesome thrift and honest industry, 
and of its results even in a countrv to \\hich 
he came a stranger, without mean.s. 

Wlilliam Brimmer was born in Silesia, 
Germany, March 7, 1838, the son of Gott- 
fried and Mary (Menzel) Brimmer. Gott- 
fried Brimmer was a wagon-maker Ijy trade, 
and died in Germany. His father, Gott- 
fried Brimmer, lived in Barsdorf, and fol- 
lowed the trade of a tailor. \\^!lliam Brim- 
n?er attended school in his natixe land un- 
til he was fourteen years of age, and then 
for two years worked for a farmer. After 
this he learned the trade of milhvrigh.t, and 
worked at it for about ten years. He then 
served in the German army, in the light ar- 
tillery, taking part in the Holstein war in 
1864 and the Austrian war in 1866, and 
did go(_id and very hea\-}" service. 

In June, i8')7, Mr. B>rimmer came to the 
United States, and first located at ^Vauke- 
sha, \\'isc6nsin. Not being alile to obtain 
work at his trade, he did farm work f(_)r one 
year. He then went to Chicago, where he 
w-orked at his trade of millwright iuitil 1881. 
In the meantime he had, during the great 
fire in Chicago, lost a new house and valu- 
able furniture, all the property he possessed 
in the world. In 1881 he came to Adams 
county and secirred some property in Spring- 
ville township, where he has since resided. 
He now owns a farm ijf about two hun- 
dred and eighty acres, well cultivated, and 
enhanced by v^aluable improvements and con- 
veniences for the proper conduct of modern 
farming. He is engaged in the raising of 



grain and stock, and has made a success of 
it. He has in the past kept bees, and his 
apiary has been a source of profit. The se- 
vere cold of the winter of 189S-99, however, 
killed them. 

Mr. Brimmer was married in June, 1S65, 
to Christine Strum, of Berlin, Germany. 
To this uni<jn five children have been born, 
four of whom are still living, named in the 
order of birth as follows: Martha, born 
January 12, 1868, now a stenographer in 
Chicago; George, Ijorn April i, 1870, now 
working for the McCormick Harvester 
Company in Chicago; William, born in 
1873, now in the Ivlondike ; and Otto, born 
June 8, 1875. now farming on the old home- 
stead farm in Spring\'ille township. 

In political views Mr. Brimmer is a Re- 
pul)lican, and \vhile he takes a lively inter- 
est in matters ui a public nature, he has 
never sought oflice. He is a member of the 
Lutheran church at Ouincy, and also holds 
membership in the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, Harmonia L(.idge, No. 221, 
Chicago. I'^or man}- years he has been recog- 
nized as one of the leading agriculturists of 
the county, and a friend to every enterprise 
that promised to benefit the community at 
large. He is a thorough believer in the 
beneficial results of a i)ractical and liberal 
education, and his infiuence has been stead- 
ily e.xerted for the i>do(l of his fellow men. 



JOHN FRANKLIN STREETER. 

John Franklin Streeter, the wide-awake 
and aggressive publisher of the Cambria 
"News," is regarded as one of the success- 
ful newspaper men of Columbia count}', and 
he has come to his jircsent standing through 
h.ard work and fair ])Ia}' with his comj^eti- 
tors. He was born near Ijelvidere, Illinois, 
Juh^ 22, 1841), and is a son of KainX and 



652 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Catherine (Van Arnian) Streeter. His fa- 
ther was a native of Connecticut, and was de- 
scended from an early colonial family, which 
found its first location in Massachusetts. 
The name was originally spelled Straater 
He learned the trade of wheelwright, and 
worked at it for man\- years throughout 
Ohio and IlUnois. In fullowing his trade 
he was unduly exposed, contracted a fatal 
illness, and died at Newburg, Boone county, 
Illinois, in 1853, when about forty years old 
His wife suryiyed many years, and died in 
Kilbourn, Wisconsin, in 1879, when almost 
eighty. Her father, John Van Arman, 
served in the war of 1812, and took part in 
the battle of Plattsburg and several other 
engagements. He was a shoemaker by trade, 
and also followed farming. His father, 
Peter Van Arman, was an officer in the 
Revolution, and bore himself well and 
valiantly in the struggle for independence. 
His ancestors came from Holland. The 
Van Arman family is noted for its unusual 
longevity of life. 

J. F. Streeter left home when eight years 
of age, and went to live with his brother-in- 
law, Andrew Bergstresser, at Kilbourn City, 
where he grew to manhood. He attended 
public school, and completed the English 
course at Point Bluff Institute when only 
eighteen. Leaving school, he entered the 
office of the "Kilbourn Mirror,'" to learn the 
printer's trade. He became master of his 
craft, and as a journeyman printer found em- 
ployment at New Lisbon, Sparta, LaCrosse, 
and other points in Wisconsm. Li 1872 he 
engaged in the publication of the "Journal," 
at Waterloo, Wisconsin, which had lieen es- 
tablished six months earlier. He was at 
Waterloo some two years, and then closing 
out he went to Chicago to work at his trade 
for some months. He was publisher of the 
"Times" at Ottawa, Illinois, and later of 
the "Evening Journal," with a bi-weekly 
special, the "Advertiser," at the same place. 



Altogether he spent seven years in Ottawa, 
and for a part of this time was city editor 
of the "Free Trader." Later on he pub- 
lished the "\\'hiteside Times," with daily 
and weekly editions, at Sterling, Ihinois. 
For some years he was in the office of the 
"Evening Wisconsin," at Milwaukee, and 
left the Cream City to take the position of 
foreman and city editor of the "Chronicle," 
at Dodgeville, where he eventually published 
the "Star." In that cit\- he also conducted 
a job-printing office for some ten years. 
After this he Ixiught and published the 
"Monitor" at Montfort, Wisconsin. In 
June, 1893, lie became local editor of the 
"Daily Democrat" at Portage. He was in 
Portage only a short time before he leased 
the office of the "News" at Cambria, and 
the next year he bought the entire plant, 
and has been busy at this point ever since. 
He has an extensive patronage as a job 
printer, and is on the highway to success. 
F'or some years past he has been a Republi- 
can, and in the sjiring of 1900 was a dele- 
gate to the congressional convention at 
Watertown. He is a member of the Meth- 
odist church, and stands well in the com- 
munity. In Januar}-, 1872, he was married 
to Ernestine, a daughter of Carl Buth, of 
Watertown. She was born near Stettin, 
Germany, but spent the greater part of her 
life in Watertown. 



DANA DANIEL BILLINGS, Deceased. 

Dana Daniel Billings, deceased, who 
during his life was a prominent member of 
the farming community of Springville 
township, Adams county, was proprietur of 
a pleasant estate in that vicinity for more 
tlian thirty years, and had gained a cnm- 
petence which- was sufficient to allow him 
to live in ease during his declining 3ears 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



653 



and leave liis family with all the comforts 
of life. 

Mr. Billing's was born in Barnard, Wind- 
sor county, Vermont, September 9, 1823, 
and was the son of Daniel Billings, a native 
of the same place, who was an agriculturist 
by occupation, and passed his life in his na- 
tive state. 

Our subject has made good use of the 
somewhat limited advantages of the times 
toward gaining an education, and became 
well educated. Until he reached his ma- 
jority he worked with his father on the farm, 
and became a thorough husbandman. He 
went to Wisconsin from Vermont in 1851, 
and located in Springvilie township, Adams 
county, taking one hundred and sixty acres 
of government land. He worked hard to 
clear the land and support his family, and 
how well he succeeded the estate which is 
now in possession of the widow bears evi- 
dence. He had about fifty acres under a 
high state of cultivation, and had erected 
substantial buildings, and otherwise im- 
proved his property. He also run a ferry 
across the Wisconsin river, the first one 
run in that vicinity, and the only one op- 
erated there for many years, and large num- 
bers of immigrants crossing the river for 
points in Minnesota and the west took ad- 
vantage of that means for crossing the 
stream. 

Mr. Billings was married September 9, 
1853, to Annette Teed, daughter of Na- 
thaniel K. and Susan (Chamberlain) Teed, 
of Tompkins, Delaware county. New York. 
Mrs. Billings' parents were of old English 
stock, and came west in 1851. After pros- 
pecting through Walworth, Sauk and Adams 
counties, they decided to locate in the latter, 
which they did about 1856, and remained 
there about seven years. They moved to 
Bear Creek, Waupaca county, remaining 
there during the remainder of their lives. 
The father died in February, 1884, and his 



wife survived him five years, passing away 
April 3, 1889, and both were buried at 
Bear Creek. 

Mr. and Mrs. Billings were the parents 
of ten children, nine of whom are living : 
Melvin N., born July 26, 1854, now resid- 
ing on the old homestead; Dana A., born 
January 5, 1856, now residing in Spring- 
vilie; Edward E., born March 4, 1858. died 
November 11, 1892; Joseph D., born Sep- 
tember 20, i860, now in Kokomo, Colorado; 
Emma J., born December 24, 1862, now 
Mrs. C. Walker, of Plainville; Ora D., born 
January 16, 1867, now a resident of Wood 
county, Wisconsin; Charles L., born May 
23, 1869, now employed as bridgeman on 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road: \\'illie J., born December 12, 1871, 
now an agriculturist of Spalding, Minne- 
sota; Lillian L., born January 29, 1875. now 
Mrs. L. Harris, of White Creek; and Homer 
E., bom July 8, 1878, now residing at 
home. Mr. Billings passed from this life 
November 15, 1882, and is buried at Olin 
cemetery. He was a prominent man in his 
township, and served as treasurer of his 
township for a number of years, and in vari- 
ous other ofiicial positions, includine school 
offices. He was an enthusiastic worker in 
educational matters, and did everything 
to advance the standard of education in his 
community. He was a Republican in po- 
litical sentiment, but did not take an active 
part in politics. He commanded the respect 
of his fellow men wherever he was known, 
and in his death the community lost a good 
citizen and stanch friend. His widow sur- 
vives him, and resides on the old homestead. 
She is in the enjoyment of good health, and 
appreciates the competence which is hers to 
tide her through lier declining years, and 
in the accumulation of which she is justly 
entitled to much credit, for her words of 
counsel and cheer tlirough the struggles 
of the early life in the Wisconsin home. 



654 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



HEXRY D. PAGE. 

Henry D. Page, formerly of Baraboo, 
who has been pii lionored and trusted em- 
ploye of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
road Company for nearly forty years, was 
born in Malone, Franklin county. New York, 
December i6, 1848, a son of Tyloses and Cor- 
nelia (Nolan) Page. The father was born 
on the Atlantic ocean while his parents were 
emigrating to the United States. The fam- 
ily settled in Franklin county. New York, 
where he grew to manhood, and in that state 
he learned the shoemaker's trade. In 1858 
he removed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where 
he conducted a shoe store for a time, and 
then went to Fond du Lac, this state, but 
is now living retired in Minneapolis, Min- 
nesota, at the advanced age of ninety-four 
years. His estimaljle wife, who was born 
in Connecticut, died in ^^'alnut Grove. Min- 
nesota. January J4. 1894, at the age of sev- 
enty-six. 

The subject of this sketch came with his 
parents to Wisconsin, and at the age of 
eleven years entered the emploj-e of the 
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company 
£s an apprentice in their machine shops at 
Fond du Lac. Before he reached his eight- 
eenth year he took charge of an engine on the 
^^'inona & St. Peter division and served the 
company in the capacity of engineer for eight 
years. During tlie winter of 1870-71 he 
was on an engine on the Northern Pacific 
Railroad and in the fall of the latter year 
■was transferred to Harvard, Illinois, running 
a train for several months between Chicago 
and Baraboo. Later he returned to the 
Winona & St. Peter division, and in 1876 
became foreman of the shops at Winona, 
Minnesota, but in December of the following 
}ear accepted the position of foreman of the 
shops at Harvard, Illinois. On the Qtli of 
August, 1883, he was appointed master me- 
chanic of the Madison division, with head- 



quarters at Baraboo, where he remained im- 
til transferred. He had charge of five hun- 
dred sixteen miles of railroad; had an av- 
erage of one hundred thirty men working 
under him in the shops, and about three hun- 
dred train men. His practical knowledge of 
all the details of his business, as well as his 
acquaintance with men, renders him a most 
valuable employe, as is evidenced by his long 
continuance in so important a position with 
one of the leading railroad companies of the 
Union. 

On the 24th of November, 1876, was 
celebrated the marriage of Air. Page and 
Miss Louisa Bunnell, who was the first white 
child born in La Crosse county, Wiscon- 
sin, a daughter of \\'illard and Matilda 
Bunnell, of Winona. [Minnesota. The fa- 
ther, who is a son of Dr. John Bradley Bun- 
nell, was born in Rochester, New York, and 
is a pioneer of Winona, Minnesota, where 
for many vears he served as an Indian fur 
trader and later kept a wood yard. His wife 
was born in Detroit. Michigan. ]Mr. and 
Mrs. Page have two children: Henry \\ ill- 
ard. born August 23, 1879; and Grace 
Louise, born April 21. 1882. The family 
is connected with the [Methodist church and 
is held in high regard by all who have the 
pleasure of their acquaintance. [Mr. Page 
is an honored memlier of Cream City Di- 
vision, No. 66, B. of L. E.. [Milwaukee; 
Prairie L(xlge, No. 7, I. O. O. F.. of Wi- 
nona; and a charter member of Devil's Lake 
Camp, No. 390, [M. W. .\., of Baraljoo. He 
is a Republican in principle but has neither 
time nor inclination for political agitation. 
In 1896 he erected a fine residence in Bara- 
boo. 



WALLACE THOMPSON. 

Wallace Thompson, a leading citizen' of 
Adams county, Wisconsin, residing in Dell 
Prairie township, may well be classed among 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



655 



the pioneers of the county, as he has lived 
there since he was sixteen years of age. 

]\Jr. Thompson was born in Delaware 
county, New York, June 2, 1840, the son 
cf AIanst)n and Sallie (Rachenbach) 
Thompson. His mother died in Delaware 
county when our subject was but three years 
old, and the father, who was a farmer, came 
to Wisconsin, locating in Adams county, 
April 14, 1856. He did -not long survive, 
however, his death occurring in May, i860. 
He "was buried in Dell Prairie. 

Wallace Th(.impsi m was reared on a farm 
and received the hmited acK'antages of the 
common schools, though he was compelled to 
work the greater part of the time. He ac- 
companied his father to Wisconsin when he 
was sixteen years old, and during the sum- 
mer months worked at home on the farm, 
and during the winter months worked in 
the pineries. He was also engaged in raft- 
ing logs on the Mississippi and Wisconsin 
rivers. He followed this calling from 1857 
until 1861. In the latter year he enlisted in 
Company D, Tenth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry. His regiment was assigned to the 
Army of the Cumberland, and saw all the 
hard service that fell to the lot of that corps. 
He was in the battles of Perryville, Stone 
River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, 
Missionary Ridge, Pumpkin \'ine Creek, 
Peach Tree Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, and 
numerous lesser engagements. He was 
wounded at Chickamauga September 19, 
1863, and was sent to the hospital. He was 
again wounded at Kenesaw Mountain June 
30, 1864, and was honorably discharged 
at Milwaukee in October, 1864, and in the 
following February (1865) re-enlisted in 
the United States Veteran Reserve Corps. 
He was sent to Washington, D. C, and 
thence to Indianapolis, where he was mus- 
tered out in February, 1866. 

Mr. Thompson was married April 9, 
1867, to Sabra P., daughter of Martin and 



Adaline (Salisbury) Solomon. Mrs. Solo- 
mon was born in 1842 in New York, and 
came with her parents to Wisconsin when 
she was se\-en years of age, locating in Jef- 
ferson county. The family only remained in 
that county about three years, when they re- 
moved to Adams county, and took up land 
in Dell Prairie township in 1852. Here the 
father followed farming until the time of 
his death in, the spring of 1857, at the age 
of sixty-six years. The mother died Feb- 
ruary II, 1890, at the age of eighty-five 
years. They are both Ijuried in Adams 
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Thomp- 
son five chiklren have been born, named in 
the order of their birth as follows: Estella, 
n_ow Mrs. T. 'lownsend, of Dell Prairie, 
born September 4, 1869; George W., of 
Austin, Minnesota, born February 26, 1871 ; 
Fred D., now a farmer of Dell Prairie, 
born September 5, 1875; ^laud M., now 
Mrs. D. Capron, of Dell Prairie, born No- 
vember 7, 1880; and Mabel B., living at 
home, born November 12, 1882. Mr. 
Thompson is a Democrat in political senti- 
ment, though he has not taken an active part 
ir. local political affairs. He is an honored 
member of John Gillespie Post, No. 50, G. 
A. R., of Kilbourn. 



GEORGE B. PAYNE. 

George B. Payne, a most progressive 
and successful agriculturist, is the owner of 
a beautiful farm of one hundred and eighty- 
three acres in Marcellon and Scott town- 
ships, Columbia county, \\'isconsin. His 
methods of farm management show scien- 
tific knowledge combined with sound, prac- 
tical judgment and the results show that 
"high-class" farming as an occupation can be 
made profitable as well as pleasant. 

Mr. Payne was born in Kane county, 
Illinois, in January, 1852. His father. 



65G 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Aaron Payne, was a native of Springfield, 
that state, and a son of Charles and Eliza 
Payne, who came from the east, and finally 
took up their residence in Wisconsin. The 
grandfather engaged in farming and also 
operated a saw and gristmill at Geneva, 
that state, but spent his last days in Scott 
township, Columbia county, Wisconsin, 
where he died in 1871. His wife passed 
away the year previous. 

Aaron Payne came with his parents to 
Wisconsin, and in early life assisted his fa- 
ther in the mills and also ran a threshing 
machine until twenty-two years of age, when 
he left home and located in Linn township, 
Walworth county, where he operated a rent- 
ed farm. Later he purchased a place on 
Lake Geneva, which he carried on until 1852, 
when he came to Columbia county and 
leased a farm in Scott township, but after 
a short time spent here, he returned to Wal- 
worth county and resumed farming there. 
During tlie dark days of the Rebellion lie 
enlisted in Juno, 1861, in Company F, 
Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, and remained 
in the service for five years and three months. 
The following year was spent in Walworth 
county, but at the end of that time he re- 
moved to Henry county, Illinois, where he 
remained until 1867, when he again came 
to Columbia county, Wisconsin, and bought 
a farm in Scott township, where he now re- 
sides at the age of seventy-five years. He 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. 
Scott, of New York state, a daughter of 
Benjamin and Sylva Scott, who lived in 
St. Peter, Minnesota, for many years, but 
later came to Scott township, Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, where her father died 
November 3, 1882, the mother August 2t,, 
1883. To Mr. and Mrs. Payne were born 
eight children, namely: Almira, wife of 
Perry Drinkwine, of Rock Falls, Wisconsin ; 
George, our subject; Nettie, wife of Joseph 
McGinnis, of Pardeeville, Wisconsin ; Ma- 



tilda, wife of Charles Cufif, of Marquette 
count}-; William, a resident of Scott town- 
ship, Columl)ia county; Albert, of Marcellon 
township; Hiram, of Scott township; and 
Carrie, who died in infancy. 

George B. Payne remained under the pa- 
rental roof until twenty-two years of age, 
and then located upon his present farm in 
IMarcellon township, to the improvement and 
cultivation of which he has devoted his en- 
ergies with good results. He is also en- 
gaged in threshing, and being a natural 
mechanic, is a good blacksmith. His well- 
directed efforts have been crowned with suc- 
cess, and he has become one of the leading 
and representative farmers of his com- 
munity. 

Mr. Payne has been twice married, his 
first wife being Miss Maggie, daughter of 
John and Catherine Johnson, of Marcellon, 
and to them were born two children : George 
E., at home; and Annie, now the wife of 
William Ebert, of Pardeeville. The wife 
and mother died in August, 1878, and in 
1880 Mr. Payne wedded Miss Mary Cuddy, 
a sketch of whose family appears in connec- 
tion with that of W^illiam Cuddy on another 
page of this volume. They have four chil- 
dren: Agnes, who is attending school; and 
Ella, Alma and Katie, all at home. In pol- 
itics Mr. Payne has been a lifelong Repub- 
lican. 



PETER G. JAOUES. 

Peter G. Jaques, of Wyocena township, 
Columbia county, was born in W'est Point, 
New York, July 24, 1810, and enjoys the 
distinction of being an original son of the 
Revolution. His parents, Solomon and 
Sarah (Mandigo) Jaques, were natives of 
the same place. The great-grandfather of our 
subject came from \Vales, and helped to 
drive the Indians from Long Island, and for 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



657 



liis services received a square mile of land 
in Westchester county, New York, with a 
quantity of provisions and farm implements. 
The tract is still known locally as the "Mile 
square." Benjamin Jaques, the father of 
Solomon, removed to the western part of 
Westchester county, while the latter was a 
small boy, and a few years later went into 
Orange county. Solomon Jaques enlisted 
as a "fatigue man" during the Revolution, 
and was a teamster by employment. He 
bore a hand in the defense of Fort Mont- 
gomery, near his home, and when the fort 
fell into the hands of the British he retired 
to his father's home, hoping it would escape 
hostile attention. But the enemy came the 
next day and burned e\erything they. could, 
and left behind them nothing but wreck. 
After the war he lived on a farm in Orange 
county, New York, where he died in 1847, 
al the age of ninety-three. Sarah Mandigo 
was born in Orange county. New York. 
Her father, Michael Mandigo, came from 
Italy. She died many years before her hus- 
band, and left nine children, of whom one 
came to Wisconsin. 

The subject of this article when a boy 
worked on coasting vessels, and when he 
had reached the age of thirty owned a craft 
of considerable size himself. With it he 
made trips between Albany, New York City 
and adjacent ports. In his early boyhood he 
witnessed one of the first steamboats on the 
Hudson, which hz recalls as a side-wheeler 
without a wheel house. It required twenty- 
four hours between Albany and New York, 
did much puffing and made much smoke. 
It was called the "North Star." He saw 
the "Fulton" and the "Firefly", and has 
vivid memories of early days on the Hudson. 
In 1855 he came to this state and settled on 
a farm in the town of Wyocena, where he 
still lives. He voted for General Jackson 
in 1832, but has been a Republican since the 
organization of the party. When he was liv- 



ing in New York he was a member of the 
Methodist church, but is not crjunected with 
any church in Wisconsin. r^Ir. Jaques and 
Mary Jevness were married February 5, 
1839. She is a daughter of John and Mary 
(Green) Jevness, and was born in Birming- 
ham, England, January 9, 1819. In 1825 
the family came to the United States, first 
locating in Connecticut, and afterwards in 
Brooklyn and Highland Falls, New York, 
both parents reaching an extreme old age, 
her father being one hundred years old at 
the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Jaques 
have three living children ; Mary Ann. the 
wife of P. C. Irwine, of Wyocena township; 
John Henry, living with his parents; and 
Eugenia Josephine, who is Mrs. Frank Ben- 
nett, of Columbia county. There are also 
seven grandchildren in the family. 



CHRISTIAN SCHULTZ. 

Christian Schultz, general farmer of 
Ouincy township, Adams county, has for 
nearly a quarter of a century been identified 
with the growth of that region. He is an 
ex-soldier, who went for the cause of his 
country, and for many years after his serv- 
ice was unable to walk without the aid of 
crutches. Loyalty, perseverance, industry 
and honesty have been the dominant traits 
of character which have controlled his career, 
and in his declining years he can look back 
over a well-spent life, and in reviewing his 
many experiences feel assured that his labors 
have not been in vain. He is proprietor of a 
fine estate, the income from which is suffi- 
cient to tide him through his life, and in the 
acquisition of his property he has been gain- 
ing a knowledge of men and the world which 
places him on an intellectual plane with his 
associates. 

Mr. Schultz was born at Hessenheim, 



658 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, January 22, 
1827, and was the sun of Lawrence and 
Maggie Sclinltz. His fatlier was a black- 
smith by occupation and never emigrated 
from his native land. Our subject attended 
school until he reached the age of fifteen 
years, when he learned the trade of black- 
smith. He served in the German army four 
years, and after leaving the ser\ice, in 1854, 
came to America. He secured work at his 
trade in Buffalo, New York, and remained 
there fi\-e years. He then decided to deter- 
mine what the west had in store for a young 
man and accordingly came to Wisconsin, 
and located in Germantown about i860. He 
worked at his trade at the saw-mill and was 
there fifteen years. He purchased his pres- 
ent farm in 1875. It comprises three hun- 
dred and twenty acres of land, one hundred 
and thirty acres of which he has cleared and 
cultivates, engaging in general farming. 
He has built a comfortable residence and 
commodious barns, and otherwise improved 
the estate, and mndern machinery is used to 
facilitate the work. 

Mr. Schultz enlisted in the Tenth Bat- 
talion, Wisconsin Artillery, and was trans- 
ferred to the Ninth Battery, and saw service 
in Colorado, Mexico and through the west, 
and was discharged at Leavenworth, Kan- 
sas, in 1863. He was taken ill and consigned 
to a hospital, and it was a number of years 
before he regained his health. 

Our subject was married in June, 1865, 
to Doris Chairman, of Germantown. Eight 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schultz, 
seven of whom are living, as follows : Fred- 
erick, now residing at home; Maggie, now 
Mrs. W. Greenwood, of Ouincy; August, re- 
siding in Harmony, Minnesota; Louie, also 
in Harmony; Christian, at home; William, 
at home; and Nettie, residing in Martyn. 
Mr. Schultz is a prominent member of 
Friendship Post, G. A. R. He is a gentle- 
man who keeps posted on public affairs, and 



is interested in the welfare of his com- 
munity. His home surroundings are of a 
pleasant nature, and he is a man of good 
taste, and a visit to his estate will convince 
one of his thrift and the care exercised in 
the work attendant to farm life. He has 
spared no pains to make his farm one of the 
best in the community, and he may well be 
proud of his success. He is a gentleman 
who commands the respect of all with whom 
he is acfiuainted. 



F. A. DIERUF. 

F. A. Dieruf, a dealer in general mer- 
chandise at North Leeds, Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, is a son of William and Antonie 
(Kleinert) Dieruf, and was born at North 
Leeds November 5, 1873. His father was 
burn in b'rankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, 
in 1840, and at the age of nine years emi- 
grated to America with his mother and step- 
father, Jacob Dengel. The family, consisting 
of three sons and a daughter, settled at 
Madison, Wisconsin, where Mr. Dengel fol- 
lowed the trade of carpenter. 

Mr. William Dieruf learned the trade of 
bookbinder, and during the war acted as clerk 
in A. F. Waltzinger's confectionery store 
at Madison. He was married in 1865 to 
Antonie Kleinert, of Leeds, and two years 
later, in 1867, he located at North Leeds, 
Wisconsin. There he opened a general store 
and in a short time worked up a large trade, 
\>hich he carried on until his death. May 
30, 1893. He was independent in politics, 
took a deep interest in local affairs, and 
served a number of years as town clerk and 
treasurer. He was a member of the Evan- 
gelical Lutheran church at Leeds, and at his 
death was mourned by a host of friends. 
Mrs. Antonie (Kleinert) Dieruf died No- 
vember 22, 1897, at the age of fifty-four 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



059 



years. She was liorn in the Prussian province 
of Pomerania, Germany, and came to this 
country in 1854. Her father, August Fred- 
erick Kleinert, was one of the pioneer farm- 
ers of the town of Leeds. She was the 
motiier of tweh'e cliikh-en, eight of wliom are 
now sur\i\ing : ]\Iinnie, the wife of Jolm 
Hogan. of La Delle, South Dakota; Louisa, 
\> ho is Mrs. Robert Heisig. of Leeds ; An- 
t<<nie married Herman Radawan and lives at 
Morrisonville; Fred .A.; Ida married C. A. 
Kampen, of Otisco, Minnesota; Gustav ; 
Henry antl Henrietta, the three latter li\'ing 
in Leeds. 

Fred A. Dieruf attended the high school 
ai: Poynette two years, though he did not 
complete its course to the end. He was 
graduated from the business college at Madi- 
son in 1890, where he acquired a thorough 
knowledge of business methods, and became 
conversant with all matters relating to the 
management of the business in which he is 
engaged. He entered his father's store at 
the village of North Leeds, as soon as he 
had finished his schooling, and here he has 
remained to the present time. In 1896 he 
became the owner of the entire business, 
which his father had established. He car- 
ries a good stock of general merchandise 
that has been carefully selected with a view 
to the needs of the community in which he is 
located, and he enjoys a liberal patronage 
from the people of the prosperous regions 
around him. He competes successfully with 
the merchants of the larger towns, and of- 
fers bargains that would be hard to surpass 
anywhere. 

Mr. Dieruf was married to Miss Mary 
Jung May 6, 1898. She is a daughter of 
Henry and Mary Jung, of Windsor, Wis- 
consin, and is a young woman of man}- 
charms and graces. They have one child, 
Gladys Irene. Mr. Dieruf has served 
as town clerk, and is a Republican in pol- 
itics. 



DAMD STEVENSON. 

Da\-id Stevenson, a pioneer settler of 
Wisconsin, residing near Easton, Adams 
county, is one (if the successful agricult- 
urists of his community. He has passed over 
thirty-five years on his present homestead, 
and has made of it one of the finest estates 
within that region. He is progressix'e in his 
ideas and with judicious mind is able to de- 
termine the feasibility of every new inven- 
tion, and it is only the more practical in\en- 
tions and methods which are accepted by 
him. He has a thorough knowledge of his 
calling, and has s])ent his life in raising the 
standard of agriculture. 

]\Ir. Ste\enson was born at Barn Bridge, 
county Down, Ireland, May 15, 1830, and 
was the son of Samuel and ]\Iartha (_ Steven- 
son) Stevenson, farmers by occupation, who 
also worked in the linen manufactory at 
Barn Bridge. 

Our subject attended the common schools 
until his fifteenth year, when he entered the 
linen factory and learned the trade of linen 
w eaver. He worked at his trade about seven 
years, and then sought his fortune in the new 
world. He landed at New York, and after 
a short stay there went to York, Union coun- 
ty, Ohio, anil worked at farming. He came 
to Jefferson county, Wisconsin, in 1856, and 
located at JelTerson, where he was employed 
on a farm eight 3'ears. He purchased eighty 
acres in Easton, Adams county, in 1855, 
but did not take up his residence on the land 
until the fall of 1863. His present dwelling 
and barns are built on the original eighty 
acres, and his farm now comprises one hun- 
dred and twenty acres. It is well improved, 
with every convenience for the labors inci- 
dent to farm life, and evidences careful man- 
agement. 

Our subject was married in June, 1853, 
to Elizabeth Ann Stevenson, daughter of 
Hugh and Eliza (Spratt) Stevenson, of 



600 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Barn Bridge, Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Steven- 
son have been the parents of eight children, 
six of whom are living, as follows : Hugh, 
a farmer in Easton; Martha, residing at 
home; Elizabeth, residing at home; Clara, 
also at home; Wilham, a farmer of Easton; 
and Sarah, now Mrs. H. Cleland, of Lincoln, 
Adams county. 

Mr. Stevenson is a gentleman of the 
highest character, and in every instance dis- 
plays the strictest honesty and kindliest 
feelings. He keeps pace with the world and 
in matters of public nature is decided in his 
opinions, but will always be found standing 
on the side of right and justice. He does 
not advocate the principles of any one party 
in political belief and is willing to support 
every good measure. He is interested in ed- 
ucational matters, and for se\eral years has 
served as school treasurer. He does not 
seek public office, and is content to serve his 
community, by lending his influence for 
good local government, and is deservedly 
held in high esteem Ijy his fellow men. 



ELMER MILTON WALDREF. 

Elmer Milton Waldref, a prominent cit- 
izen of the town of Leeds, Columbia coun- 
ty, was born February 3, 1855, in the village 
of Cottage Grove, Dane county, Wisconsin. 
He is a son of Jacob and Eliza (Sunder- 
man) Waldref, the former a native of New 
Jersey, and the latter of Pennsylvania. On 
both sides the family relates to old colonial 
stock, and the ancestors of our subject have 
long been established in this country. His 
father's grandfather was connected with the 
American Revolution, and bore himself gal- 
lantly through that mighty struggle. Jacob 
Waldref and his wife went to Ohio about 
1840, and a Uttle later removed to Jefferson 
county, Wisconsin. From there they moved 
into Dane county, and finally they located in 
this county, and settled upon a farm in the 



town of Leeds, wdiere they lived and died, 
both at an advanced age. Mrs. Waldref 
was seventy-two at the time of her death, 
August 30, 1887, and her husband lived 
many years a widower. He died Septemlier 
1, 1898, at the age of eighty-six. They left 
a family of seven children: Mary Jane, at 
home; William Henry, town of Leeds; Ab- 
igail, Mrs. David Thistle, of Colby, Wiscon- 
sin; Jemima is Mrs. Atkinson, and is living 
at home; Malinda Ellen, at home; Elmer M. 
and Lavina B. 

Mr. W^aldref came to this county with 
his parents when about six weeks old, an.l 
grew to manhood in Columbia county. He 
attended the local schools, and since his 
early youth has had charge of the family 
homestead. He is an extensive tobacco 
grower, and, taking the years together, has 
been greatly prospered. He was married 
August 8, 1878, to Martha Scuttle, daugh- 
ter of Peter and Annie (Ouitney) Scuttle, 
natives of Norway. She was born in the 
town of Leeds, her parents being among the 
pioneer settlers of this part of the state. 
Her mother died about 1865, and her father 
thirteen years later. He was the father of 
five children: Andrew, at Lodi, Wisconsin; 
Ole, in Leeds; Martha, who is Mrs. E. M. 
Waldref; Sophie is in Leeds; and Matthew 
in Minneapolis. Mr. and Mrs. \\'aldref 
have one daughter, Henrietta, who is living 
at home. She is a graduate of the DeForest 
high school and expects to be a teacher. Mr. 
Waldref is a Republican, and has never 
avowed any other political allegiance. He 
lias been on the school board ten years, town 
clerk three years and chairman of the town 
board two years. 



ABNER LOGAN HARRIS. 

Abner Logan Harris is one of the most 
conspicuous citizens of Reedsburg, whose 
achievements, as well as those of his departed 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



OGl 



wife, must ever occupy a prominent place in 
the annals of that city and of Sauk county. 
Perhaps no other man has contributed as 
much as Mr. Harris toward the establishment 
of Reedsburg's reputation as one of the best 
market towns in the state of Wisconsin, 
while he has been equally active in promot- 
ing the various municipal improvements for 
which the town is famous, for, in this, as in 
every other growing city, these innovations 
have been accomplished in the face of de- 
termined opposition on the part of some well- 
meaning but unprogressive people and would 
never have been completed had not the 
movements been initiated by some man of 
judgment and perseverance who possessed 
the courage of his convictions and the exec- 
utive ability to carry out his projects. The 
excellent system of waterworks and electric 
lights, now the pride of every citizen, was 
established chiefly through his vigorous ef- 
forts and will always be a monument to his 
memory, it being conceded by rival cities 
that in the superior service and economical 
administration of its public utilities Reeds- 
burg is unsurpassed. 

Mr. Harris began his mercantile career 
in 1867 at Loganvilje, Sauk county, as a 
member of the firm of J. O. Phelps & Co., 
but about four years later, when the Chica- 
go & Northwestern Railroad reached Reeds- 
burg, he removed to that growing village 
and his home has since been at that place. 
He then became a partner with John Kellogg 
but this relation was dissolved a few years 
later and the firm subsequently became Har- 
ris & Hostler. Largely through his push and 
energy, the trade rapidly increased and the 
establishment assumed proportions which 
would do credit ^o a much larger city. In 
1893 the Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company 
was incorporated and still continues the 
mercantile trade, i\Ir. Harris retaining an 
important interest in the concern. 'J'lie firm 
of Harris & Hostler still operates several 



large warehouses and deals extensively in 
potatoes and other products, having estab- 
lished this enterprise a number of years 
since. They have also held the agency for 
the American Express Company at Reeds- 
burg since its establishment there in 1872. 

As postmaster and mayor of the city, 
each of which positions he filled for several 
terms, Mr. Harris always sought to make 
his office ser\-e ]3ublic rather than private 
ends, which fact accounts is great measure 
for his popularity and far reaching influence 
with the people. 

Many of the sterling characteristics dis- 
played bj' him have been inherited from his 
ancestors, a number of whom have been 
distinguished for thrift, enterprise and devo- 
tion to principle. His first progenitor on 
this continent was James Harris, who came 
from Bristol, England, in 1725, and engaged 
in merchant tailoring at Elizabethtown, New 
Jersey, where he marrie^ a J\Iiss Boleyn. 
He was an Episcopalian and was an ardent 
supporter of the British crown during the 
troublous times which preceded the Revolu- 
tion, but did not survive the actual outbreak 
of hostilities. Several of his sons, however, 
joined the Continental army and more or 
less of their descendants have participated in 
every important war of the nation since. 
Previous to the Revolution, the family had 
acquired extensive tracts of land in New 
Jersey and their property suffered considera- 
ble damage from the depredations of the 
British troops. About the close of the 
eighteenth century. John Harris, one of 
the sons of James Harris, removed to Penn- 
sylvania and served in the Continental 
army from 1775 to 1781, participating in 
the battle of Monmouth and other en- 
gagements. His wife was Mary Hamil- 
ton, who sprang from the famous Ham- 
ilton family of Lanark, Scotland. One 
oi the sons of Jnhn and Mary Harris, Jona- 
than W., became an extensive farmer of 



m2 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Richland county, Ohio, and later of the town 
of Troy, Sauk county, Wisconsin. He mar- 
ried Abigail C. Cracroft and the}- became the 
parents of Abner L. Harris, whose name 
heads this article. 

This gentleman was born near Mans- 
field. Ohio, September 15, 1839. and came to 
Sauk county with his parents in 1846. He 
attended school for a time at Prairie du 
Sac and was married, December 13, 1868, 
to Miss Frances Smith. This noble minded 
lady was born at Oriskany Falls, New York, 
December 20, 1843, ^"d died at Reedsburg, 
March 10, 1899. She was a daughter of 
Ambrose Smith and Juliet (Parker) Smith, 
who were early settlers of Reedsburg. The 
latter was a lineal descendant of John Park- 
er, one of the original proprietors of W'al- 
lingford, Connecticut. Among his posterity 
was Gamaliel Parker, who enlisted in 1777 
urider Captain Strong and served through- 
(Ait the Re\olutii_)nar}- war. His son, Gama- 
liel, Jr., enlisted February i, 1783, in Cap- 
tain Chapman's Company, Second Regiment, 
Connecticut Troops. The last named was 
the grandfather of Mrs. Smith. Her father, 
Joel Parker, married Albacinda Bunnell, 
whose grandfather, Nathaniel Bunnell, 
served in the Continental, army from Che- 
shire, Connecticut. 

\\'hile her husband was chiefly occupied 
in advancing the commercial and material 
prosperity of the town, Mrs. Harris was ever 
active in works calculated to enhance the 
spiritual, moral and intellectual culture of 
the people. She was untiring in her efforts 
in behalf of the Presbyterian church and 
the various local kindred organizations. She 
founded the Reedsburg Woman's Club and 
was its president until her death. She was 
also an active member of the State Federa- 
tion of Woman's Clubs, and contributed 
some noteworthy essays for its annual gath- 
erings. In 1898 she was elected vice-presi- 
dent of the organization for the Third con- 



gressional district. She was a prime mover 
in founding a chapter of the Order of Daugh- 
ters of American Revolution in Reedsburg, 
and originated the project to establish a free 
public library at that place. She was always 
distinguished for remarkable strength' of 
character and determination of purpose, as 
well as for unbounded hospitality and amia- 
l)ility of disposition. It was one of her 
maxims that the work of reform should 
begin at home, and her domestic duties were 
never sacrificed while participating in pub- 
lic events. In short, she was one of those 
individuals of whom it may be truly said 
that "the world is better for her hav- 
ing lived in it." She left a son, Dr. J. Earl 
Harris, formerly of Chicago, and a daugh- 
ter. Miss Julia P. Harris, both of whom are 
graduates of the Wisconsin University. 
Dr. Harris was a graduate of the Chicaga 
University, of the Rush Medical Hospital of 
Chicago, and the Augustana hospital, and is 
now studvina: in \'ienna, Austria. 



MYRON MOSES MORLEY. 

Myron Moses Morley, an ex-soldier and 
prominent farmer, is proprietor of a fine es- 
tate in Ouincy township, Adams county. He 
has made that community his home for near- 
ly thirty years and enjijys an en\'iable rep- 
utation. 

Mr. Morley was born at Ashtabula,. 
Ohio, December 22, 1847, ^"cl was the son 
of Daniel M. and Clarissa M. (Marsh) 
Morley. His father was a native of Ohio,, 
and a farmer by occupation. He moved to 
Adams county, Wisconsin, in 1865. and set- 
tled at New Haven. He was engaged in 
farming and also worked at the mason's 
trade for twenty years. He died January 
14, 1898, at Cartright, Chippewa county, 
Vvhere he took land in 1870. The mother 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



c>m 



■of our subject is living at Cartriglit with 
her son, Marco. Tlie father enhsted in 
April, 1 86 1, for three months" service in 
the Nineteenth Ohio Infantry, and re-enhst- 
ed in August, 1861, in tlie Twenty-ninth 
Ohio Regiment. He was dischargetl in tlie 
spring of 1863 on account of disability for 
injuries received at Port Republic. 

Myron Morley was the oldest in a family 
of seven children, and attended school at 
Ashtaljula until fdurteen years of age. He 
ran away from home and enlisted in Com- 
pany F, Second Ohio Cavalry, September 
2;^, 1862, and was in the Army of the Cum- 
berland, and later in the Army of the Poto- 
mac, under Sheridan, in Custer's division of 
ca\alry. He did good and efficient service 
and was wounded at Hanover Court House, 
and was confined to the hospital at York, 
Pennsylvania, for about four months. He 
rejoined his regiment and was in the battle 
of Cedar Creek, and all of the engagements 
in which the cavalry was engaged during the 
last years of the war. He was discharged 
at St. Louis, June 10, 1865. After his dis- 
cliarge from the service he came to New 
Haven, Adams count}-, and in 1870 went to 
his i)resent location in Ouincy titwnshii), 
where he purchased one hundred and twen- 
ty-five acres of land. Since that time he has 
actively engaged in farming and has met 
with success. 

Mr. Morley was married, July 4, 1869, 
to Amanda Smith, daughter of Lorenzo D. 
and Eliza L. (Fisher) Smith, of Ouincy, 
who came from Ohio to Wisconsin about 
1854. Six children have been born to Mr. 
and ]\Irs. Morley, as follows: Luther, born 
July I, 1S74, now residing at Martyn, mar- 
ried Elsie Needham, of Easton ; Daniel, born 
October 3, 1878, now at home; Ella L, born 
April 7, 1880, a teacher; Carrie M., born 
January ig, 1882, now residing at home; 
Mzy, born August 28, 1888, died in January. 
1894; and one child unnamed, who died in 



infancy. Mr. Morley is a prominent mem- 
l)er of Ennis Reed Post, No. 209, G. A. R., 
and is present senior vice-commander. He 
is a Republican in political sentiment and is 
generally elected delegate to county conven- 
tions of his party. He has held every office 
in his township, with the exception of treas- 
urer, and is ever ready to advance the gen- 
eral welfare of Quincy township and Adams 
county. He is deservedly held in the high- 
est esteem by the members of the comnuui'ty. 
He is justice of the peace in Ouincy town- 
sliip, which office he has held fourteen years, 
and his name stands for equity and truth. 



PETER RICHARDS. 

Peter Richards, the publisher of the Lodi 
Valley "News," at Lodi, Columbia county, 
Wisconsin, is one of the veteran newspaper 
men of Wisconsin, and stands among the 
most devoted and u'^right members of the 
fraternity. He is a straightforward and 
honorable man, and never has been known 
to sink the right into the merely exjjedient, 
and traffic principle for success. 

Mr. Richards was born at Granville, Lick- 
ing county, Ohio, February 2, 1828, and is 
a son of W^illiam Samuel Richards and 
Tryphena Clark Bushnell, his wife. W. 
S. Richards was a native of New London, 
Connecticut, and his father, Wilham A. 
Richards, served as cjuartermaster of the 
Eighth Connecticut Regiment, under Colonel 
Parsons, during the Revolution. He (W. 
A. Richards) was afterward high sheriff of 
New London county, and was a man of char- 
acter and standing" at that early day. Lie 
( W. S. Richards) went to Ohio and back, 
in 1810, returning to Ohio in 1811, and 
made the long journey on horseback. He 
had studied medicine in the east, and for for- 
ty-one years he Vv-as a practicing physician 
at Granville, Ohio, v.diere he died by acci- 



664 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



dent ill ]May, 1852, at tlie age of sixty-five 
years. He was actix-ely interested in the af- 
fairs of his community, and was without 
doubt one of the leading men of that part of 
the state. ^Irs. Tryphena Clark (Bushnell) 
Richards was born in Norwich, Connecticut. 
Her father was a purser in the navy of the 
United States and died in the West Indies of 
yellow fever. 

Peter Richards attended the preparatory 
department of Granville College, and the 
grammar school of Kenyon College, and in 
1846 began the learning of the printing- 
trade at Newark, Ohio. In Alarch, 1855, he 
came to Wisconsin, and worked at his trade 
ai Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, and then at 
Madison. Air. Richards made his entrance 
into the editnrial and publishing world, 
where he has acquitted himself so well, as the 
editor of the Baraboo "Independent," which 
he leased from Col. D. K. Noyes. This paper 
has been published in connection with the 
famous J. C. ("Shanghai") Chandler. On 
January i, 1873, JNIr. Richards and John H. 
Powers, now of the Baraboo "Republic," 
started the Elroy "Union," which they con- 
tinued for a year, though Mr. Powers with- 
drew from the enterprise at the end of Au- 
gust. In the spring of 1874 Mr. Richards 
abandoned the effort at Elroy, and came to 
Lodi. Here he began the publication of the 
Lodi X'allc)- "News," and has continued its 
publication to the present time. It is one of 
the oldest papers in Columbia county, and is 
second to none in moral tone and intellectual 
vdgor. Mr. Richards is still active at the 
case and works the press with the grace and 
agilitv of a voung man. 



JAAIES W. TRUMBULL. 

Among the progressive and modern ag- 
riculturists of Adams county. James W. 
Trumbull is recognized as one of the fore- 



most. His estate, situated in Ouincy town- 
ship, is a standing testimonial to his ability 
as a husbandiuan and to his attention to de- 
tails in the management of his farming op- 
erations. 

James ^\^ Trumbull was born in Hori- 
con, Dodge county, Wisconsin, November 
25, 1850. His father, Simeon Trumbull, a 
native of Vermont, born in Burlington, was 
a plasterer by trade in his early manhood, 
and came to Wisconsin in 1845, ^"d located 
in Dodge county. He took up land there, 
which he occupied about twelve years. He 
then disposed of his property and removed 
to Adams county, Wisconsin, and took up 
eighty acres of land near Ouincy. He after- 
wards purchased about one hundred and 
thirty acres in section eighteen, which is still 
owned by his son James, the subject of this 
article. Simeon Trumbull was a stanch Re- 
publican in political sentiment, but never 
sought office. He was a hard worker and 
a thoroughly honest man, and had the re- 
spect and esteem of every one who knew him. 
He died March 4, 1899, aged seventy-nine 
years. Our subject's mother, Helen (An- 
derson) Trumbull, died January 7, 1873, at 
the age of forty-seven years. Both parents 
rest in the cemetery at Ouincy. To this 
worthy couple four children were born : Jo- 
sephine, now Mrs. A. Faxon, of Salem, Ore- 
gon ; James W., our present subject; Sealy, 
now in California; Crant, now in Lassen 
county, California. 

James W. Trumbull attended school un- 
til he was fifteen years old. .\t the age of 
sixteen vears be went into the pineries in 
Clark, Wood and Marathon counties. For 
about twenty-five j^ears he followed this call- 
ing, working at rafting during the summer 
months on the Wisconsin river. He made 
several trips as far as Hannibal, Missouri, 
on the Mississippi. In 1882 he took pos- 
session of the farm, which is his present 
liomestead, and since that time has been con- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



GG5 



ducting a g-eneral farniino- business. He is 
the owner of (_)ne luuidrcd and titty acres, 
alxnit one humlred of which he cultivates 
and tlie balance being" timber and pasture. 
He de\otes considerable attention to stock 
raising", of which he has made a success. 

Mr. Trum])ull was married, December 
I, 1874, to lunma W'ooil. a native of Michi- 
gan. Mrs. Trumbull's parents, Benjamin 
and Abigail (Knowland) \\'ood. reside in 
Ouincy, Adams county, W'iscon.sin. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Trumbull ti\"e children l!a\e been 
born, of whom four are living, named in. the 
order of birth as follows : Roy. burn No- 
vember 28, 1875; Allen, born No\"ember 7, 
1878; Helen, born October 6, 1882; Sybil, 
born May 12. 1885. These children are all 
at home and form a pleasant and intelligent 
family circle. ~Sh. Trumbull is a Republican 
in politics, and uses his franchise in the in- 
terest of that party. He is much interested 
in matters of a public nature, and is an earn- 
est adherent of the principles of good go\'- 
ernnient. He is not an ot¥lce seeker, and his 
intiuence is therefore very effective with his 
friends and accjuaintances. His honesty and 
integrity have won for him the esteeni of all, 
and these, combined with his industry and 
able management, ha\e made him the pos- 
sessor of a valuable prijpertv. 



HUGH JA:\nESOX, Dece.^sed. 

In the preparation of a biographical rec- 
ord of Columbia county it would be ac- 
counted incomplete if proper representation 
were not made of this old Scotch gentle- 
man, pioneer and representative business 
man. 

Hugh Jamieson was born in Underbill, 
parish of Loudon, Ayrshire, Scotland, May 
15, 1829, and died at Poynette, January 20, 
1899. He was a son of Hugh Jamieson and 



Janet Findlev. natives of Scotland, the fam- 
ily having been residents of that immediate 
portion of Scotland for the last four hun- 
dred years. Some of their ancestors were 
among the Covenanters who were subjected 
to persecutiiin on account of their religious 
principles, and later members of the family 
participated in public aftairs and exerted 
considerable influence in the community. 
Hugh Jamieson. the elder, died when the 
subject of this re\-iew was but two 3"ears old, 
and the mother, Mrs. Janet Jamieson, canie 
to ^^'isconsin, was a pioneer of the Wiscon- 
sin \'alley and died at Poynette, in April, 
1865, at the age of four score and eight 
years. She was a daughter of John Find- 
Icy, of \\'oo(_lhead, ]5arish of Loudon, and 
was the mother of two sons and two daugh- 
ters, as follows: Janet (Mrs. Robert Wil- 
son), Agnes (Mrs. Thomas Mair), John 
and Hugh. 

Hugh Jamieson was educated in his 11a- 
tive country and while a boy had the good 
fortune to be received by the Queen of Eng- 
land. In 1848 he came to the United States, 
and spent a short time in Jefferson county, 
\\'isconsin. While there he was engaged in 
teaming, making several trips to Milwau- 
kee and various Iuml)er districts of Wiscon- 
sin. September 14, 1849, he bought one 
hundred and sixty acres of wild land, upon 
which a portion of the present village of 
Poynette is located, for which he paid three 
hundred and twenty dollars. A year or two 
later he located on this land, his first resi- 
dence being a small log cabin. He later ac- 
Cjuired more lands, and at one time owned 
over one thousand acres, including several 
of the best farms in Columbia count\". the 
products for some }"ears being marketed by 
team in Milwaukee and the Wisconsin pin- 
eries. 

In addition to his farming operations 
he conducted for some sixteen years the 
Ensniinger Hotel at Poynette, at which place 



666 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



he also erected the first grain elevator and 
for a number of years dealt successfully in 
produce, lumber and agricultural imple- 
ments, most of these enterprises being still 
continued by his sons. He organized the 
Bank of Poynette, one of the most substan- 
tial financial institutions of Columbia coun- 
ty, of which he was president during the 
balance of his life. 

He was married. No\-ember 9, 1851, to 
Miss Lucy Thomas, a nati\e of Cambridge, 
Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and a 
daughter of Samuel B. and Samantha (Jack- 
son) Thomas, natives of Hindsdale. Berk- 
shire county, Massachusetts. The paternal 
grandfather of Mrs. Jamieson, Samuel B. 
Thomas, was liorn in \\'orcester county, 
Massachusetts, while the father came from 
Cornwall, England. INIrs. Samantha Thomas 
and her mother, whose maiden name was 
]\Iartha Rhoades, were born in Berkshire 
county, Massachusetts. Samuel B. Thomas, 
father of Mrs. Jamieson, became a pioneer 
of Wisconsin in 1848, settling at Ivnappen's 
(jro\-e. He afterwards removed to Missouri, 
where he attained the age of eighty-eight 
years.. His son, John Thomas, was the first 
merchant at Poynette and also the first post- 
master. He suggested the name in honor of 
Paucpiette, the famous Indian fur trader ar 
Fort \\'innebago. but by erri^ir on the i^art 
of the ]X)Stal authorities at \\'ashington the 
name was corrupted to the name of Poy- 
nette. 

To the union of Mr. and ^Mrs. Janiie- 
scn were born nine children, seven of whom 
are living, as follows: Hugh I^.. the first 
white child born in the village of Poynette ; 
William W. ; Addison J. ; Samantha Janet 
(Mrs. E. E. Hinkson) ; John C. ; Samuel, 
railway agent at Arlington, Wisconsin ; and 
Amy \'. (Mrs. Eric Johnson). 

The Jamieson family were reared in the 
fi.ith and are earnest supporters of the Pres- 
bvterian denomination. Referring again to 



the subject of this article, we find a man of 
great energy, determination and remarkalile 
business capacity, and wherever known was 
accredited as a man of the most strict in- 
tegrity. He was a member of the Masonic 
fraternity and his right of suffrage was cast 
in support of the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party, in which organization he was 
for many years a leader and earnest advo- 
cate. In the death of Hugh Jamieson the 
county of Columbia lost one of her highly- 
respected and influential citizens, while the 
family continues prominent in business and 
social circles. 



NELS PAULSON. 

Nels Paulson, who, with his son, Edward, 
conducts one of the finest farms in Strong's 
Prairie township, Adams county, is a for- 
eign born citizen, but since taking up his 
residence in America he has contributed to 
the growth and upbuilding of her better in- 
terests, and can be truly classed among the 
public-spirited men of his community. He 
has followed the occupation of a farmer 
for over forty years, and has gleaned a 
knowledge of his calling which makes his 
judgment sure, and he is a gentleman of 
broad mind and excellent habits and is 
willingly accorded the esteem of bis fellow 
men. 

Mr. Paulson was born in Norway, Janu- 
ary 23, 1828, and was the son of Paul and 
Paulina (Johnson) Paulson, who were farm- 
ers in their native land and remained there 
during their lives. Our subject was given 
as good an education as was afiforded the 
youth of that time, and at the age of sixteen 
years learned the carpenter's trade, at which 
he worked until 1855. With a young man's 
desire to see more of the world he came to 
America in that year, and located in Chester 
township. Dodge county, Wisconsin, where 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



667 



he ])lied his trade for about seven years. 
He then purcliased a farm in Fond chi Lac 
count_v, remaining there about fifteen }-ears, 
after which he mo\-ed to l\ud()l])h, Wood 
county, and conducted farming in that coun- 
ty al)Out ten years. He purchased liis jjres- 
ent farm in Strong's Prairie tnwushi)), in 
1887, and has since resided thereon. The 
farm comprises three hundred and sixty 
acres, and he lias succeeded in clearing for 
cultivation about two hundred acres, and in 
company with his son engages in general 
farming. 

Air. Paulson \\as married to Dorotha 
Christianson, da--ghter of Elling and (".u- 
hne Christianson, of Dodge county, W'is- 
consin. One child was born tn liless the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Paulson, a son, 
Edward. He has always resided with his 
parents, and was given a good education. 
He has spent his life working with his fa- 
ther, with the exception of three years, when 
he was attending the Luther College at De- 
corah, Iowa. He was married, April 17, 1881, 
toSigridReierson, daughter of Germund and 
Gunnil Reierson, of Numedal, Xorwav, \vho 
came to tlie United States in iS6_', and liu-at- 
ed in Strong's Prairie. To this uninn iif Ed- 
v,"ar(l and Sigrid Paulson eight children have 
been born, seven of wlmm are living, as fol- 
l(.\\s: Xels, (jermun, Dorotha, Salmar, (ius- 
ta\-, Maria and Martha. '1 hev are an in- 
telligent family of children and all are at 
home with their parents on the Immestead 
farm. 

B(_)th our subject and his son are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran church, and in political 
sentiment are Republicans. 'Mr. Paulson. 
Sr., is not an active worker for his party, 
but his son takes an active interest in po- 
htical movements, and attends as delegate 
many state and county conventions of the 
party. He has held various local offices of 
trust, including townshi]) clerk, treasurer 
arid chairman of the board. The father and 



son are able, representative citizens of the 
ci immunity in which they reside, and the 
township (if Strong's Prairie may well be 
proud to number them among the influential 
men. 



HORACE S. OBRION. 

Horace S. Obrinn, one of the foremost 
citizens of the tnwn of Fountain Prairie, 
Columbia comity, was liorn in Dundee, 
Vates county, New York, March i, 1841, 
and l)y industry, thrift and honest deahng 
with the public has accumulated a very com- 
fortable fortune. He stands high in the es- 
timation of the ])ublic, and is ]jassing the 
closing years of an himorable career in peace 
and comfort. 

John Obrii.in, the father of Horace S.. 
was a native of Xew York, and married 
Jane Margaret Kress, also Ixirn in the same 
state. His grandfather was born in Ireland, 
and married an English woman. He was 
a wheelwright by trade, while his wife's 
people were largely farmers. He came west 
in 1844, and settled in Cnlumbia county, 
making his home fur a \'ear at Columbus. 
In 1845 he took up iine hundred and twenty 
acres of go\-ernment land in Fountain 
Prairie, and here he held I'lis residence until 
his death, which occurred Xo\-eml)er 20, 
1856. His widow sur\i\-ed him many years, 
anfl remained on the old farm until the day 
of her death, August 19. 1884. They were 
the parents of six children : Myron died 
X^ovember 19, 1883 ; Ida did not live out her 
childhood ; Ann married Reuben Arner, and 
has her home at Elrov, Wisconsin ; Jennie 
is the wife nf William Kann, and li\'es at the 
same [jlace. 

Horace S. was educated in the common 
schools of the neighborhoiid, and was enter- 
ir.g u])on his \-oung manhimd at the outbreak 
of the Ci\il war. His mother offered to 
send him awav tu school, but he had the 



668 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



patriotic impulse tliat dominated the loyal 
north so strongly and determined to enlist 
in the Union army. He was mustered into 
the Thirty-second Regiment, Wisconsin 
\ olunteer Infantry, August ii, 1862, and 
with his regiment went directly to Memphis, 
Tennessee, where he was soon attached to 
the command of General Grant. The winter 
was spent on the skirmish line and in pur- 
suit of Marmaduke and Forrest. The regi- 
ment was in no battle of ao}- importance 
until the last year of the war, when it took 
part in General Sherman's memorable 
"march to the sea." After the surrender 
of General Johnston the regiment was 
marched to Washington to take part in the 
"Grand Review," the most memorable mili- 
tary pageant ever witnessed on this con- 
tinent. There Mr. Obrion was mustered out 
about June i, 1865, and immediately re- 
turned to Wisconsin. During the war he 
luid risen to the rank of first sergeant, and 
had manifested much ability and courage as 
a soldier. The arts of war had, however, 
no attraction for him, and he gladly em- 
braced the opportunity to engage once more 
in peaceful labors. 

Mr. Ubrion was marrietl, August 20, 
1865, at Arena, \Visconsin, to Angelia 
Fiero. whose home was at Danville, Dodge 
county, Wisconsin. Her parents had moved 
to Winnebago City, Minnesota, and she was 
making her home with her sister, awaiting 
the home-coming of her future husband. 
She was the daughter of Stephen and Lany 
Fiero, and was born ]\Iay 10, 1842, in 
Mentz, Cayuga county. New York. Her 
parents were probably native to the same 
state, but her grandparents were Holland 
born. They had a family of ten children, of 
whom only three are living: Mrs. Margaret 
Hatch, Mrs. Mary Jane Huntington, of 
Minneapolis, and Mrs. Horace Obrion. 
Stephen Fiero brought his family to Michi- 
gan in 1848, and was a farmer there until 



1855. That year he settled at Danville, 
Wisconsin. Mrs. Fiero died in Minnesota 
in 1863, and Islv. Fiero in the same state 
fourteen years later. 

Horace Obrion settled down on the old 
farm after his marriage, and has made it 
his home until the present time. He has 
taken a prominent position in local affairs 
almost from the first, and has served as a 
member of the town board of supervisors 
for many years, and has frequently been 
chairman of the organization. He is a 
strong Republican, though his father was a 
Democrat. He belongs to the Aloderu 
\Voodmen of America, and has been banker 
of that order. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Fall River Methodist church, ami 
he has ser\-ed it as a steward for more than 
thirty years. There are six children in the 
family : Minnie is the wife of Dr. F. D. 
Hunt, of Fall River; Mabel is Mrs. R. D.' 
Evans, and lives in the same place; Sidney 
S. married Alice Foster, and is living at 
DeSmet, South Dakota; \\'alter is a tele- 
graph operator, and is at home with his 
parents ;Ethel assists in the home duties ; and 
Frnest is in the junior j^ear of the Colum- 
bus high school. Mr. and Mrs. Obrion are 
pleasant, sociable people, and are well thought 
of in the community. She could easily es- 
tablish her membership in the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, and he is very 
sure his grandfather fought in that great 
struggle. Both families have always been 
faithful to their country's need, and on 
every occasion ha\e furnished their full 
quota of soldiers. 



JAMES ASAHEL STONE. 

James Asahel Stone, one of the leading- 
attorneys and prominent business men of 
Sauk county, Wisconsin, now located at 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



669 



Keedsburg, was born in Smitlitield, Madison 
county. New York, December i, 1856, and 
is a son of Captain James Riley and Pamela 
Coe (Ellinwood) Stone. The father was 
also a native of Smithfield and his ancestors 
were from Connecticut. During the dark 
days of the Rebellion, he recruited Com- 
pany F, of the One Hundred and Fifty- 
seventh New York Volunteer Infantry, and 
was commissioned captain of his company, 
being mustered in as such September ig. 
1862. Among the engagements in which 
he participated were the battles of Chancel- 
lorsville and Gettysburg, and at the latter 
he was taken prisoner. After one year spent 
in Libby prison, during which time he en- 
dured untold hardships, he was transferred 
to Alacon, Georgia, where he died August 
12, 1864, at the age of forty years. He was 
a brave soldier and was greatly respected 
by his men as well as his fellow officers. 
Prior to entering the army he engaged in 
farming and working at the stone mason'.'^ 
trade, and many monuments of his skill and 
handiwork are still to be seen at Peterboro, 
New York. His wife was also a native of 
Madison county, New York, and a daughter 
of George W. Ellinwood, a prominent citizen 
of that locality, who was engaged in farming 
and hotel keeping, and also served as justice 
of the peace for some years. The Ellin- 
wood family is of Scotch-Irish lineage. 

The preliminary education of our sub- 
ject was obtained in the common school and 
Evans Academy, of Peterboro, New York. 
In the winter of 1869-70 he came with his 
mother to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and locat- 
ed on a farm, to the cultivation of which he 
devoted his energies through the summer 
months, while in the winter he attended the 
Reedsburg high school, where he was grad- 
uated in 1875. Subsequently he attended the 
Oshkosh Normal School for one term, and 
for two years was a student at the State 
University. Later he studied law with Judge 



Stevens and R. P. Perry, of Reedsburg, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1889, since 
which time he has successfully engaged in 
general practice. He spent five years in Pot- 
ter and Sully counties. South Dakota, locat- 
ing settlers, conducting contests, etc., and 
still owns a claim there. Since his return 
to Reedsburg he has built up a large and 
lucrative practice, and in connection with 
his professional duties he is more or less 
interested in the insurance and collection 
business. He was one of the incorporators 
of the State Bank of that place, for which 
he acts as attorney. 

Mr. Stone was married, April 19, 1884, 
to Miss Minnie Louise Corwith, a daughter 
of Silas W. and Anna L. (Albrecht) Cor- 
with, of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. Her 
father died in Reedsburg, June 2~, 1894, 
at the age of nearly seventy-eight years, but 
her mother, who was born in Doelleda, 
Germany, is still living in Reedsburg, at the 
age of sixty-three. Mrs. Stone was born in 
Troy township, Sauk county, March 6, 

1857- 

Mr. and Mrs. Stone have three children : 
Anna Louise, James Riley and Millie Coe. 

Mr. Stone has always taken a deep in- 
terest in educational affairs. He served two 
terms as city superintendent of schools, and 
three years as member of the board of edu- 
cation. He is now a member of the board 
of directors of the free public library, of 
Reedsburg, which was established by his 
earnest effort, combined with other public- 
spirited citizens. 

His family attend the Presbyterian 
church. In social bodies he is a member oi 
Maplewood Camp, No. 470, M. W. A., and 
its presiding officer; is a member of Reeds- 
burg Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and has taken 
the chapter degrees in ]\Iasonry. Both he 
and wife belong to Queen of Shelja Chapter, 
O. E. S., at Reedsburg. 

Politically he is identified with the Re- 



670 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



publican party, and (October, 1900) is the 
nominee for tlie assembly for the second dis- 
trict in Sauk county. For four years he has 
creditably filled the office of city attorney of 
Reedsburg. 

He holds and merits a place among the 
representative legal, practitioners and citi- 
zens of Reedsburg, and is a pleasant, affable 
gentleman who makes many friends. 



STEPHEN HUNGERFORD. 

Stephen Hungerford, who now makes 
his home with his son in Dell Prairie town- 
ship, Adams county, haying retired from 
the struggles and cares of a busy life, was 
for many years connected with the agri- 
cultural interests of Adams county. He 
owned a considerable tract of land lying 
partly in that and partly in Columbia coun^ 
ty, and carried on farming on a respectable 
scale. In 1900 he disposed of his place and 
sought the rest a long and active career had 
earned for him. 

Mr. Hungerford was born near Fulton, 
Oswego county, New York, September 29, 
1 81 8, and was the son of Eleazer and Har- 
riet M. OVaterhouse) Hungerford. The 
family settled in New York in an early day 
and became worthy citizens of that state. 
The father engaged in sailing a vessel on 
Lake Ontario for a number of years, but 
on account of ill health gave up that occu- 
pation at the time of his marriage. The 
father died about 1869 and was laid to rest 
in Oswego county, New York. 

Until nineteen years of age our subject 
■was bound out to farm work for a term of 
years, and uix)n attaining his majority he 
was employed by the state of New York as 
salt inspector, at Syracuse. During this 
time he also followed blacksmithing and car- 
riage making, in which work he continued 



for alxtut six years. \\'hen thirty-one years 
of age he went to California, via the Isth- 
mus, wdiich he crossed on foot, and then 
taking a steamer for San Francisco, the en- 
tire trip taking about six months. He en- 
gaged in mining in that state with varied 
success, and after four and one-half years, 
in 1854, returned to New York, and after 
a brief stay left for Kinderhook, Branch 
county, Michigan, where he purchased land 
and began farming. He followed farming 
there nine years, and then disposed of his 
interests, and in April, 1864, came to 
Adams county, Wisconsin, where he carried 
01: farming until 1900 when, as stated, he 
sold out and reniox-ed to Dell J-'rairie town- 
ship. 

Mr. Hungerford was married June i^,, 
1843, to Lydia M, Root, daughter of Free- 
dom and Sally ( Crippen) Root, of Lysander, 
Onondaga county, New York. Mrs. Hun- 
gerford's father v,as a prominent hotel 
keeper of that place, and his tleath occurred 
in i860, and the mother passed away in 
1843. To Mr. and Mrs. Hungerfonl the 
following children were born : Mar^•, now 
Mrs. M. .V. Rublee, of Kilbourn, Wiscon- 
sin; Henry, now in Washington; Orvil died 
Feliruary J4, 1894, and was buried at Sib- 
ley, Iowa; Charles, farming in Washington; 
Fred, farming in Dell Prairie township; 
Frank, now Mrs. L. B. Dunton, of Dundee, 
Illinois; and Lonis, farming at White Creek, 
Adams county. Airs. Stephen Ilungei'-ford 
died July 24, 1900, and lies l)urietl in Spring 
Gro\'e cemetery, Kilbourn. 

Mr. Hungerford is one of the iniblic- 
spirited men of his community, and despite 
liis eighty-two years is still greatl}' inter- 
ested in the welfare of the people. He fol- 
lows public affairs and keeps posted on the 
issues under daily discussion, and is a gen- 
tleman who is strong in his convictions. 
He is a memlier of the Popuhst party in 
political sentiment, and along the lines of his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



671 



party takes an active interest, but does not 
seek ])iil)lic otilice : lie stands as a prominent 
memlier of tlie farming community, where 
he lias chosen to reside for so many years. 
His career has lieen one of usefulness and 
activity, and he is passing his declining 
years amid those who honor the characteris- 
tics which have dominated his life. 



PETER WILLIAMS. 

Peter Williams is one of the best-known 
citizens of Cambria, having been a resident 
of that place nearly all the time for more 
tlian half a centiu'v. During the greater jiart 
of this period he has served the people in 
some official or business capacity and his con- 
duct of these affairs has been such as to merit 
and receive the approbation of his associates. 

Mr. Williams is a native of Wales, born 
to Thomas and Jane (Andrew) Williams at 
Penmachno, Caernarvonshire, on the 17th 
day of December, 1831. At the age of 
fourteen years, his father having died, he 
was apprenticed to learn the tailor's trade. 
Having served three years thereat, in 1849 
lie crossed the ocean and came to Wiscon- 
sin. In the meantime his mother had mar- 
ried Mr. Owen R. Roberts and the family 
had settled in Columbia county in 1847. 
After spending a few 3'ears with them upon 
a farm in the town of Courtland, Peter 
started out to seek his fortune. Tailoring- 
had never been congenial to his tastes and he 
endeavored to find some other work, but as 
his entire cash capital consisted of twenty- 
five cents, he was constrained to accept em- 
ployment in a tailor shop at Beaver Dam 
at the princely salary of eight dollars per 
month, though his services soon commanded 
better remuneration. During the next few 
years he visited various places in Wiscon- 
sin and worked at several different pur- 



suits without materially improving his cir- 
cumstances, but accjuiring some useful ex- 
perience. In the spring of 1854 he opened 
the first tailor shop in Cambria and con- 
ducted the same for twenty-five j-ears or 
more, receiving the patronage of the best 
citizens of that village. In .the meantime 
he devoted his intervals of leisure to reading 
law and in 1880 he was admitted to the 
bar. He began practice in partnership with 
A. Scott Sloan, then secretary of state for 
Wisconsin, who was for many years an in- 
timate friend of Mr. Williams. Since that 
time he has devoted most of his attention 
to this profession thi:)Ugh simultaneously fill- 
ing one or more official positions almost 
constantlv. Eor many years he has Ijeen a 
justice of the peace, and it should be men- 
tioned to his credit that it has been his policy 
to discourage rather than to promote litiga- 
tion among a people who are naturally in- 
clined to preserve order and harmony in 
their relations one to another. He has also 
served as town clerk, president of the vil- 
lage, postmaster and member of the coun- 
t}' boartl of super\'isors. In 1888 he 
was elected clerk of the court for Co- 
lumbia county. Two 3'ears later he was re- 
elected by the popular vote, but was unable 
to hold the office, owing to a technicality. 
He has been a promoter of many useful 
measures calculated to advance the interests 
of the town and county, and has conscien- 
tiously discharged every trust reposed in 
him by the people. He has been a consist- 
ent supporter of Republican principles from 
the inception of that party, having cast his 
first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont 
in 1856. In 1895 Governor Upham ap- 
pointed him agent for the Wisconsin School 
for Dependent Children, at Sjjarta, which po- 
sition he filled for eighteen months. 

Mr. Williams has erected two of the most 
substantial and attractive brick buildings 
upon the main street of Cambria, and is a 



672 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



stockholder of Cambria Music Hall. While 
he has been too liberal, and honest to accumu- 
late a fortune,hehas been reasonably success- 
ful in a business way and there is probajjly no 
n-.an in Cambria who enjoys a greater degree 
of the public confidence. An honored 
member of the Masonic fraternity, he has 
filled the principal chairs in Cambria Lodge, 
and is connected* with Fort Winnebago 
Chapter at Portage. 

No\-ember 24, 1856, he secured a help- 
mate upon life's journey in the person of 
Miss Eleanor Owens, daughter of Owen S. 
and Grace (Jones) Owens. This estimable 
lady was born at Bethesda, C?ernarvonshire, 
Wales, and came to Columbia county with 
her parents in 1847, settling in the town of 
Springvale. Evan Jones, maternal grand- 
father of Mrs. Williams, was a harper and 
attained remarkable skill in that profession. 
During the greater part of his life he was 
employed to play in an inn at Csergybi, near 
the foot of Snowdon, which was frequented 
by tourists from England and other parts 
of Europe. Of eight children born to Mr. 
ard Mrs. Williams, but two survived the 
period of infancy, but eight grandchildren 
delight their hearts. Their only son, Owen 
Caradoc, is a well-known business man of 
Cambria, and their daughter, Jennie, is the 
wife of Thomas A. Sanderson, of Minne- 
apolis. 



JOHN BROWN NORTON. 

John Brown Norton, one of the pioneer 
printers and publishers of Wisconsin, is now- 
living retired after a long, busy and useful 
life at Baraboo. His identification with 
"the art preservative of all arts" dates from 
his seventh year ami from that time until he 
laid aside business cares in 1880 he was in 
some way connected with the publishing 
business. 



Mr. Norton was born in Mt. Zion, Han- 
cock county, Georgia, in August, 1826, a 
son of Jacob and Harriet (Holbrook) Nor- 
ton, both natives of Weymouth, Massachu- 
setts. The father was a lineal descendant 
of Rev. John Norton, the founder of the 
first church in Hingham, Massachusetts, 
which structure is still standing and is now 
the oldest church in the United States. He 
was a nephew of Rev. John Norton, who 
came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1635, 
and after jareaching there for one year went 
t(5 Boston, and for many years was pastor 
of the first church there, it being the pred- 
ecessor of the famous Old South Church. 
Rev. Jacob Norton, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was a graduate of Harvard College 
and a fellow student and relative of J. Q. 
Adams. For the long period of forty-three 
years he was pastor of one church in Wey- 
mouth, Massachusetts. He married Eliza- 
beth Cranch, daughter of Judge William 
Cranch, of Boston, and a niece of Abigail 
Smith, who became the wife of President 
John Adams. All his sons, with one ex- 
ception, were graduates of Harvard. 

Jacob Norton, father of our subject, 
served as a lieutenant in the war of 1812, 
and took part in the campaign about Lake 
Champlain. He was one of the most ex- 
pert swordsmen of his day. Li early life 
lie learned the printer's trade with Lincoln 
& Edmunds, one of the oldest publishing- 
firms of Boston, and later he carried on a 
book printing establishment of his own. 
About 1 81 8 he went to Georgia and for 
twelve years or more was editor and pro- 
prietor of the "Hancock County Advertiser." 
He then located in Lowell, Massachusetts, 
where he engaged in the book and job print- 
ing business until his death. Subsequently, 
about 1850, his widow came to Wisconsin 
and died in Prairie du Sac, Sauk county, at 
the advanced age of eighty-six years. When 
a young woman she sang in the choir of 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



(573 



Dr. William E. Channing's church at Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts. Her father, Jolm Hol- 
brook, was an extensive dealer and manu- 
facturer of boots, shoes and furs at Boston, 
removed to St. Louis, Missouri, at an early 
•day and erected the first brick house in that 
city. 

John B. Norton, of this review, spent 
the greater part of his boyhood in Lowell, 
Massachusetts, and there acquired his early 
education. At the age of seven years he 
began setting type, and after having thor- 
oughly mastered the printer's trade he went 
to New York City, where he was in the em- 
ploy of Harper Brothers for a number of 
years. Had his health permitted him to re- 
main longer with that firm he was to have 
been made assistant superintendent of their 
establishment. Li 1855 he came to Prairie 
du Sac, Wisconsin, and spent two years on a 
farm recuperating. He then went to Madi- 
son and secured an interest in the "State 
Journal," which he retained for nearly a 
quarter of a century. During this time the 
office furnished to Anson Kellogg, of the 
"Baraboo Republic," the first "insides," so 
called, ever printed in the Lhiited States. 
While connected with the "Journar' Mr. 
Norton was state printer for a time. Owing 
to failing health he severed his connection 
with the paper in 1880, and lived for sev- 
eral years in retirement at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, but is now a resident of Bara- 
boo, Wisconsin. Before coming to this state 
he started the first steam press in Savannah, 
Georgia, and the second in that state. 

In 1848 Mr. Norton married Miss Caro- 
line M. T. Fowler, a native of Andover, 
New Hampshire, and a daughter of Joseph 
and Nancy (Leavitt) Fowler, of Lowell, 
Massachusetts. Her maternal grandfather, 
Major Jonathan Leavitt, served from the 
beginning until the close of the Revolution- 
ary war, taking part in many engagements 
on both land and sea. He was with the army 



during the famous winter at Valley Forge. 
He died at Conway, New Hampshire, at the 
advanced age of ninety-four years. The 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Norton are 
as follows: Claude R., a [ihysician of Phila- 
delphia, Penns},'l\-ania ; John Jacob, a resi- 
dent of Rome, New York, and was secretary 
and treasurer of the Rome Gas and Electric 
Light Company for many years, now special 
agent for an extensive Nicaraguan enter- 
prise; Carrie Fowler, wife of Dr. C. H. 
Hall, of Madison, Wisconsin ; and David 
A., who died August 20, 1892, soon after 
his graduation from the University of Penn- 
sylvania, at Philadelphia. 

Socially Mr. Norton afliliatcs with the 
Masonic fraternity and Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and politically is identi- 
fied with the Republican party, though at 
local elections he sometimes votes inde- 
pendent of party ties. He is widely and 
favorably known throughout the state and 
has a host of warm friends in Sauk county. 



CURTIS B. NEFF. 

Curtis B. Neff, residing on section 28, 
in Easton township, is one of the pioneer 
settlers of Adams county. He has engaged 
in the pursuit of agriculture the greater 
part of his life, and to his efforts much of 
the present solid prosperity of his vicinity 
is due. He came to Adams county when it 
was a wilderness and has assisted in trans- 
forming it into one of the most thriving 
agricultural districts in \Visconsin. His 
home is one of pleasant surroundings 
and he has added modern improvements and 
prospered in his chosen calling, and is now 
one of the substantial men of his community. 
It is through his perseverance and honest 
dealings that he has acquired a fortune, and 
is supplied with the comforts of life. 



674 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mr. Neff was I)orn July 12, 1823, at 
Cortland, Xew Y(_irk, and was the son of 
Isaac and Polly (Black) Neff, of Dutch de- 
scent. The family resided near the Mohawk 
river many years and the father was a 
farmer. They went to Lake Mills, Jeffer- 
son county, Wisconsin, about 185 1 or 1852 
and took up land on which the father en- 
gaged in farming until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1889, aged ninety-five years. 
The mother survived him fi\e years and died 
at the age of ninety-one or ninet\"-t\\o years, 
and both were buried at Lake Mills. 

In the famih- of nine children our sub- 
ject was the fifth in order of l)irth. He 
went to Jefferson county one year later than 
his parents, and purchased forty acres of 
land near Lake Mills, where he stayed about 
eight years. He came to Easton, Adams 
county, on a hunting expedition and the 
creek and general appearance of the coun- 
try pleased him and he disposed of his in- 
terests in Jefferson county and pre-empted 
one hundred and twenty, acres of land in 
section 28, which is his present home farm. 
He has con\'erted it into a well-improved 
farm and most of the land is under culti- 
vation. 

Mr. Neff was married in December, 
1847, to Nancy L. Frink, daughter of 
George and Esther (Brown) Frink, of Lake 
Mills, who came to Wisconsin from New 
York. Mrs. Neff died June 18, 1873. Six 
children, five of whom are living, were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Neff, as follows : Caroline, 
now Mrs. L. Lampher, of Easton; Henry, 
engaged in farming in Easton township; 
William, mining in California; Laura, re- 
siding at home; and George, farming at 
home. 

Mr. Neft' stands for the principles of the 
Republican party. He has lent his influence 
for the upbuilding of Adams county, and is 
prominent in the farming community where 
he has resided so many years. He has held 



various township offices of trust, and in every 
instance dischargetl his duties faithfully and 
well. He has labored hard throughout his 
career, and during his younger days had 
little opportunity to gain an education, but 
through his own eft'orts he has acquired a 
good education and is well read and keeps 
abreast of the times. To such men the com- 
munity owes a debt of gratitude for the 
part they ha\e taken in the advance of civili- 
zation, and the community of Easton town- 
ship willingly accurds this gentleman the 
highest esteem. 



J/iMES FRANCIS FORREST. 

James Francis Forrest, a well-known 
farmer of the town of Arlington, Columbia 
county, also possesses a noteworthy me- 
chanical skill and ingenuity. He is a man 
ot decided business ability. He makes fruit 
raising and pigeons a specialty, and gives his 
farm much care and thought, and demands 
that it should give corresponding results. 
He belongs to one of the pioneer families 
of the county, being the son of William For- 
rest, a native of Lanarkshire, Scotland, 
whose parents died in that country during 
his boyhood. When grown to manhood he 
came to the United States and lived for a 
time in \'ermont. About 1850 he came to 
Wisconsin, and located in the town of Ar- 
lington. He built the first house in "Pine 
Hollow," and at the same time he purchased 
land in section 10, of the same town. There 
he made his home from 1863 to his death, 
January 11, 1894, at the age of seventy- 
seven )'ears, ten months and twenty-nine 
days. He was a successful farmer, and the 
owner of one hundred and sixty acres of 
land, which he had thoroughly improved. 
He was a Democrat, but never an office 
seeker. He married Miss Marion Brown- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



075 



lee, a native of Carluke, Lanarksliire, Scot- 
land, and a daugliter of Alexander and 
Marion (Liglitbody) Brownlee, her mother 
springing from an old and aristocratic fam- 
ily. Mrs. Marion Forrest died November 
30, 1892, at the age of seventy-six years, 
three months and seventeen days. She was 
the motlier of five ciiildren : Marion, Mrs. 
John W'. \\'rig"ht, of Baraboo, Wisconsin; 
Agnes and Jean, of Poynette ; Ehzabetli, 
the wife of W'ilHam Axon, of Lodi, Wis- 
c(jnsin ; and James F. 

James Francis Forrest was born in the 
town of Arhngton, Cohunbia county, Wis- 
consin, April 28, 1863, and the farm that 
is now his home, and which he is cultivat- 
ing with so much success, is also his birth- 
place. Here he spent his boyhood, and at- 
tended the public schools, finishing at Poy- 
nette and at Madison. He is a natural me- 
chanic, and has devised many labor-saving 
appliances, which he operates with a station- 
ary engine. He is constantly called upon to 
repair farming implements for his neighbors, 
and among other things has invented and 
constructed a very practical manure- 
spreader. He has also made several clocks, 
of a curious and complicated pattern, and 
does considerable fine scroll work. 

Mr. Forrest and Miss Mabel Chipman 
were married May 14, 1896. She is a 
daughter of George and Martha (Taylor) 
Chipman, of whom mention is made in the 
sketch of W. R. Chipman, published in this 
volume. The grandmother of Mrs. Forrest, 
Mrs. Achsa Taylor, is an estimable lady of 
ninety-seven years, and makes her home with 
Mr. and Mrs. Forrest, where she is sur- 
rounded with an atmosphere of tender and 
venerating lo\e. She was born in New 
Hampshire. James Francis Forrest and 
wife are the parents of one child, Nellie, a 
sweet and winsome little girl, born Novem- 
ber I, 1897. The family are connected with 
the Presbyterian church at Poynette, and are 



counted among the best people in this section 
of the county. Mr. Forrest has lieen a Pro- 
hibitionist from boyhood. 



ROYAL AVERS, Dece.xsed. 

Royal Ayers, deceased, was for many 
years recognized as one of the leading citi- 
zens of Fairfield township, Sauk county, 
Wisconsin, and he is still remembered by 
the older residents of this portion of the 
county as a man of indomitable force of 
character. He was horn at Rockingham, 
Vermont, March 27, 1824, and died in the 
township of Fairfield, June 25, 1891, and 
within these limits lived a useful and hon- 
orable life. He was a son of Moses and 
Abigail (Proctor) Ayers, and a descendant 
of John Ayers, who was born in Notting- 
liam, England, in 1592, and came to Massa- 
chusetts in 1637, and was the founder of 
the family in America. Moses Ayers was 
a native of Concord, New Hampshire, where 
h.c was born in 1790, dying in Putney, Ver- 
mont, when over seventy-eight years. 
Y^bigail Proctor was born in Washington, 
New .Hami^shire, and died at Putney, Ver- 
mont, when past ninety-seven years. Moses 
Ayers was a son of William Ayers, of 
Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was a veteran 
of the Revolutionary war, and married 
Mollie Reynolds, a daughter of Samuel 
"Runels," a prominent pioneer of Bradford, 
Massachusetts. 

Royal Ayers was one of a family of thir- 
teen children, of whom two died in infancy. 
Royal and three of his sisters became resi- 
dents of Sauk county. They were: Abbie, 
who married W. R. Glover, and lived in 
Greenfield township ; Martha married George 
W. Barnes and had her home in Fairfield 
townshi]); Louisa married O. G. Watkins, 
of Baraboo township, and is now dead. 



C76 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



Rlr. Avers went to Massachusetts wiien sev- 
enteen years of ag'e, and for the next ten 
years was mainly employed on the wharves 
at Weymouth. He was three years or more 
in Rockingham, Vermont, and in 1855 came 
to Wisconsin and located in Fairfield town- 
ship, where he bought two hundred acres of 
land, receiving for a portion of this a gov- 
ernment patent. He devoted his life to the 
improvement of this valuable tract, and made 
it one of the choicest farms of the county. 
And this farm was his home until his death. 
He was a believer in land, and at one time 
owned over six hundred acres. He was at 
different periods of his life engaged to a 
considerable extent in loaning money, and 
seldom made a misdeal. He was a vigorous 
and industrious man, possessed an excellent 
judgment and made his mark upon the com- 
mercial and business interests of Sauk 
county. He was a Republican, and always 
took an active interest in politics. For nine 
years he was chairman of the town board, 
holding that ofifice at the time of his death. 
He was a soldier in the Union army during 
the war of the Rebellion, enlisting February 
7. 1865, as a member of Company E, Forty- 
ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and 
was mustered out November 14, 1865. He 
was stationed at Rolla, and Benton Bar- 
racks, ]\Iissouri. 

Islx. Ayers and Miss Nancy Jackson were 
married November 9, 1848. She is a daugh- 
ter of Luther and Sally (Noyes) Jackson, 
and was born at Abington, Massachusetts. 
Her father was born near Plymouth Rock, 
and was a shoemaker by trade. He died at 
Abington, July 18, 1887, at the age of 
eighty-six. Mrs. Ayers is the mother of one 
son and four daughters: Lucy was born at 
Abington, Massachusetts, and died January 
22, 1863; Abbie E., born May 4, 1852, at 
Rockingham, Vermont, has taught fourteen 
years in the schools of Sauk county, and is 
now Mrs. Elwyn D. Kidder, of Harriman, 



Tennessee; Carrie Frances, born January 
3, 1857, is now Mrs. E. R. Thomas, of 
Fairfield township; Ella Vesta, born May 
19, 1859, is living on the homestead farm; 
Charles Jackson, born November 23, 1861, 
has always lived on the home farm, which he 
now owns. He has been a Prohibitionist 
from bo}'hood, and has no desire for offi- 
cial position. Mr. and Mrs. Ayers helped to 
organize the Fairfield Methodist church, and 
he was one of three contributors to pur- 
chasing a building for purposes of worship. 
The family is known as an intelligent and 
cultured one, and all its members are full 
of a high purpose in life. The son is a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, and was a Good 
Templ.ar as long as the order was maintained 
in Fairfield. 



SHERMAN COLBURN, Deceased. 

Sherman Colburn, deceased, was for 
many years prior to his death one of the 
leading farmers of Springville township, 
Adams county, and left an estate, which is 
one of the best in that community. The 
homestead is located on section 13, and his 
widow now makes her home there, with her 
two youngest children. Mr. Col.burn was 
an agriculturist for over thirty 3'ears, and 
was an earnest worker and well posted on 
general topics. He made a success of his 
vocation, and won the esteem of his fellow 
men. He was an ex-soldier, and no man 
ever entered the defense of his country with 
more loyalty and patriotism. His life was 
that of an honest man and public-spirited 
citizen, and he passed away mourned by 
many friends. 

Our subject was born in Fairfield, Ver- 
mont, April 16, 1825, and was the son of 
Hugh and Sylvia (Sherman) Colburn. His 
father lived in Vermont and was from an old 
established family of that state. He was a 
blacksmith by trade. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



G77 



Of a famil}- of four children oiir subject 
was the second in order of birth, and after 
the age of six years was reared by an aunt, 
Mrs. Barlow. He Hved with her until about 
twenty years of age, and attended school 
and received a fair education. He went 
to Boston about 1845 and learned the trade 
of currier, which he followed until about 
thirty years of age. He turned his steps 
toward the new west in 1855, and for sev- 
eral years was employed in the pineries of 
Wisconsin and later engaged in farming, 
spending twelve years on various farms. 
He then purchased his farm in section 13, 
Springville township, where he resided un- 
til his death. He enlisted in Company K, 
Thirty-eighth Wisconsin Infantry, and en- 
gaged in the siege of Vicksburg and numer- 
ous small skirmishes, and was discharged 
after about nine months' service. He was 
a true and bra\'e soldier and never once fal- 
tered when duty called. 

Mr. Colburn was married, June 10, 1856, 
to Elvira Bresee, daughter of Andrew and 
Mary Ann (Thomas) Bresee, of ■ Sutton, 
Quebec, who were of French Canadian de- 
scent. Eight children were born to bless 
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Colburn, as fol- 
lows: Edwin S., born November 29, 1859, 
now residing at Big Spring; Harvey B., born 
October 18, 1862, now farming in Dell 
Prairie township; Andrew \V., born March 
18, 1864, now engaged in farming in Ex- 
celsior township, Sauk county; William H., 
born April 21, 1867, now farming in Spring- 
ville township; Sylvia A., born November 
29, 1869, now Mrs. D. M. Shoff, of Easton; 
Evalette, born February 9, 1872, now Mrs. 
H. Reynolds, of Twin Villey; Frank, born 
October 18, 1874, now residing with his 
mother; and Ruby M., born February 15, 
1877, now at home. Mr. Colburn passed 
away at Springville, Adams county, Wis- 
consin, September 11, 1895. He was a 
prominent member of John Gillespie Post, 



G. A. R. He gained his competence through 

honesty, industry and perseverance, and 

was an exemplary husband, father and 
friend. 



MORITZ BERNHARDT ANACKER. 

Moritz Bernhardt Anacker, a prosper- 
ous farmer of Caledonia township, Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, has an interesting and 
romantic career. He was born in the village 
of Herrenbreitungen, Schmalkalden, Hesse 
Cassel, Germany, May 20, 1845, '^"d is a 
son of Christopher and Mary (Jaeger) 
Anacker. The mother died when our sub- 
ject was only four years old, and the father 
passed away in 1891, when over sixty years 
of age. Members of the Anacker family 
have been prosperous farmers and land own- 
ers in Herrenbreitungen for a number of 
centuries, the church at that place contain- 
ing records of the family as early as the 
eleventh century. That church, one of the 
oldest in Europe, was built of stone and slate 
in 1446, used by both denominations, Lu- 
therans and Reformers. Martin Luther 
was born near by. One hundred years pre- 
vious to that time all of the Anacker family 
at Herrenbreitungen died of a plague, which 
depopulated that and two adjacent villages. 
Their propert}-, however, was taken posses- 
sion of by descendants of an Anacker whose 
ancestors had moved to Switzerland about 
1 100. The great-grandfather of our sub- 
ject was Kolus Anacker, a wealthy farmer 
of Herrenbreitungen, and the grandfather 
was Henry Anacker, a highly educated and 
intiuential citizens of that place, who took 
great pains to search and preserve the rec- 
ords of his famil}'. 

Christopher Anacker, the father of our 
subject, was a man of considerable promi- 
nence in his community. Besides carrying 
on a large farm for some years, he operated 



678 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the town brewery and public house at Her- 
renbreitungen, where he filled some official 
positions. During: the war of 1866 between 
Prussia and Austria, he favored the Prus- 
sians, though his king, Frederick William 
\y, of Hesse-Cassel, was in sympathy with 
the Austrians. When the king attempted to 
fly to Switzerland with the war fund of 
about three million dollars, Mr. Anacker 
was instrumental in notifying the Prussians, 
who intercepted the treasure. Some of the 
Bavarian troops, who were allies of the 
Austrians, intended to capture ]\Ir. Anacker, 
because he had refused to sell them beer, and 
was denounced as the Prussians' friend, but 
escaped through a ruse of our subject, who 
di\-erted their attention and served them with 
beer. The next day, but one, the Bavarians 
were defeated in battle by the Prussians at 
Rossdorf. 

The subject of this sketch recei\'ed only 
a limited common-school education, Imt be- 
ing a prec(,>cious youth, he became well in- 
formed. At the age of thirteen years he 
went to live with his maternal grandfather, 
Moritz Jaeger, at Herrenbreitungen, who 
sent him to the high school in Schmalkal- 
den, for one year. While there he gained a 
good knowledge of the French language, 
and intended studying English, but did not 
remain long enough for that purpose on ac- 
count of sickness in the family. 

Failing to agree with his father and 
step-mother, Mr. Anacker came to America 
in 1866, leaving home at night, as he had 
been drawn as a conscript for the king's 
cavalry, the "Cuirassiers." One-fourth of 
the property which he was to inherit from his 
mother was confiscated by the government, 
and the rest he w^as beaten out of by his 
father's recklessness. Diligent efforts were 
made to apprehend him by the officers at 
Bremen, where he was delayed for a few 
days before taking a vessel. By the assist- 
ance of friends he succeeded in eluding the 



officers, though the vessel was searched after 
he embarked. Upon landing in New York 
he went to Rockford, Illinois, and soon after- 
ward came to Portage, Wisconsin, where 
he secured em])loyment in a hotel. About a 
year later he commenced working as a farm 
laborer in Caledonia township, and spent 
four years in that wav, carefully sa\'ing his 
\Aages until he was able to stock a rented 
farm, which he operated for three years. 
In 1875 he bought one hundred and sixty 
acres of his present farm on section 2^. Cal- 
edonia township, all of which was wild land 
when he purchased it, to which he has since 
added one hundred and forty acres. He 
spent four days in clearing a track through 
the woods to the spot where he wished to 
build his house. The place is now well im- 
proved with good buildings, is under a high 
state of cultivation, and watered by living 
springs. He has given considerable atten- 
tion to the breeding of Jersey cattle and 
other live stock, but in 1896 he had the 
misfortune to lose nearly all his stock by a 
contagious disease. However, he now has 
several head of fine thorough-bred Jersey 
and Durham cattle upon his farm. 

In the fall of 1871, having unexpectedly 
made arrangements to take possession of a 
rented farm, Mr. Anacker found it neces- 
sary to secure a housekeeper. The only 
young lady whom he considered eligible for 
that important position was a distant cousin, 
Miss Minnie Anacker, whom he had met 
but once or twice, but satisfactory arrange- 
ments were soon made, and they were united 
in marriage December 10, 1871, since which 
time they have traveled life's joirrney to- 
gether in harmony and tranquiUty. She was 
born in Herrenbreitungen, Germany, June 
30, 1852, and the following year was 
brought to this country by her parents, Gus- 
tave and Sabina (Eberlein) Anacker, who 
settled in Lewiston township, Columbia 
county, Wisconsin, where her father died in 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



679 



the fall of 1880, aged sixty-two years, her 
mother, L)eceml)er 6, 1868, aged tifty-one. 
Her paternal grandfather, George Anacker, 
was a brother of the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, Henry Anacker. To our subject and 
his wife have been born fifteen children, of 
whom two died in infancy. The others are 
Charles W. A., now a resident of Lime 
Springs, Iowa ; Christopher ^Vilham Otto, 
and Mary, wife of William S. Walter, also 
of Lime Sorings ; Minnie, wife of William 
S. H. Johnson, of Portage, Wisconsin; 
Amelia, of Lime Springs, \o\\a ; Anna, of 
Portage, \Visconsin : and Rosie, Bernhardt, 
Gustave, Henry, Edward, Margaret and 
Leonard, all at home. They also have three 
grandchildren. All of the children have been 
given good district-school educations. 

Mr. Anacker usually supports the Demo- 
cratic party, is an advocate of the gold 
standard, and keeps well informed on the 
questions of the day. He is widely and fa- 
vorably known, and has a host of warm 
friends in his community. 



ROBERT NEWTON BARTHOLOMEW. 

Robert Newton Bartholomew, Lodi, 
Wisconsin, is the oldest living pioneer of 
the Lodi valley, and through a long and use- 
ful career has been one of the most influen- 
tial citizens of this part of the county. He 
is a thoroughly honorable and upright man, 
kind and sympathetic in his spirit, and his 
entire business career has been marked by an 
unswerving integrity. He properly belongs 
to a record of the representative men of Co- 
lumbia county. 

Mr. Bartholomew was born at Lexing- 
ton, McLean county, Illinois, October 8, 
1834, and is a son of Marston Clark and 
Mary Hopkins Bartholomew. His father 
was born at Jeffersonville, Indiana, and his 
ancestors came from Burford, England, 



where the Bartholomew chapel has stood for 
fi\'e hundred years. William Bartholomew 
came to this country about 1690, and built 
a mill at Stony Creek, Connecticut, and there 
his descendants are still represented by sev- 
eral active and pushing business men. Gen- 
eral Joseph Bartholomew, the grandfather of 
the subject of this article, was born in New 
Jersey, March 15, 1766, and when he was 
two years old his family moved to Laurel 
Hill, Pennsvlvania. As soon as he was old 
enough to enter the Continental army he 
became a soldier, and fought against the In- 
dians and the Tories on the Pennsylvania 
frontiers. About 1795 he floated down the 
Ohio river and settled at "the falls," on the 
Kentucky shore, near the present site of 
Louisville. He remained there several years, 
and then crossed over into Indiana and en- 
gaged in farming near Charleston. In 181 1 
he was appointed a colonel in the Indiana 
troops, and served as second in command 
under General Harrison. He was wounded 
ir. the arm at the battle of Tippeca- 
noe, and never wholly recovered from 
its effects. On account of his conspicu- 
ous bravery in that battle he was ap- 
pointed brevet brigadier-general. When 
General Zach Taylor was besieged at Fort 
Harrison he joined a regiment raised for his 
relief and served as a private. At Vincennes 
he was placed in command of the expedition, 
owing to the illness of General Gibson, and 
it is said that the Indians fled as soon as they 
heard their old enemy was in command of 
the approaching forces. As a consequence 
of his brilliant conduct of this expedition he 
was made a major-general. In 1830 he 
moved to McLean county, Illinois. The 
country was then a wilderness and, in conse- 
quence of the outbreak of the Black Hawk 
war two years later, he built a block house, 
which served as a shelter for the inhabitants 
of the country until the troubles were ended. 
He died in November, 1840, on the day 



680 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



William Henry Harrison was elected presi- 
dent of the United States. General Bar- 
tholomew was distinguished for bravery, 
hospitality and the most marked reluctance 
to discourse concerning his own experiences. 
He was a man of much character and ability, 
and serx'ed in the legislatures of Pennsyl- 
vania and Indiana. 

Marston Clark Bartholomew came to 
Wisconsin in March, 1845, and made claim 
to land in section 22, of the town of Lodi, 
Columbia county. At the land ofifice, then 
located at Mineral Point, he was informed 
that the land had already been deeded, and 
he finally paid two dollars and fifty cents 
an acre to perfect the title. He found the 
nearest white settlements at Fort Winnebago, 
Madison, \\'yocena, Columbus and Sauk 
Prairie. His family came on in September, 
and the only others in the town of Lodi that 
season were his brother, George M. Barthclo- 
rr.ew. Rev. Harry Maynard and ^^'illiam 
Simcoe, with their families. He bought 
three hundred and twenty acres, and it is 
still in the possession of the immediate fam- 
ily. He died January i, 1 881, at the age of 
seventy-five years, and had lived a long and 
useful life. He served as chairman of the 
town, and filled other public ofiices. He 
was a Whig and in later life a Republican. 
At the age of fifty-six he took up arms in de- 
fense of the Republic, and served in the Civil 
v>'ar. After taking part in se\'eral battles 
lie was severely wounded at Antietam, and 
finally discharged on account of disability. 
His wife, Mary (Hopkins) Bartholomew, 
died April 17, 1886, at the age of eighty 
3ears. She had enjoyed good health to a 
time close to her fatal illness. She was born 
lit Dover, Delaware, and her ancestor, Rob- 
en Hopkins, came into Delaware from 
England by way of Canada. 1 here he ac- 
quired a large tract of land under the orig- 
inal Penn purchase, and deeded a portion 
to his son, John Hopkins. Robert Hopkins, 



a son of John, removed to Shelbyville, Ken- 
tucky, about 1 8 16, and subsequently to Jef- 
fersonville, where he died in 1830 at an ad- 
vanced age. Mrs. Bartholomew became the 
mother of eight children, of whom two died 
in infancy; Christiana, the widow of H. C. 
Maynard, of Lodi; Nancy Elizabeth, the 
wife of Philip Ringsdorp, of Lodi ; Robert 
N. ; Joseph M. died in Milwaukee, March 8^ 
1S98; Mary C, the widow of Anson Ack- 
erman, and lives in Kansas; John M., a sol- 
dier in Company A, Seventh Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Lifantry, a part of the famous Iron 
Brigade, was killed August 28, 1862, at 
the opening of the battle of Gainesville. Jo- 
seph M. and his father ser\-ed in the same 
company. 

Robert N. Bartholomew has lived in Co- 
lumbia county since he was eleven years old 
with the exception of two years spent in Kan- 
sas during the prevalence of the border war. 
He went to that state' in 1856 and jM'e- 
empted land in Bourbon county, and served 
as a member of the Kansas State Militia, and 
saw John Brown several times, but was nev- 
er associated with that noted leader. He has 
devoted his entire life to agricultural pur- 
suits, and is one of the most respected and 
successful farmers of the county. He was 
married in 185^ to Miss Priscilla B. Eells, 
a daughter of Joseph and Sarah Eells, and 
a native of Hanover, Massachusetts. Her 
father was a blacksmith and lived some years 
in Lodi. He moved later in his life to Gal- 
latin, Missouri, where he tlied in 1879, and 
his widow ten years later. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew are the par- 
ents of seven children, and have seventeen 
grandchildren. All but t\Ar) of their children 
are living in Lodi. Ransom G. is in Chicago, 
and Martha E. in Wvocena. Marston Clark 
is on the old homestead farm. Mary D. 
married James L. Pollock; and Xellie M., 
S. L. Fellows. Albert G. and John B. are 
in. business in Lodi. 



COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHY. 



CSl 



Mr. Bartholoniew lias always been a 
Democrat, and has taken a iji'oniinent part 
in the wnrkin^- of the partv. He has served 
on the ciinnty ci>mmittee. and has been dele- 
g"ate to the state ciunention. He and his 
wife helped to organize the Uni\ersalist 
church of Lodi, and he has al\va}-s strongly 
supported that organization. He is now one 
of its trustees, and has been its moderator 
from the beginning. He and his wife have 
carried the spirit of their faith into their 
lives and are noted for their kind antl bene\- 
oient .spirit, their open-handed generosity, 
and their ready sui)port of that which tends 
to the ])ublic welfare. He has 1)een promi- 
nently identified with the ^lasonic organiza- 
tion, and belongs to the Lodi Valley Lodge, 
the Baraboo ^^alley Chapter and Command- 
ery, Knights Templar, and the \\'isci>nsin 
Consistory at Milwaukee. He was master of 
the Lodi lodge for eighteen years previous 
to 1897. 

Mr. Barthokjmew is highly esteemed in 
every relation of life, ami has shown liim- 
self a genuine man throughout his long- 
career. 



ISAAC WARREN MORLEY. 

Isaac Warren Morley, a representative 
and prominent citizen of Excelsior township, 
residing on section 29, is one of the pioneers 
of Sauk county, and his name is inseparably 
connected with its agricultural and educa- 
tional interests. He was born in Mentor, 
Lake county, Ohio, September 2, 1820, a 
son of Thomas and Lillis (Russell) Morley, 
natives of Connecticut and Massachusetts, 
respectivel}'. His paternal ancestors were of 
English extraction, and the first to come to 
the new world was a passenger on the May- 
flower. The grandfather, Thomas Morley, 
\\as a man of unusual physical development 
and was a soldier of the Continental army 



during the Revolutionary war. He spent 
his last years upon a farm at Kirtland, Ohio, 
where he died in his eighty-fifth year. His 
wife, Lucy, had preceded him to the world 
bevond a few months. Our subject's ma- 
ternal grandfather. Abel Russell, was one 
of the pioneers of ]\Ientor, Ohio, and the 
first town clerk of that place. He died on 
his farm there at the age of eighty years. 
About 1812 the father of our subject re- 
mo\'ed with his family to the Western Re- 
serve of Ohio, and Ijecame one of the first 
settlers of Lake county, where he followed 
farming for many years. He died in the 
spring of 1885 at the advanced age of nine- 
ty-three years. He was always healthy and 
vigorous up to the time of his tleath. His 
wife died a number of 3'ears previous, at the 
age of fifty-four. 

The early education of our suliject was 
obtained in the public schools of his native 
state, and for (.me term he attended the acad- 
emy there. At the age of eighteen he com- 
menced teaching school, and later spent four 
years at the Western Reserve Seminary in 
Kirtland, Ohio, where James A. Carfield 
some times participated in the public exer- 
cises. After completing the prescribed course 
at that institution he successfully engaged in 
teaching for a numlier of years. 

In 1849 Mr. Morley made a trip to Sauk 
count}', Wisconsin, and entered four hun- 
dred and eighty acres of fine farming land 
and 20, Excelsior township, and the fol- 
lowing year took u\) his residence upon his 
property. He improved about one hundred 
an.d sixty acres of this land and lived there 
for a number of years, Init since 1883 has 
resided upon his nresent farm on section 29. 
the same township, where he has one hun- 
dred and eight\' acres of fine farming land 
near the Baraboo river, \\hich affords ex- 
cellent advantages for stock raising. He has 
erected good buildiuL's upon his jilace and 
made many niher ini]>ro\ements which aild 



682 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



greatly to its value and attractive appear- 
ance. In company with his Ijrother, L\inan 
K. INIorley, he dro\e about one thousand 
liead of merino sheep from Ohio to Sauk 
count}-, in 1850, it being one of the largest 
flocks ever introduced into the count}-. 1 hey 
also drove several, head of horses and other 
stock. For some years our subject bred 
nierino sheep, but for some time past has 
given his attention to Shropshire sheep, and 
ia his present flock has about one hundred 
thoroughbreds and high grade stock. He 
is also interested in breeding good cattle. As 
a farmer and stock raiser he has met with 
well-deserved success. 

In 1844 Mr. Morley wedded Miss Mari- 
ette Smith, a daughter of Elijah Smith, of 
Kirtland, Ohio. She was born in that place, 
and died in Sauk county, Wisconsin, De- 
cember 26, 1898, at the age of seventy- four 
years. The children born of this union were 
l\iary, wife of Rufus C. Cole, of Ivedwood 
Falls, Alinnesota; Alvah H., who died in Ul- 
rich. South Dakota, in the spring of 1898, at 
the age of forty-seven years; Lucius W., a 
resident of Hot Springs, South Dakota ; 
Thomas E., a farmer of Excelsior township, 
Sauk county; Harvey ^^'., on the home 
farm; Leaphe, now at home; and Minnie, at 
home. Mr. Morley also has nine grandchil- 
dren. 

In 1 86 1 Mr. Morley was elected the first 
county superintendent of schools, and ac- 
ceptably filled that office for four years. He 
had previously acted as town superintend- 
ent for se\-eral years, and f(jr a numl.ier of 
years after coming to the county continued 
to engage in teaching school. He assisted in 
organizing the Sauk County Agricultui-al So- 
- ciety in 1856, and has been an exhibitor at 
nearly all the annual fairs, where he has re- 
ceived many premiums on his live stock. 
He cast his first presidential vote for Henry 
Clay, in 1844, and since the organization of 
the Republican party has been one of its 



sianch su]iporters. He was one (-if the found- 
ers of the Congregational church of Reeds- 
burg, now disbanded, was trustee of the 
saiue many years, and was a memlier of the 
official board during its entire existence. 
For some time he was also an active mem- 
ber of Reedsburg Grange, P. of H., and 
helped to organize the Good Templars 
ledge in Narrow Prairie township, now dis- 
banded. His life is exemplary in many re- 
spects and he has ever supported those in- 
terests which are calculated to uplift and 
benefit humanity, while his own high moral 
worth is deserving of the highest commenda- 
tion. He is a strictly temperate man, ne\-er 
using tobacco or licjuor in any f(_irm. and 
has the esteem of all who know him. 



GEORGE ROSWELL COOK. 

George Roswell Cook, a progressive 
farmer of Dell Prairie township, has been a 
resident of Adams county many years, and is 
well known and highly respected. He was 
born in Steuben county. New A'ork, April 
30, 1855, and was the son of Orange and 
Rosella (Donaldson) Cook. 

Orange Cook was a farmer by occupa- 
tion and resided in the eastern states for a 
number of years, and the family moved to 
Springville township, Adanis count}-, in 
1861. The father died in Steuben county, 
N'ew York, about 1865, and the mother re- 
sided on the homestead in Adams county 
until her death. May 19, 1869. She was 
laid to rest in Olin cemetery. 

Our subject received a liberal education, 
having attended the district school and the 
high school at Kilbourn, and spent one year 
in Canisteo Academy, Steuben county, New 
York. At the age of twenty-five years he 
returned to Marathon and Lincoln counties, 
Wisconsin, where he engaged in the lumber- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



ing business for aliout four years. He then 
went to Springvale township, Adams county, 
where he owned land which lie had purchased 
when seventeen years of age. and resided on 
the farm and added \-arious improvements. 
He disposed of his land in Springxille town- 
ship, in 1890, and located on his farm in 
section 8. m Dell Prairie townshi]). which 
he has improved until it is now one of the 
best culti\-atetl in the \icinity. He is a most 
progressive farmer and was one of the first 
to advocate dairying in Adams county. He 
has met with success in that line, and his es- 
tate is kept in the best condition, and good 
residence, barn and outbuildings ni;u'k his 
financial success and care. One hundred ami 
twenty-five acres of land are under cultiva- 
tion and he has about twenty head iif milch 
cows, anil in that branch alone is gaining 
a comfortable competence. He raises stock, 
and all grain he raises is used to feed the 
stock on the farm. 

Mr. Cook was married, March 25, 188^, 
to Emma Brandenburg, daughter of Chris- 
tian Brandenburg, who located in Ouincy, 
Adams county, a number of years ago, and 
was one of the early settlers of that region. 
Mr. anil ^^Irs. Cook are the ])arents of fi\'e 
children, all of whom are at home, as fol- 
lows: Carl, born September 7, 1886; Grace, 
born November 2, 1887: Effie, born July 3, 
1890; Earl, born Xoveniber 21. 1893; and 
Bessie, born December 21, 1895. 

Mr. Cook has been called to fill various 
township offices of trust, including chairman 
of the town board, township clerk, and jus- 
tice of the peace. He is a Rei^ublican, and 
interested in the welfare of his party and 
country, but does not take an active part in 
political affairs. He is first vice-president of 
the Adahis County Agricultural Associa- 
tion, and the society is at present in a flour- 
ishing condition, and .\dams county is fast 
coming to the front as a thriving agricult- 
ural district. To such men as Mr. Cook the 



county owes a debt of gratitude for the part 
they have taken in the upbuilding of the bet- 
ter interests of the vicinity, and the active 
ii.'terest displayed in all matters of local im- 
portance. 



GEORGE W. JEXKIXS, M. D. 

George W. Jenkins, AI. D., has been 
identified with the interests of Kilbourn City 
and vicinity for nearly a half-century, and 
is one of the oldest representatives of his 
profession in the state of Wisconsin. In 
both public and ])ri\ate life his career has 
been such as to inspire the confidence and 
good will of the people and no citizen of that 
thriving village is held in higher regard by 
the communit}'. 

Dr. Jenkins was bijrn in the town of Du- 
anesburg, Schenectady county, Xew \ork, 
September 19, 1824. His father, William A. 
Jenkins, was a nati\'e of Long Island, whose 
grandfather, Christopher Jenkins, had set- 
tled there in colonial days. The last named 
was an English sea captain. His wife, 
whose given name was Abbe, was of Welsh 
lineage. Their son, Christopher, the father 
ol William A. Jenkins, was also a sea cap- 
tain. He was a \ery athletic man and could 
lift an ap.chor weighing eight hundred 
pounds. William A. Jenkins spent most of 
his life on a farm in Schenectady county, 
Xew York. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Elizabeth Jenkins, was remotely de- 
scended from the same family as her hus- 
band. Her mother was a relative of Hamil- 
ton Fish, the distinguished Xew York 
statesman. 

After leaving the public school at Quaker 
Street, a \illage near his nati\'e place, the 
subject of this notice engaged in teaching. A 
little later he took up the study of medicine 
with Dr. William H. Brigham, of Charles- 
ton, Xew ^'ork, at which place he spent about 



684 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



four years, a part of that period l)eing- em- 
ployed in teaching-. He afterward attended 
the medical departm.ent of Columbia College 
in New York City, from which institution 
he received his diploma in 1851. Having 
determined to seek his fortune in the .west, 
he joined the late Jonathan Bowman and 
one or two other gentlemen from Charles- 
ton, New York, and came directly to Wis- 
consin. Upon arriving- at Alilwaukee the 
party hired a team and drove by way of 
Madison to Delton. Six months later Dr. 
Jenkins began practice at Newport, a flour- 
ishing village on the Wisconsin river, at the 
mouth of Dell creek. He remained about 
ten years at that location, witnessing- its de- 
velopment to a town of fifteen hundred peo- 
ple and its subsequent abandonment by the 
removal of most of the buildings and in- 
habitants to the present village of Kilbourn 
Cit}'. This place was entirely unsettletl 
when he arrived in Columbia ciiunty, being 
a part of the Indian reservation. Since lo- 
cating here he has been continuously engaged 
in active practice, meeting with phenomenal 
success, and the demand for his services ex- 
tending through several counties. For some 
years he was accustomed to ride on horse- 
back, often fording- streams and lareaking 
roads through sloughs and marshes, some 
of his trips occupying several days' time. 
Though he sometimes reached his patients 
bespattered with niud and water, his ser- 
vices were none the less appreciated. In 
1863 he became associated with Dr. H. C. 
Markham and they opened a drug store at 
Kilbourn City. After a time he purchased 
his, partner's interest and still carries on the 
business. When the business part of the 
town was destroyed by fire in 1866 he 
promptly replaced the original store with a 
substantial lirick building, joining with his 
contemporaries in establishing a brick-kiln, 
by which means the cost of material for their 
buildiiigs was materiallv decreased. For a 



number of years past he has been a surgeon 
for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road, and is a member of the National Rail- 
way Surgeons' Association. He is a member 
of the Columbia County Medical Associa- 
tion, the Wisconsin State Medical Associa- 
tion, and occupies an enviable position 
among his professional brethren, 
fessional brethren. 

The Doctor was married, in 1856, to 
Miss Mary Markham, daughter of Sidney 
D. Markham, of Colosse, New York. They 
have one daughter, Kate M. The family is 
connected with the Presbyterian church, and 
the Doctor is prominent in the Masonic or- 
der. He is a member of the Masonic lodge 
and chapter at Kilbourn, in which he has 
filled the principal offices. He is a member 
of Fort Winnebago Commandery, No. 4, 
Knights Templar, at Portage, and also iden- 
tified with Milwaukee Consistory. In early 
life he was a \Mng, but he has lieen a Re- 
publican since the organization of that party. 
He has avoided active participation in poli- 
tics, his only official service having been in 
the capacity of town superintendent of 
schools and that of health officer for the vil- 
lag-e of Kilbourn City. 

The Doctor relates some interesting 
rennniscences of early days in Wisconsin, 
some of which afford apt illustrations of the 
urjcoutli manners, con\-iviaI habits and crude 
biU hearty hospitalit\- which were charac- 
teristic of the pioneers. Among his early 
associates at Newport, with whom he board- 
ed for some time, was Colonel Joseph Baile\% 
afterwards fan-ious as the savior of General 
Bank's fleet on the Red river during the 
Civil war. Another early acquaintance was 
the notorious fur trader, fared S. ^^'als\vorth 
(a brother of Judge ^^'alsworth), who kept 
a country tavern on the road leading from 
Portage to the pineries. He was famous alike 
for his hos]jitality, con\-ivialitv and good 
humor. At the sessions of the court in Mad- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



685 



ison, one of liis favorite amusements con- 
sisted in ridini;- a horse through tlie court 
room; but he always cheerfully paid the fine 
imposed for this breach of decorum, consid- 
ering the fun was well, worth the money. At 
the general election of 1852 the Doctor 
joined a party which drove to Lewiston, the 
nearest polling place, to deposit their ballots, 
a four-horse team being employed to trans- 
port the party and give proper dignity to 
the expedition. A numljer of taverns along 
the line were liberally patronized and some 
members of the party became quite hilar- 
ious. On the way home they were passed by 
a stranger, who made some slighting remark 
concerning the "four-horse team." He was 
overtaken at the next tavern, which hap- 
pened to be Walsworth's, where the driver of 
the wagon promptly resented the insult by 
knocking him down with his fist, after wdiich 
everybody shook hands in token of friend- 
ship and the stranger set up the drinks for 
the party. 



\VILLIAM WARD. 

\\'illiam Ward, a popular conductor on 
the Madison division of the Chicago & 
Northwestern Railroad, has been connected 
w-ith that corporation for a quarter of a cen- 
tury. He was born in Freehold, New Jer- 
sey, January 6, 1858, a son of Michael and 
Bridget (Brehany) Ward, natives of Ire- 
land. Having lost his parents during his 
boyhood, Michael Ward came to the United 
States in early life and locatetl in Monmouth 
county, New Jersey, where he made his 
home until April, 1873. He then came to 
Footville, Wisconsin, where he lived upon 
a farm until called from this life, Ajiril 5, 
1899, at the age of sixty-two years. His 
wife died July 27, 1895, at the age of fifty- 
seven years, and both were laid to rest in St. 
Joseph's cemetery at Janesville, Wisconsin. 



They were devout members of the Catholic 
church, and most estimable people. The ma- 
ternal grandfather of our subject died in 
Ireland, but his wife, Mrs. Mary Brehany, 
came to this country and died in Footville, 
Wisconsin, December 2, 1890, at the age of 
eighty-two years. 

William Ward, of this sketch, is indebted 
to the public schools of Marlboro, New Jer- 
sey, for his educational privileges. In 1873 
he came with his parents to Wisconsin, and 
soon afterward began work for the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, as 
water boy, and served as brakeman for that 
company for one year, after which he en- 
tered the employ of the Chicago & North- 
western Railroad Company. He steadily 
worked his way upward until, in 1880, he 
was promoted to conductor, and now has 
charge of freight trains on the Madison di- 
\-ision of the Northwestern Railroad, run- 
ning between Baraboo and \Vinona. During 
his entire railroad career he has never met 
with an accident or injury, and is to-day 
one of the most trusted emplo3'es of the 
company. 

On the 6th of February, 1882, Air. Ward 
was united in marriage with Miss Katie 
Petted, who was born in Newtown, Con- 
necticut, and came with her parents, Michael 
and Mary Petted, to Sauk county, Wiscon- 
sin, locating in Fairfield township. The fa- 
ther, who was a farmer by occupation, died in 
Baraboo, October 16, 1896, aged sixty-eight 
years, and his wife died December 3, 1893, 
aged sixty-five years. They were born in 
Ireland, but were reared in Connecticut. To 
Mr. and Mrs. \\'ard have been b<-irn four chil- 
dren, namely: Mamie, Cassie, Willie and 
Jiihn. The famil}^ are connected with St. 
Jiiseph's Catholic church, of Baraboo, and 
Mrs. Ward is now treasurer of the Ladies' 
Sodality. 

In 1898 Mr. Ward built a pleasant resi- 
dence on Second street, Baraboo, which is 



686 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



an ornament to that part of tlie city, and 
there the tan:ily now reside. He is a charter 
member of Baraboo Division, O. R. C. in 
v.'hich he has filled all the principal offices, 
and is a Democrat in political sentiment. 
Although he takes a deep interest in all pub- 
lic questions, he has little time or inclination 
for their as-itation. 



JOSEPH Bg\\'EN. 

Joseph Bowen. who for the past twenty 
years has tilled the soil in Colburn township, 
is one of the substantial farmers of Adams 
county. He engag^es in general farming, and 
is well known as an earnest, industrious and 
honest man, ready at all times to further the 
interests of his community, and the coun- 
try at large. He is an ex-soldier, who 
bra\^ed the dangers of war to preserve the 
Union, and during his ser\'ice was in the 
thickest of the fra}'. He is Iijyal and pro- 
gressive and well merits his success. 

Mr. Bowen was born in Erie, Pennsyl- 
vania, June 1 8, 1836, and was the son of 
John and Margaret (McLean) Bowen. His 
father was a farmer by occupation in New 
York state. Our subject was limited as to 
his educational advantages, and has gleaned 
his information outside of the school room. 
He was bound out to a farmer for three 
years, at the early age of twelve years, and 
worked for farmers until he enlisted in 
Company B, One Hundred and L'orty-fifth 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, August 
10, 1862. He was in the Army of the Poto- 
mac, and courageously entered all the battles 
and engagements in which that army partici- 
pated. He was discharged May 31, 1865, 
after nearly three years' service. After leav- 
ing the army he came to Columbia county, 
\\'isconsin, where he engaged in farming two 
years, and in 1868 located in Strong's Prai- 
rie township, Adams county, and homestead- 



ed one hundred and twenty acres of land, and 
purchased forty acres. He conducted this 
farm ten years, and in 1878 moved to Col- 
burn township, Adams county. He owns 
eighty acres of land, all of which is under 
cultivation. It is a model little farm, and 
equal to any in the vicinity. With the ex- 
ception of the three years spent in the army 
service he has devoted his life to the pur- 
suit of agriculture, and has gained a knowl- 
edge of his vocation which is indeed valua- 
ble. 

Mr. Bowen was married, December :;S, 
1859, to Samantha Scott, daughter of David 
C. and Elizabeth (Fuller) Scott, of Arbour 
Creek, Pennsylvania. Eight children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bowen, as fol- 
lows : Ida, now Mrs. M. Freeland, of 
Strong's Prairie; Ada, now Mrs. H. Bloom- 
field, of Strong's Prairie; Lil)l)ie, Ijurn 
March, 1866, now Mrs. H. W'inslow. of 
Plainfield ; Josephine, now Mrs. P. Mc- 
Gregor, of Hancock; Josie D., a farmer of 
Colburn township; Albert, born in 1873, 
now farming in Colburn township; Willie, 
born in 1875, now residing at home; and 
Fred, born in 1877, now farming in Colburn 
township. Ida and Ada are twins, and were 
born in January, 1861, and Josephine and 
Josie D. are twins, and were born in 1871. 

Mr. Bowen was a memljcr of Hancock 
Post, No. 150, G. A. R. He is a Republican 
in political sentiment, but does not take an 
acti\-e part in the affairs nf bis party. He 
is public-spirited and enji.iys a comfortable 
competence which he has gained by the judi- 
cious use of his time and the resources which 
came to him. His career while in the service 
of his country is one which he can review 
with justifiable pride, as well as his career as 
a private citizen. He defended the Union 
faithfully, and has ever displayed the same 
characteristic in the defense of his commu- 
nity and friends, and will always be found 
standing on the side of right and justice. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



687 



STEWART C. BELL. 

Stewart C. Bell, one of the best citizens 
of ColumlMa county, livins^ in the town of 
Hampden, was born in Brookfield, Wiscon- 
sin, June 1 8, 1846, and is a son of Francis 
and Margaret (Coulter) Bell, natives of 
northern L-eland. Bell Tavern, where he was 
born, is quite an historic spot. The senior 
Bell kept the tavern for many years in the 
pioneer days, and entertained at his table 
many of the old nobilities, such as Solomon 
Juneau and L P. ^\^'dker. For additiijnal 
information concerninsj them the reader is 
referred to the sketch headed Robert Bell. 

Mr. Bell recei\'ed his preliminary school- 
ing at hiinie, and was a student fnr a time in 
the Spencerian Business College at Milwau- 
kee. In 1866 he crossed the plains overland, 
intending to go to California, but stopped in 
Nevada to take a position as porter with a 
wholesale supply house. He proved so well 
adapted to the business, cjuick witted and re- 
liable in all his transactions, that he rose 
from position to position with remarkable 
rapidity, and presently became the head of 
the house, having as his principal assistant 
the present governor of that state, Rheinhold 
Saddler. They were \'ery intimate friends, 
and their acf|uaintance still continues. In 
1869 Mr. Bell relinquished his Nevada in- 
terests, returned to this state and in com- 
pany with his brother, Robert, bought a 
farm in Columbia county, and here he has 
kept his residence to the ])resent writing. 
In 1876 the brothers divided their joint 
holdings, and each has increased his real es- 
tate interests, and the subject of this sketch 
now owns a well appointed and highly cult- 
ivated farm of one hundred and fifty-two 
acres. It has fine buildings, and is one of the 
choice farms of the county. 

Stewart C. Bell and Mirza L. Phillips 
v.'ere married November 15, 1869. She is a 
daughter of Eli Phillips, of Brookfield, and 



was born May 25, 1847, in the town of 
Brookfield. Her parents were nati\'es of 
Massachusetts, and the Phillips belong to 
an old colonial family. Her father saw 
W'ashington's funeral, and rememliered see- 
ing him more than once. He had a family 
of five children, all of whom are living: 
Jerome E. Phillips, at Clinton, bnva; 
Homer, Fountain Prairie, Wisconsin ; Mon- 
roe and Eugene, Omro, Wisconsin ; and 
Mirza, the wife of Mr. Bell. ^Ir. and Mrs. 
Bell are the parents of three children: 
Frank E., a teacher and a graduate of the 
Oshkosh Normal : Alma May, at home ; and 
Harvey B., now a normal student in Osh- 
kosh. Our suljject is a Democrat, and 
though he li\es in a Republican neighbor- 
hood, has been'justice of the peace, assessor, 
town clerk and chairman of the town board. 
He is secretary of the town insurance com- 
pany, and was a potent factor in its organi- 
zation. He was census enumerator for 1900, 
and is the government crop reporter for this 
section. He was the prime factor in se- 
curing route No. i, free mail delivery, Co- 
lumbus, ^\'isconsin. He wrote the congress- 
man, got u]) petitions, and stuck to it until 
he secured what he was working for. He 
has always been interested in public progress, 
and an untiring worker for every measure 
calculated to promote the general welfare. 
With perfect propriety he may be classed 
among the leading men of Columbia county. 



WILLIAM RUSSELL CHIPMAN. 

William Russell Chipman. a bright and 
progressive farmer of the town of Leeds, 
Columbia county, \\'isconsin, has long since 
learned that the noblest life that can be lived 
is tliat which opens the way to the heart of 
nature, and keeps a man far from the tempta- 
tions of the crowded pavements and the 



688 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



vices of the great city. Upon liis broad acres 
he can be honest, and live true to Iiis best 
self. Air. Chipman is a true type of the best 
American farmer, upright and manly, indus- 
trious in his habits and a kindly heart. 

Mr. Chipman was born in this town- 
ship May lo, 1863, and is a son of George 
and Martha (Taylor) Chipman. George 
Chipman was a native of Westminster, Ver- 
mont, and his ancestors came from England. 
They settled in Massachusetts long previous 
to the Revolutionary war, and some of their 
representatives were men of considerable im- 
portance in colonial affairs. Ebenezer Chip- 
man, the father of George Chipman, was a 
farmer and lived in Vermont the greater part 
of his life, and died in Milton, Wisconsin, 
at the age of seventy years. 'George Chip- 
man left Vermont and settled in Wiscon- 
sin in 1848. He lived near Janesville a 
number of years, and about i860 moved 
into Columbia county, where he bought a 
farm in the town of Leeds. In 1867 he 
bought a second farm near Leeds Center. 
This he greatly improved, put up fine build- 
ings and brought to a high state of cultiva- 
tion. Since 1893 he has been living a re- 
tired life in the village of Poynette, where 
he is now making his home, at the age of 
seventy-two. His estimable wife is in her 
sixty-seventh year. She is a daughter of 
George Taylor, who was a farmer in Ver- 
mont and Canada, and in his later years a 
resident of Cashton, Monroe county, Wis- 
consin, where he died at the age of eighty- 
two. George Chipman and his wife were 
the parents of two children: William Rus- 
sell and Mabel., now the wife of J. F. For- 
rest, a farmer in the town of Arlington. 

William Russell Chipman has always 
Hved in the town of Leeds, and is a fair 
representative of the "boys of old Colum- 
bia." He attended the district school, and 
spent some time in the Sun Prairie high 
school, and then took the shorter agricult- 



ural course at the University of Wisconsin. 
He has had charge of the home farm since 
1884, and has developed into a broad-mind- 
ed and progressive farmer. He gives his 
chief attention to live stock. He feeds ex- 
tensively for the Chicago markets, and sends 
forward every year a number of cattle and 
sheep. He is a man of public spirit and was 
the chief promoter of the Leeds Telephone 
Company, an organization recently effected, 
to afford the neighboring farmers communi- 
cation with Madison and several of the ad- 
joining towns. He is the president of the 
company and has largely made it a decided 
success. 

Mr. Chipman and Miss Jennie Roberts 
were married in 1893. Mrs. Chipman is a 
daughter of David G. and Mary (Jones) 
Roberts, residents of the town of Leeds, 
where she was born. Her father was born 
in Caernarvonshire, Wales, and came to Co- 
lumbia, Wisconsin, in 1847, when he was 
still a boy. He lived in early life at Cam- 
bria, and later moved into the town of 
Leeds, where he died February 8, 1887, at 
the age of fifty. He was a son of David 
Roberts, who died on the ocean while com- 
ing to the United States. His widow came 
on to Columbia county, and settled in the 
town of Cortland. She was seventy years 
old when she died. Mrs. Mary Roberts 
died in September, 1897, at the age of fifty-- 
seven. She was born in Wales, and was 
brought to this country in her infancy. Her 
father, William Jones, settled near Utica, 
New York, where he died at the age of 
eighty. His wife bore the maiden name of 
Mary Morris, and lived to be forty-seven. 
Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were among the most 
highly respected people of the town of 
Leeds, and were the parents of five children : 
Jennie, now Mrs. Chipman; George, of St. 
Croix county, Wisconsin ; Milton is at Wash- 
ington, D. C, an employe of the census 
bureau ; Herbert, a traveling salesman and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



(i89 



resident of tlie town of Leeds; and Edwin, 
of the same community. 

Mr. and Mrs. William R. Cliipman are 
the parents of two bright and charming 
cliiidren, Harold and Mary. They are mem- 
bers of the Leeds Congregational church, 
and are highh- esteemed by all who know 
them. He is a Republican, and is a mem- 
ber of the county committee. He formerly 
had a deep interest in the Prohibition party, 
but of late years has been identified with the 
Republican organization, particularly on all 
questions that relate to national affairs. 
He is now serving as justice of the peace. 



GEORGE HARRINGTON. 

George Harrington, one of the pioneers 
of Adams county, Wisconsin, is a respected 
resident of the village of Easton. He was 
born in the city of New York, February 
i6, 1834. His father, John Harrington, 
was a mechanic and worked for many years 
in New York City, and died there in the 
spring of 1844. His wife, Mary, died in 
1843, and both parents were buried in the 
city of New York. To this worthy couple 
six children were born, three of whom are 
still living, namely : Susan, now Mrs. 
Young, of Staten Island; Mar}^, now Mrs. 
W. R. Marsh, of Rahway, New Jersey ; and 
George, the subject of our present article. 

George Harrington was left at about the 
age of ten years without parents, and was 
taken in charge by relatives. At the age 
of fourteen years he went to work on a 
farm near Oxford, in Orange county. New 
York, where he remained three years. He 
received a preliminary education between his 
tenth and fourteenth years. He has been a 
great reader and observer, however, and has 
managed to pick up a fund of practical 
knowledge that has stood him in good stead 



on many occasions, ^^'hen he was seventeen 
years old he returned to New York City and 
engaged with an oysterman, fishing in Long 
Island Sound, and taking the oysters to New 
York City. He was about three years on the 
water, sailing from New York to Salem, 
I'hiladelphia, Richmond, Virginia, and other 
points. 

In 1855 Mr. Harrington left New York 
for Wisconsin, and located in Columbia 
count}', near Portage, and lived with a 
farmer at Silver Lake about nine months. 
In the winter of 1856-57 he was in the 
pineries along the Yellow river. In No- 
vember, 1855, he entered a tract of land 
comprising eighty acres, in the town of 
Easton, but did not reside upon it until 
1857, when he located upon the land and 
began to improve it. This land he held un- 
til 1865, at the time of his discharge from 
the service, when he sold it and purchased 
a farm on section 32. This farm he held 
for nineteen years, and finally traded it for 
property in the village of Easton. 

Mr. Harrington enlisted August 16, 

1864, in Company K, Thirty-eighth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry, and was imme- 
diately assigned to service at Petersburg. 
He remained on duty there until April 5, 

1865. He was honorably discharged at 
Washington, D. C, in June, 1865. 

Mr. Harrington was married in Febru- 
ary, 1862, to Mahala, daughter of Joseph 
and Eliza (De Remmer) Algard, of Ore- 
gon, Dane county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Har- 
rington died August 31, 1892, and rests in 
the Easton cemetery. 

In political sentiment our subject is a 
Republican and takes an active interest in 
public affairs. He has served as supervisor 
of his township, and for fourteen years has 
lield the oftice of school treasurer. He takes 
an interest in the advancement of the cause 
of education, and enjoys the confidence and 
respect of all men regardless of political 



690 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



bias. He is a ^ood Christian citizen and a 
man of sterling worth. He is a member of 
the Ennis Reed Post, G. A. R., at White 
Creek. 



GILBERT B. VAX ALSTINE. 

Gilbert B. Van Alstine, who is no^v li\'- 
ing a peaceful and quiet life in tlie town of 
Newport, Columbia count)-, hail a varied 
and eventful career until after he had reached 
middle age and more. He was born at 
New fane, Onondaga count}-. New York, 
P"ebruary 22, 1832. He was educated in 
the common schools of New York, and at 
Kingsville College, Ashtabula county, Ohio, 
where he attended until he had nearly fin- 
ished the full course. He made his first in- 
dependent venture for himself when about 
seventeen years old, and went on the great 
lakes as a sailor. He was a fresh water 
sailor for six years, and then he sought em- 
ployment on the ocean. He engaged on the 
whaler "Monongahela," which was built 
and owned in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 
but fitted out and operated from New York 
City. He was on the ocean some four years, 
two of which he spent on a whafing expe- 
dition, and two engaged in the coasting 
trade. He had trying experiences, but came 
through them all safe and sound. He was 
wrecked on the coast of Patagonia, and with 
a few companions was cast upon a barren 
shore. After enduring every sort of priva- 
tion they were rescued by the "Four Sover- 
eigns," and taken to Valparaiso, Chili, South 
America. While he was a sailor on the 
lakes the ship in which he was engaged ran 
into the brig "Blossom," and sent it to the 
bottom almost immediatel}'. More than two 
hundred lives were lost and the scenes of 
horror then witnessed will never leave his 
memory. 

Mr. Van Alstine finally left the ocean, 



and was a lumberman for several years, win- 
ning considerable success. In 1866 he came 
to Kilbourn City and took a position as en- 
gineer with Hindes & Drinker. In 1870 he 
located on a farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres in the town of Newport. This he has 
greatly improved in every way. He now 
has a fine farm and home buildings, and 
ninety acres under cultivation. He added to 
this from time to time until, in 1886, he 
was the owner of a half-section of valuable 
land. He sold that year small tracts of land, 
and made substantial imi)rovements on what 
he retained nearer town. 

John and Harriet (Blake) Van Alstine, 
the parents of the subject of this article, 
were prominent people in their eastern 
home. Her father was born March 7, 1797, 
and was an old-line Whig, always opposed 
to e\-ery form of monopoly, and in his last 
years a Republican. The Blakes were an 
educated family, and their daughter Harriet 
was fitted for teaching school. Thej- came 
to Ohio at an early day, then to Wisconsin, 
where the father died in Adams county May 
16, 1874. The mother was born July, 1806, 
and died October 12, 1874. 

In politics Gilbert Van Alstine has fol- 
lowed in his father's steps and voted with 
the Republican part}'. He is now a member 
of the Reform party. He does not belong 
to any neighboring church, and holds the 
faith of Swedenborg as his interpretation 
of religion. In i860 he was married to 
Amelia V. Rea, a daughter of Walter C. and 
Mary A. (Pinkerton) Rea. She was born 
November 4, 1840, at Portville, Cattaraugus 
county. New York, and was educated at the 
local academy, from which she graduated. 

The children of Gilbert B. and Mrs. Van 
Alstine (all living) are: Florence E., born 
March 16, 1862, now the wife of Edward 
Kenney, proprietor of a large dairy farm 
at Rochester, Minnesota; Gilbert E., Jr., 
born October 11, 1866, married Mabel Flan- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



691 



ag-an, of Kilbourn, is an engineer and car- 
penter living in Kilbourn; ]Mary Coraline, 
born February 4, 1869, now the wife of 
Frank Kingsley, farmer in the town of 
Newport, Columbia county; Byron B., born 
August 4, 1 87 1, married Anna Bieter, of 
Mantorville, Minnesota, and is an engineer 
living near ^^lantorville ; John Frederick, 
born December 4, 1873, married Maud 
Kingsly and engaged by a milling company 
in Minneapolis; \\'alter C. (twin of John 
F.), born December 4, 1S73, married Helen 
Toverson, is farming and resides in Kil- 
bourn ; Guy Earlscourt, born August 24, 
1881. now in Dakota; his Imme is in ]\Iinne- 
aj-olis. 

Gilbert B. \'an Alstine enlisted in 1861 
(ninety days' service) in Company A, Third 
New York Cavalry. This regiment was re- 
organized and Mr. \'an Alstine came west 
to Wisconsin. He re-enlisted, February 2, 
1864, in Company A, Forty-ninth Regi- 
ment Infantry Volunteers, and did duty in 
Missouri. 



MRS. ELECTA PAGE LE\\TS. 

Mrs. Electa Page Lewis, widow of Rev. 
John Lewis, and a highly-esteemed resi- 
dent of Baraboo, Wisconsin, is a representa- 
tive of two families which bore an active 
and prominent part in molding the character 
and sentiment of the early settlers of this 
state. She was born in Coventry, Connect- 
icut, and is a daughter of Harlan and Mary 
(Kingsbury) Page, also natives of Cov- 
entry, and descendants of good old colonial 
families. Her paternal grandfather, Capt. 
Gad Page, commanded a company in the Con- 
tinental army during the Revolutionary war, 
and she well remembers seeing him in his 
uniform, as he lived to a great age. Her 
father, Harlan Page, moved to New York 
city in 1825, and there did engraving for 



the American Tract Society and also took 
charge of the depository of that concern. 
Prior to this he had engaged in teaching 
school. He died in 1834, at the age of ■ 
forty-three years, and his wife passed away 
in New York, July 23, 1838, at the age of 
forty-five. She was a daughter of Lieut. 
Joseph Kingsbury, of Coventry, Connecti- 
cut, who won his title as an officer in the 
Continental army. 

Harlan Manus Page, brother of Mrsv 
Lewis, was a graduate of Beloit College and 
for many years was employed on the staff 
of the "Wisconsin State Journal" at JNIadi- 
son, \\'isconsin. In 1876, owing to failing 
health, he resigned his position and removed 
to Baraboo, where he died June 15, 1886, at 
the age of sixty-three years, his remains 
being interred in Platteville, Wisconsin. 
His widow, who bore the maiden name of 
Sarah Eliza Turner, still survives. One 
daughter, Mrs. Josie E. Hildebrandt, is now 
in Balize, British Honduras, and a son, Har- 
lan K. Page, makes his home in Chicago 
and is connected with the "Chicago Trib- 
une." '5 

Mrs. Lewis was reared and educated in' 
New York City, and there she gave her hand 
in. marriage, July 18, 1843, to Rev. John 
Lewis, a Congregational minister, who was 
born in Walpole, ]\Iassachusetts, and was 
graduated from Dartmouth College and also 
the New York Theological Seminary. In 
1843 he came to W'isconsin as a home mis- 
sionary and located at New Diggings, la- 
boring among the mining towns of the 
southwestern part of the state until 1847, 
when called to the pastorate of the Congre- 
gational Church in Platteville. He continued 
in charge at that place until called from this 
life September 2, i860, at the age of forty- 
three years. He worked untiringly in the 
Master's vineyard, and was loved and re- 
spected not only by the people of his own con- 
gregation but by all who knew him and 



692 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



witnessed his devotion to the cause of Christ. 
After her husband's death Mrs. Lewis spent 
a few years in Chicago, but since 1876 has 
made her home in Baraboo. Here she is 
surrounded 1i>- a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances, by whom she is held in the 
highest regard on account of her many acts 
of kindness and deeds of charity. 



JOHN FERRIS, Deceased. 

John Ferris, deceased, was for many 
years a prominent and influential farmer of 
Otsego township, Columbia county, and left 
behind him an honorable name. He was 
born in County Tyrone, Ireland, INIarch 13, 
1833, and was a son of Alexander and Mary 
(Robinson) Ferris. The senior Ferris was 
a farm laborer and came to the United States, 
dying in Dayton, Ohio, in 1867, when he 
had reached the aee of seventy-seven. He 
served in the British army in the battle of 
Waterloo. 

John Ferris left home when twenty- 
two years old, and coming to this country, 
made his first location at Dayton, Ohio. 
From that city he enlisted in the Union army 
September 3, 1861, being enrolled as a mem- 
ber of Company C, Forty-fourth Ohio Vol- 
unteer Infantry. He re-enlisted in Company 
F, Eighth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and 
served throughout the war, being discharged 
in August, 1865. He was in active duty 
nearly all the time. He served under Burn- 
side at Knoxville, and later became a part of 
the command of General Sheridan. He was 
in the battle of Cedar Creek and through 
out the Shenandoah campaign. He avoided 
wounds and capture, though his hat was 
taken off by a cannon ball, and he had many 
narrow escapes. He attended many army 
reunions, and greatly enjoyed these meetings. 

After the war Mr. Ferris came to Wis- 



consin, and bought a farm on section 7, in 
the town of Otsego, and here he spent his 
remaining years. He made many improve- 
ments on the place, and owned one hun- 
dred and fifty-six acres at the time of his 
death, which occurred May 13, 1900. He 
gave some attention to stock breeding and 
to potato culture. He was well read, took 
much interest in the general events of the 
times, and was able to discuss public ques- 
tions very intelligently. He was a Republi- 
can, but never ran for office, and would 
not consent to any proposition in that di- 
rection. He was a member of the Congre- 
gational church at Rio. He was formerly 
a Methodist, but when that church dis- 
banded at Rio he united with the Congre- 
gational. He belonged to the Henry C. 
Payne Post of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public at Pardeeville. 

He was united in marriage, March 23, 
1866, to Mrs. Catherine McKenna, a daugh- 
ter of John and Mary Henry. She was born 
in Dyian, county Tyrone, Ireland, and her 
father was a bookkeeper in a flax factory 
at Dyian. He died there, and his widow 
came to Wisconsin, bringing with her the 
family. She died in the town of Otsego, 
October 14, 1893, aged eighty-seven, keep- 
ing her bodily activity and mental vigor to 
the last. Ancestors of John Henry came to 
Ireland from Glasgow, Scotland. His fa- 
ther, Alexander Henry, served in the Eng- 
lish army during the Irish rebellion, and as- 
sisted in quelling the Catholic uprising, for 
which, however, he received no pay. Mrs. 
Ferris, who is still living, is the mother of 
five children, three of whom are living: 
Maggie, Mrs. Edward H. Hellie, is residing 
at Hanley Falls, Minnesota; Addie, who is 
Mrs. Van Armen, has her home in Rio; 
John R. carries on the home farm. He is a 
graduate of the business college at Rock- 
ford. There are four grandchildren in the 
family. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



G93 



JOHN WALTON, Deceased. 

For many years prior to his deatli the 
gentleman ahove named was a leading- miller 
and land owner of Adams county. He was 
the possessor of two of the best farms in 
the vicinity of Easton, and was also propri- 
etor of the mill at that place. 

Mr. Walton was born in Lincolnshire, 
England, February 28, 1824. He emigrat- 
ed to Hamilton, Ontario, when about seven 
years of age, and resided there for some 
time. He was a milJer by trade and built 
the mill at Olin, Springville township, and 
liad previously purchased the mill at Easton, 
which he owned at the time of his death. He 
came into possession of a farm at White 
Creek and the farm near Easton, on which 
his son, Rufus, now resides. He enlisted 
in the cause of his country, in Company K, 
Thirty-second ^^'isconsin Lifantry, and 
served as lieutenant during the Civil war. 

Mr. Walton was married July 11, 1846, 
tc Miss Mary Wells, of Hamilton, Ontario. 
Mrs. Walton lived three years after their 
marriage, and left one son, Henry J. Mr. 
Walton married Julia A. Coyne, of Milwau- 
kee, Wisconsin, March 22, 1851, and her 
death occurred September 30, 1881, and she 
was laid to rest at Fall River. Ten children 
were born of this union, six of whom sur- 
vive, as follows : Wallace B., now in Alaska; 
Marcus T., employed by Great Northern 
Railroad in Hillyard; Rufus S., residing on 
the farm in section 30, Easton township; 
Franklin M., of Ellendale, North Dakota, 
engaged in milling; Charles W., residing 
in Milwaukee; Elgie J., bank clerk at Oakes, 
North Dakota. Mr. Walton was married 
to Mrs. Emma Pease, April 21, 1883, who 
is now residing in Chicago. 

Mr. Walton died at Easton, Adams 
county, Wisconsin. March 25, 1895, and 
was laid to rest at Fall River, Wisconsin, 
where he formerly resided, and where sev- 



eral members of his family are buried. He 
was a man respected by all who knew him, 
and whose words and deeds were of the 
highest character. He was a member of 
Friendship Post, No. 122, G. A. R. He 
voted in accordance with his views of right 
and for the welfare of his fellow man, and 
stood stanchly for the Republican party. 

Rufus S. was the fourth son, and was 
born in Elkhart, Lidiana, September 9, 
1865, and came to Easton when about six 
years of age. He attended school until he 
reached his majority, and assisted his father 
in the mill and on the farm, which he con- 
tinued to do until his father's death. He 
moved onto the homestead in the fall of 
1898, and has since engaged in the pursuit 
of farming. 

Rufus S. Walton was married Novem- 
ber 23, 1890, to Etta Henry, daughter of 
J. A. and Augusta (Stowell) Henry, of 
Easton. Three children have been born to 
bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walton, as 
follows: Winifred, born June 16, 1893; 
Margie Belle, born October 12, 1897; and 
John Lester, October 9, 1899. Mr. Walton 
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, White Creek lodge. In political 
faith he is a Republican. He has been called 
upon to serve in various township offices, and' 
is ever willing to perform his duty faith- 
fully and for the benefit of his community. 
His home is one of refinement and his fam- 
ily circle is a pleasant one. He is one of 
the rising young men of his county and al- 
ready enjoys popularity and esteem. 



CHARLES ALBERT NUTTING. 

Charles Albert Nutting, one of the prom- 
inent citizens of Randolph, Columbia coun- 
t}', operates a machine shop and has won 
considerable distinction in his line of work. 



694 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



He was born in Randolph, Vermont, Octo- 
ber 15, 1847, and was a son of Charles and 
Cordelia M. (Gilman) Nutting. 

The father of our subject was a native 
of Randolph, Vermont, where he engaged in 
the practice of law for some years. He was 
a graduate of Oberlin College and began his 
professional life with his father, William 
R. Nutting, who followed the practice of law 
in Randolph most of his life. He passed 
away at the age of eighty-four years. The 
father of our subject came to Wisconsin in 
1853 and purchased a farm near Randolph, 
in Dodge county, and resided thereon during 
the remainder of his career. He abandoned 
the practice of law and engaged in farm- 
ing. He died about 1895, aged seventy-six 
years. He was justice of the peace for many 
years and a member of the Congregational 
church at Fox Lake, but in his later life he 
attended the Methodist church at Randolph, 
which was more convenient to his home. He 
was an influential and exemplary citizen. 
His brothers, George and David, were mis- 
sionaries to Turkey for some years. The 
mother of our subject was born at Tam- 
worth, New Hampshire, and died some years 
before her husband. Her father was a 
farmer by occupation. Rev. Hidden, a 
prominent minister of Tamworth, was a 
relative of Mrs. Nutting. Our subject was 
one of eleven children, three of whom are 
deceased. The surviving children are as 
follows: Charles Albert, our subject; Sam- 
uel Edward, residing in Everett, Washing- 
ton. The latter is the inventor of a wax 
wheel arc light, which is manufactured ex- 
tensively; Maria Gihnan, now residing in 
Stillwater, Minnesota, was educated at Rock- 
ford Seminary, Rockford, Illinois, and spent 
seven years as a missionary in Turkey; Lil- 
lian, who became the wife of George Part- 
ner, and died in Clark county, Wisconsin; 
Clarence foreman of a jewelry manufactur- 
ing establishment at Minneapolis, Minne- 



sota; Harlan T. K., residing on the home 
farm ; Perley, professor in Stanford Univer- 
sity, California ; Cora, now Mrs. Bennett, 
residing near Moscow, Minnesota ; and- 
Mabel, now Mrs. Hopkins, of Red Cliff, 
^Visconsin. 

Charles Albert Nutting was about six 
years of age when he came to Wisconsin, 
and at the age of sixteen }-ears he enlisted, 
December 2t„ 1863, in Company E, Twenty- 
ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After 
Lee's surrender he was transferred to Com- 
pany I, Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer In- 
fantry. He was stationed at Montgomery, 
Mobile, and other places in Alabama, and 
took part in Banks' Red river expedition. 
He was at Sabine Cross Roads and partici- 
pated in a three-days march, which caused 
his illness and he was confined to the hos- 
pital for some time. He took part in a 
number of skirmishes and scouting expedi- 
tions until the siege of Mobile, at which place 
he remained until he was discharged from 
the service in October, 1865. He returned 
tij Wisconsin after the war and in 1866 be- 
gan to learn the carpenter's trade, which he 
has followed more or less since that time. 
Since 1880 he has operated a wagon shop, 
v.'ith which he combines general jobbing, a 
feed mill, etc. He has added a general ma- 
chine shop and does a variety of machine 
v.ork and has one of the best equipped shops 
for wood or iron work in the state. He is 
a natural genius for mechanical work and 
has made a success. 

Our subject was married, in 1873, to 
Elizabeth Bryant, of Westford township, 
daughter of John Bryant, a farmer of that 
locality. Mrs. Nutting died in 1888, aged 
thirty-four years. Four children were born 
to this union, as follows : Lloyd Oliver, in 
business with his father; Clinton Albert, of 
Vancouver, British Columbia; Isabel 
Maude, now Mrs. Henry Tuttle; of Milwau- 
kee; Sadie, now Mrs. R. Teela, of Randolph. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



695 



Mr. Nutting was married to Josephine Bry- 
ant, a sister of tlie first wife, in 1893. Mrs. 
Nutting- was born in Westford township, 
Dodge county. Two children iia\e been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Nutting, who are 
named as follows : Leroy W. and Clarence. 
Mr. Nutting is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias, and has filled the principal ofifices 
in the local lodge and is a member of the 
grand lodge. He is a member of George 
H. Stevens Post, No. 100, G. A. R., at Fox- 
Lake. He was a member of the village 
board for several years and is identified 
with the Repnlilican party politically. 



PLINY HAYES GUNNISON. 

Pliny Hayes Gunnison, a prominent and 
influential citizen of the village of North 
Freedom, Sauk county, Wisconsin, who is 
now living retired from active business cares, 
was born in Canandaigua, Ontario county. 
New York, May 3, 1832, and is a son of 
Levi B. and Rhoda (Hurd) Gunnison, na- 
tives of New Hampshire, who located in 
Canandaigua about 1822. The father was 
born in Goshen, New Hampshire, and was 
fi\-e years okl when his parents died of 
spotted fever at that place. His great-grand- 
father was a native of Norway and founded 
the family in New Hampshire about two 
hundred years ago. On the maternal side 
our subject is of English descent. His 
grandfather lived and died in New Hamp- 
shire. The fathe*- of our subject died on his 
farm in Canandaigua, New York, at the age 
of eighty-four years, the mother at the age 
o' eighty-six. 

In his native state Pliny FI. Gunnison 
spent his boyhood and youth, and in 1856 
came to Wisconsin, locating in Lodi, Co- 
lumbia county, where he owned and operated 
a farm of one hundred and sixtv acres on 



the line of the old military road 1)etween 
Mineral Point and Fort Winnebago, where 
a tavern was conducted for several years. 
He also purchased a forty-acre tract of tim- 
ber land in Dane county. On leaving the 
farm, in 1883, b.e removed to Lodi, where he 
successfully engaged in the agricultural im- 
plement business for four years, and then 
came to North Freedom, where for five years 
lie dealt in lumber with good success, but 
since then has lived retired, enjoying the 
fruits of former toil. 

On the 25th of April, 1855, Mr. Gunni- 
son married Miss Frances M. Moore, who 
was born in Medina, Ohio, a daughter of 
William and Edna (Castle) Moore, both 
natives of Canandaigua, New York. Her 
father went to California by way of the 
Isthmus and died there in 185 1 at the age 
of fifty-one years. The mother died in 
Lodi, Wisconsin, in 1878, at the age of 
seventy-four years. Her father. Dyer Cas- 
tle, removed from New England to Nevyf 
York at an early day and endured many 
hardships en route. His wife, Margaret 
Jones, of Welsh lineage, was a devout Quak- 
eress, and in remembrance of her deliver- 
ance from the dangers of this journey al- 
ways kept a memorial, to the Lord upon her 
mantel. 'Her father was Myron Jones, a sea 
captain. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Gunnison were born 
eight children, namely: Edna M., widow of 
A . Hawley, of Eden, Michigan, is a woman 
of considerable ability and talent, and is 
now acting secretary of the- Bay View Read- 
ing Circle; Irwin L. is a resident of Lake 
Preston, South Dakota; Charles N. is sec- 
retary of a packing company at Sioux Falls, 
South Dakota; George H. is also a resident 
of Lake Preston, South Dakota; Emma A. 
is the wife of F. Peers, of McMinnville, 
Tennessee; William M. and John H. are 
both living in North Freedom, Wisconsin; 
and Alice F. is a teacher of Tomah, Wis- 



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ctrr 



COilPEXDK'M OF BIOGRAPHY. 



t.97 



Trmit\- E\-angeItcal church at Portage and 
occupy a prominent place in business and 
social circles. Throughout the greater part 
of his life Mr. Epstein has supported the 
Democratic part}-, bat in 1S96 \x>ted for 
William McKinley for president. He takes 
no active part in political agitation, but has 
beai a liberal contributor to public eiter- 
prises. and is justly regarded as one of the 
m-jst public-spirited and \-aIued citizens of 
his adopted county. He has accumulated a 
handsome propeny. and his life illustrates 
what can be accomplished through mdustn,-. 
perseverance, good management and a de- 
termination to succeed. 



PETER DAXGEL. 

Peter Dangel is a well-known citizen of 
Reedsburg. who has achieved success in 
business through his own industry, perse- 
verance and int^rity of character. Ehiring 
his residence of over thirty years in that 
place he has established a reputation among 
his associates, which justly entitles hizn to 
honorable mention in the annals of Sauk 
cjtmty. He 15 a native of Germany, bom at 
Moriheim. Rhine pro\-ince. October 28, 
1834. His parents. Peter George and Bar- 
bara (T.rnd) Dangel. were in humble cir- 
cumsrances and bequeathed hi m little more 
than a rugged oDnstitution and an honest 
purpose to better his condition in Hfe. They 
lived and 6i&i in the Fatherland, the former 
passing away in 1S46, at the age of forty- 
two years, while Mrs. Dangel survived to 
the age of siicty years. 

While a boy Peter Dangel b^an to learn 

the miller's trade, at which he was employed 

in his native land about eleven years. In 

the meantime be spent two and (xnt-baii 

- in the German amnr, bat as peace pre- 

'. dtiring that period he was not callefi 



into accoal hostilities. Belie\-ing that the 
United States offered better opportunities 
for capable and ambitious men, in 1S60 he 
came to this cotrntrv". He spent the next 
five or six years in the state of Xew \ork, 
being emplo>-ed at his trade most of that 
dme in Oswego and Sj-racuse. He then \ 
came to Reedsburg and for a dozen years 
operated the grist mill at that place, which 
was then owned by S. Mackev- & Company. 
For the next three years he carried on a shoe" 
store in conjunction with Paul Bishop, to 
whom he sold his interest in the business at 
the end of that period. In 1S80 he opened 
a meat market, which he has since conducted 
with the exception of three years, during 
which time he rented the establishment. 
For a part of this interval he was employed 
as bookkeeper and collector in the Reeds- 
burg Brewer*-. The name of the present 
firm is Peter Dangel &: Son, and the pro- 
cession of customers which is constantly fil- 
ing in and out of their shop attests the ex- 
cellent qualitv- of the goods sold as well as 
the personal popularity of the proprietors. 
Mr. Dangel was married Februarj- 24, 
1865, to Dora Parau, daughter of ilrs. 
Catharina Parau, of Oswego, Xew York. 
Mrs. Dangel was bom at Barum, pro\ince 
of Hanover, Germany, and came to this 
countrv- in 1864, her father having died in 
Germany. She 6x&i October i, 1892, at the 
age of forty-four years and was buried from 
St. Peter's Lutheran church, of which she 
was a de\-out member. She was the mother 
of five children, tliree of whom 5un.-ive to 
revere her memory-. Following is the rec- 
ord: Louise died at the age of nineteen 
years; William died when an infant: Loui 
is one of the partners composing the Stolte, 
Dangel & Foss Company, one of the leading 
mercantile establishments of Sauk ojunty; 
Peter H. is his father's partner ; and Gustave 
E. is a member of the drug firm of ilueller 
& Dangel, Reedsburg. July ir. 1896. Mr. 



698 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Dangel was married to Mrs. Hannah Briggs, 
widow of Oscar Briggs, of Reedsburg, and a 
native of province of Hanover, Germany. 

Since becoming a citizen of the United 
States Mr. Dangel has affiliated with the 
Democratic party. In recognition of his in- 
terest in the affairs of the city he has re- 
peatedly been chosen to fill responsible pub- 
lic positions. For two years he was assessor 
of the city and served fifteen years as alder- 
man of the first ward, being a member of 
the city council longer than any other citi- 
zen. He took an active interest in securing 
the incorporation of the city and the estab- 
lishment of its admirable system of water 
works, which has been the source of envy 
and emulation on the part of many neighbor- 
ing towns. 



HOLTOX BRADLEY METCALF. 

Springville tuwnshii). Adams county, has 
few men who have passed as eventful a ca- 
reer as has fallen to the lot of this gentle- 
man, and who ha\-e met with the same suc- 
cess in e\-ery undertaking. His progressive 
spirit and earnest efforts, supplemented by 
the strictest honesty and sound judgment, 
have placed him among the foremost agri- 
culturists of his community. He is a na- 
tive of ^^'isconsin, and it is but natural to 
take special interest in the welfare of her 
people, but wherever he has resided he has 
shown a public spirit and acti\-e interest in 
every enterprise for the public good. He 
has a fine estate in Springville township, 
and is surrounded by all the comforts of 
rural life. 

]Mr. ]Metcalf was born in Oconomowoc, 
Waukesha county, Wisconsin, April 9, 1863, 
and was the son of John and Mahala 
(Mead) Metcalf. His father was born at 
Corinth, Orange county, Vermont, in 1805, 
and resided there until ten years of age. 



when he mo\-ed to Buffalo, New York, where 
h.' li\'ed twenty-five years, anfl was engaged 
in farming and lumbering. He lost con- 
siderable money and in 1S40 moved to 
Oconomowoc, Waukesha county, where his 
death occurred February 22, 1884, after be- 
ing a resident of that county forty-four 
years. He was one of the first settlers in the 
county and for many years followed farm- 
ing, and later engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness, and accumulated considerable property. 
He was the first president of the village, and 
was highly respected. He was a Univer- 
salist in religious belief, and a Republican 
in politics. The mother of our subject was 
born in Dutchess county, Xew York, where 
the family had resided many years, and in 
1855 the family moved to Washington coun- 
ty, Wisconsin. The parents of our subject 
were married in 1859, and two children were 
born to them, as follows : Holton, our sub- 
ject, and Blenne, now Mrs. E. C. Morse, 
of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Morse was for a 
number of years county superintendent of 
schools of Adams county, Wisconsin. 

Our subject passed his boyhood at home 
and had every opportunity to obtain an ex- 
cellent education. Ai the age of eighteen 
years he went to Xew Mexico and engaged 
in stock raising, and made a success of sheep 
raising, but he afterward became interested 
in the raising of horses and lost a con- 
siderable sum of money. After five years' 
stay in X"ew Mexico he returned to Adams 
county, where his mother had land. He now 
owns one hundred and sixty acres of tillable 
land, well equipped with good buildings and 
machinery, and is one of the first farmers of 
the vicinity. He taught school while in New 
Mexico and has also taught three winters in 
the district in which he lives. He was a 
stage coach driver over the Raton moun- 
tains in Colorado for a time, and on account 
of the rugged roads the trips were filled with 
excitement. At various times he has en- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



699 



gaged in the jewelry business, been con- 
ductor tor a raih-dail, _I)(>okkeeper. teacher, 
stock raiser and driver of stage coach, and 
has gained a competence as well as an en- 
viable name. Mr. IMetcalf was married 
January 25, 1888, to ]\Iary Reese, daughter 
0/ John and Mary Reese, natives of \Vales, 
who located in Jefferson county. \\'isc(insin, 
v.-here Mrs. Metcalf was born. Four chil- 
dren have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
]\Ietcalf, named as follows: George, born 
April 30, 1890; John, born No\-ember 27, 
1892; Lorna, born April 25, 1894; and Hala, 
born jNIarch 7, 1897. Mr. Metcalf is a Re- 
publican in pohtical sentiment. Imt has not 
aspired to public office. He has been as- 
sessor for his township for a numljer of 
terms, and is otherwise interested in the 
welfare (if his community. He is pro- 
gressive, well educated and keeps pace with 
the current events. He has one of the finest 
libraries in the county, and culture and re- 
finement are everywhere present at his home. 
He is a gentleman of good address, and one 
whom it is a pleasure to meet. 



OLIVER MARTI X YORK. 

The early settlers of a country are the 
ones who monk! her destinv, and in Adams 
county, W'isconsin,^ many of the pioneers 
who did so much for that region still reside. 
Foremost among this class stands the gen- 
tleman whose name heads this review. 
Adams county has been his home for many 
years, hut he has not resided long in Monroe 
township. However, he has found a high 
place in the minds of his associates, and is 
a respected member of his community. 

iNIr. York was born February 8, 1827, 
at Adams, Jefferson county, Xew York, and 
v,-as the son of Erastus and Elizabeth (Til- 
den) York. Hig father was a shoemaker 



by trade, and came to Adams county, Wis- 
consin, from Jefferson county. New York, in 
1892. He was eighty-five years of age at 
the time and came to reside with his children 
aiul his death occurred at the home of his 
daughter, Mrs. Benjamin, of Vanceburg, 
Dunn county, Wisconsin, at the age of 
eighty-six years. The mother died in Jef- 
ferson county, New York, June 24, 1843, 
aged forty-one years. 

At a very early age our subject went to 
work on a farm at three dollars per month. 
At seventeen years of age he began sailing 
on the lakes, .going as far west as Chicago, 
at which he continued about three years, 
when he went to Spring Prairie, Walworth 
countv, Wisconsin, and engaged at work on 
a farm. After three years spent at farm w^ork 
he learned the mason's trade, which he fol- 
lowed about three years there, and then two 
years in Poynette, Columbia county. He 
later moved to Easton, Adams county, and 
took up one hundred and twenty acres of 
land, all of which was wild. He was one of 
the first settlers, and neighbors were few and 
far away. He improved the land and erect- 
ed good buildings, and occupied the place 
until 1873, when he disposed of the farm for 
one in Rome township, and in 1893 sold that 
farm and ]3urchased his present estate in 
]Monroe tnwnship. He has a well improved 
farm antl the appearance of the place evi- 
dences care in every detail. 

Mr. York enlisted in Company K, Twen- 
ty-fifth Wisconsin Volunteers, August 15, 
1862, and was in all of Sherman's campaigns 
and on his march to the sea. He was a spec- 
tator of the grand review at Washington, 
but did not jjarticipate in the march, owino- 
to his being on detached .service, and sec- 
ond lieutenant of the Twenty-fifth Wiscon- 
sin, under Rusk. He was mustered out at 
Washington, in 1865. and received his dis- 
charge at Madison., Wisconsin, June 7th. 

Mr. York was married, in Honey Creek, 



700 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



Walworth county, \\'isconsin, October 8, 
1848, to Lydia Ackernian, of Poynette. 
Mrs. York died December 30, 1894, and was 
buried in Rome, Wisconsin. Seven chil- 
dren, four of whom are hving-, were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. York, as follows : Frank E., 
an agriculturist, of Monroe township; Laura 
E., now Mrs. C. H. Snyder, of Monroe; 
Robert N., now residing at Tomah; and 
Erastus V., residing at Friendship. Mr. 
York married Mrs. Alice M. AValker, of Big 
Fiats, January 14, 1896. Mrs. York was the 
widow of Philo D. Walker, who during the 
Civil war was orderly sergeant of Company 
K, Twenty-fifth Wisconsin Infantry. He 
died October 5, 1895, 'i"d was buried at Big 
Flats. Mr. York is a member of Badger 
Post, No. 122, G. A. R., of Friendship. In 
religious faith he is a member of the United 
Brethren church. He takes an active part in 
the affairs of the Republican party, and has 
attended as delegate numerous county con- 
ventions. He is a true and highly respected 
citizen. 



FOULK ROBERT ROBERTS. 

Foulk Robert Roberts, one of the earliest 
pioneer settlers of Columbia county, Wis- 
consin, entered claim to his land in Ran- 
dolph township, in 1844. He settled there 
on the 1st day of November of the same 
year, and has since made that his home, but 
is now retired from active pursuits and en- 
joys the competence which comes to him as 
the result of many years of industry and 
faithful efforts. The farm is located in sec- 
tions I and 12, of Randolph township, con- 
sisting of two hundred and forty acres, and 
was the first land entered in the county by a 
\\'elshman. 

Our subject was born on a farm named 
Blaen-y-Cs, in the ])arish of Llanddeiniolan, 
Caernarvonshire, North \\'ales, February 
14, 1820, and was a son of Robert and 



Catherine Roberts. His grandfather, Robert 
Roberts, was a farmer by occupation, and the 
father of our subject was a Cjuarryman dur- 
ing his younger days and was one of three 
men who opened the quarry of Llanberis, 
in Cjernarvonshire, and later in life followed 
farming on the estate where our subject was 
born, living there until his demise. Our sub- 
ject's maternal grandparents were Foulk 
and Ann (Morris) Jones, and the grand- 
father was a laborer and tiller of a small 
farm. 

Foulk Robert Roberts remained in his 
native land until 1844, when, with his britle, 
his widowed mother and his two brothers, 
David and Thomas, and other families, he 
came to America. They sailed from Liver- 
pool and after three weeks landed at New 
York, and from there proceeded by boat to 
Racine, ^^'isconsin, reaching their destina- 
tion about six weeks after leaving their na- 
ti\'e land. Our subject, his two brothers and 
a companion left the others of the family 
at Racine and went in search of a suitable 
location. The}- foimd some of their nation- 
ality settletl at Janesville, but no available 
land near there, although a small tract of 
eighty acres was offered our subject at a 
price that was ^•ery reasonable, but he re- 
fused, owing to the scarcity of land for the 
other settlers, who contemplated forming a 
colony. That eighty-acre tract was after- 
ward the town site of Janesville. They trav- 
eled to \\'atertown afoot, but found most of 
the land taken or pre-empted, and they then 
proceeded to Lake Emily, where the go\ern- 
ment l.and agent ga\'e them all necessary in- 
formation and they soon selected locations. 
The brother, David, had traveled extensively 
and had a good knowledge of English, and 
was employed by the land agent to assist in 
locating settlers from his nati\'e land, and 
he assisted in selecting homes for the first 
settlers of Welsh Prairie, in the town of 
Springvale. David Roberts left for Call- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



roi 



foniia with his hrother, Thomas, during the 
gold excitement, and they made tlieir way 
across the phiins. He died soon after ar- 
riving there. After locating land in section 
12. in Randolph township, Columbia county, 
and section 7, Fox Lake township, Dodge 
county, in October, 1844, our subject and 
his brothers returned to Racine, Wisconsin, 
for their mother and wives, and November 
I, of that year, located permanently on their 
farms. There being on land bought by 
Thomas a small house, in this they installed 
their mother and families. Our subject on 
his own land built a small shanty for him- 
self and wife. Some years afterward he 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of 
land adjoining his original farm in section 
I; in Randolph county. His mother died in 
1 871 . Our suliject prospered at farming and 
conducted the estate until recent years, when 
he sold the farm to his son and is now liv- 
ing on the old homestead farm, retired from 
active pursuits. 

Mr. Roberts was married, August 18, 
1844, to Catherine Owen, a daughter of 
Griffith and Elizabeth (Rowlands) Owen. 
Her grandparents on the paternal side were 
Owen Thomas and Jane (Griffith) Evans, 
and were 1)y occupation farmers, and their 
home was in Lhn, Caernarvonshire. Mrs. 
Roberts' father was a farm laborer. Her 
maternal grandparents were Rowland Hum- 
phrey and Sarah Thomas Pritchart Pryse, 
of Llanfalrus. Mrs. Roberts' parents came 
to America in 1846 with three of their chil- 
dren, Mary, Eleanor and Griffith, and in 
1847 Samuel and Jane and the latter's hus- 
band came to America. Two sisters re- 
mained in Wales. The mother died four 
years after her arrixal here, in 1850. 

Mr. and ^Irs. Roberts are the parents of 
five children, as follows : Catherine, now 
Mrs. William Parry, of Milwaukee;, Eliza- 
beth, now Mrs. John R. Owens, of Columbus; 
Sarali, who became the wife of R. P. Wynne, 



of Milwaukee, and died in April, 1899; 
Eleanor, now ]Mrs. Richard Williams, living 
at the old home; and Robert P., married 
and living at Randolph. All the children are 
natives of Randolph township, and were born 
on the homestead farm. Mr. Roberts is a 
gentleman of intelligence, and has contrib- 
uted valuable articles to the press in his own 
language. He is a consistent member of 
the Welsh C. M. church, and has held the 
office of deacon in the church since 1854. 
He was one of four who established the first 
Sabbath school, the first meeting being held 
the first Sunday in November, 1844. He 
and his two brothers, Da\-id and Tliomas, 
and a companion, John Evans, felt the need 
of religious services and with their Bibles 
went to a roofless shed and held services, 
reading alternately and discussing the scrip- 
tures and after their meeting decided to 
found a Sunday school. They gave notice 
to the surrounding neighbors of their reso- 
lution and the next services were held the 
following Sabbath at the home of our sub- 
ject's mother, and met there for some years 
afterward until a suitable place could be 
provided. A church was built some years 
later on the southwest corner of his home- 
stead, which is known as Engedi, and still 
remains. Our subject voted the first ticket 
placed before the electors of Wisconsin by 
the Republican party in 1855, and has since 
been identified with that party. He was 
present at the first meeting of his township 
for its organization and is the only mem- 
ber present who is still living. He is fore- 
most in his labors for the common people 
and left his native land on account of the 
oppression existing there. 



JAMES PARSON PALMER. 

James Parson Palmer, a well-kn<nvn 
farmer and highly-esteemed citizen of h^air- 
field township, Sauk county, Wisconsin, was 



702 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



born on the i6th of October, 1.826, in Ahia 
township, Lincoln county, Maine, and is a 
son of John and Malinda (Fisher) Palmer. 
His paternal grandfather was Simon Pahner, 
a native of England, who was born in 1 746, 
and lacked only six months of being one 
hundred years old at the time of his death 
His wife was killed by the Indians during 
the French and Indian war. The maternal 
grandfather of our subject was Peter Fish- 
er, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and 
came to this country as a soldier in the Brit- 
ish army during the Revolutionary war. He 
was taken prisoner and held in captivity un- 
til hostilities ceased, after which he married 
and located in x\merica. The father of our 
subject was born in Maine, in 1788, and in 
early life followed the sea, but later gave his 
attention to agricultural pursuits. He was 
one of a family of four cliiklren, John, Jona- 
than, Elisha and ^^■illiam, all of whom set- 
tled in Maine with the exception of one who 
v.ent to Iowa. 

The subject of this sketcli is also one of 
a family of four children, the others being 
Emily, Anna Eliza and Louisa. His early 
life was passed in the county of his nativity, 
attending the public schools in winter, while 
during the summer months he served in the 
capacity of cabin boy on packets plying be- 
tween Boston and Wiscasset, Maine. At 
the age of fifteen he went to Boston to learn 
the machinist's trade, spending two years at 
tliat place. He continued to work at the 
trade, however, for eight years, ser\-ing as 
foreman of a shop in Augusta, Maine, for 
two years of the time. In April, 1849, '^^ 
came west, and landed-in Sauk county, Wis- 
consin, on the 2d of May, since which time 
he has made his home here. For about four 
years he engaged in lumbering and running 
on the Wisconsin river, and later accepted 
the position of overseer on what is known 
as the Wells farm. About 1864 he pur- 
chased forty acres of land in Fairfield town- 



ship, upon which he has made his home since 
1875, his time and attention being devoted to 
agricultural pursuits. 

On the 13th of September, 1856, Mr. 
Palmer was united in marriage with Miss 
Permelia P. Plummer, also a native of Lin- 
coln county, Maine, born in the town of 
Pittston, April 9. 1838. In 1848 she came to 
Wisconsin with her parents. Riel and Ro- 
saanna (Collsy) Plummer, who settled in 
Sauk county on the \\'isconsin ri\-er, when 
Fairfield township contained only ten or 
twelve families, and most of the land was in 
its primitive condition. Her father was born 
in Alna township, Lincoln count}', Maine, 
September 10, 1802, and her mother was 
born on Westport Island, Maine, November 
27, 1806. Colby's Grove was named for her 
parents. To our subject and his wife were 
born six children, namely: Lester Eugene; 
Marion : James ; Frank ; Louis, tleceased ; 
and Erving. Politically Air. Palmer is a 
stanch supporter of the Republican party, and 
he takes a deep and commendable interest 
in public affairs, never withholding his aid 
from any enterprise calculated to prove of 
public benefit. 



ISAAC BEACH. 

More than half a century ago this gentle- 
man came to Columbia county, and during 
this long period, which covers nearly the 
whole span of the county's development 
from a primitive state to its present flourish- 
ing condition, he has been actively interested 
in its progress. Throughout life he has en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits and is to-day 
one of the prosperous and substantial citi- 
zens of Marcellon township. 

Mr. Beach is a native of New York 
state, and a son of Nathan and Sally (Wil- 
cox) Beach. The father was born in War- 
ren county, that state, and in earlv life 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



708 



learned tlie lilacksmith's trade, at which he 
worked near Little Falls, New York, until 
1 846, when he came west and settled in Wal- 
worth county, Wisconsin. A year later he 
came to Columbia county, locating in the 
town of Marcellon, where he opened the first 
blacksmith shop. At the same time he pur- 
chased forty acres of land, but devoted his 
time principally to his trade until 1851, when 
he bought one hundred and sixty acres more, 
and then followeil farming cjuite extensive- 
ly. In 1854 he went to California, engag- 
ing in the mining stock business at San Jose 
until his death, which occurred iiT 1889. He 
was a very prominent and successful man. 
one looked up to b}- all who knew him. As a 
Democrat he took a leading part in local 
politics and was called upon to fill all of the 
town offices. 

In 1829 Nathan Beach married Sally 
Wilcox, also a nati\e of the Empire state, 
who died in Marcellon, Wisconsin, in 1881. 
Tu them were Ixjrn thirteen children, of 
whom twelve reached years of maturity, 
namely : Tyler, a resident of San Jose, Cali- 
fornia ; Sabina, deceased wife of William 
Stebbins; Henry, deceased; Isaac, our sub- 
ject; Sylva, deceased wife of E. Wood- 
ard; Jane, wife of George Sadler, of Green 
county, Wisconsin; Caroline, wife of Math- 
ew RIcEwen, of Portland, Oregon; Carmi. 
a twin of Caroline, deceased; Daniel, a resi- 
dent of Oakland, California; Sarah, wife of 
John Ule, of Oakland; Ellen, a resident of 
Pardeevill.e, Wisconsin : and Frank, a resi- 
dent of Portland, Oregon. 

Isaac Beach, our subject, remained at 
his home until eleven years of age, or until 
his father's removal to Wisconsin, and then, 
as the family was large, he commenced 
working at farm labor for others during the 
summer months, and as a day laborer in the 
woods until twenty-three. He was then 
married to Miss Clarissa Lipe, who was born 



in New York state, February 22, 1835. Her 
parents, Abram and Clarissa (Richmond) 
Lipe, were originally from Vermont, and 
came to Wisconsin in 1854, locating in Mar- 
cellon township, Columbia county. The fa- 
ther, who was a farmer by occupation, died 
July 20, 1 87 1, aged sixty- four years, and 
the mother passed away August 21, 1867, 
aged fifty-eight years. Our sulaject and his 
wife had two cliildren : Marion, who was 
born April 22, 1859, and died in January, 
1868; and Roland, wdio was born October 
31, 1856, and died in January, 1872. The 
wife and mother departed this life July 3, 
1880. 

For a year after his marriage !Mr. Beach 
operated Samuel Stebbin's farm, in Scott 
township, on the shares, and then purchased 
forty acres of wild land in the same town- 
ship, whicli he improved by the erection of 
a house and other farm buildings, and by 
clearing and placing the land under cultiva- 
tion. While thus employed he also operated 
other tracts of land on shares for different 
parties for three years, at the end of which 
time he bought another forty-acre tract, 
which he partially cleared. In 1866 he re- 
moved to Marcellon township and located 
upon his present farm, a portion of which 
had at one time belonged to his father, whose 
land was mostly divided into town lots. One 
hundred and sixty acres were sold to Carmi 
Beach, and are now owned by Henry Rich- 
mond. In 1866 Mr. Beach bought ten acres 
and erected thereon his present comfortable 
residence and good outbuildings, and from 
time to time added to the place until he now 
owns three hundred acres of fine land on sec- 
tions 25, 26 and 36, Marcellon township. 
At one time in connection with his farming 
operations, he was engaged in dealing in cat- 
tle and hogs for six years, and in all his un- 
dertakings has been very successful. His 
upright course in life commands the respect 



ro4 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ai!d commendation of all. and he is justly 
entitled to a prominent place in his county's 
history. He usually supnorts the Republican 
party but is rather independent in politics. 



JAMES STONE, Deceased. 

For many years prior to his de^ith this 
gentleman was a resident of Spring-ville 
township, Adams county, where he operated 
an extensive tract of land and was remarka- 
bly successful. He left a fine estate of sev- 
en hundred and twenty acres, which is now 
under the management of his widow and 
three sons, and bears every evidence of 
painstaking care in the labors about the 
place. Mr. Stone was a striking example 
of what may be accomplished by persistent 
industry, and strict attention to business de- 
tails, and at the time of his death he was one 
of the substantial men of his community, 
and respected by his large circle of acquaint- 
ances. 

James Stone was born at Bridgewater, 
Lincolnshire, England, February 24, 1848, 
and was the son of a farmer. At the age of 
twenty-five years he came to America and 
located at Waukegan, Illinois, where he 
worked on a farm on shares. He stayed 
about two years, and then moved to Spring- 
ville township, Adams county, where he pur- 
chased a farm of or.e hundred and twenty 
acres, and by hard work and good manage- 
ment added to his possessions until he was 
the fortunate owner of seven hundred and 
twenty acres, about three hundred acres of 
which is under cultivation. He was a cheese 
maker in his native land and had always 
cherished the idea of establishing a business 
in this country, but his untimely death frus- 
trated his plans. Mrs. Stone, assisted by 
her three sons, now makes a specialty of stock 
raising, including hogs and horses, and the 
estate furnishes a comfortable income. 



Mr. Stone was married, November 13, 
1876, to Louisa Knutsen, daughter of Knut- 
sen and Carrie (Anderson) Knutsen, of 
Sken, Norway. Mrs. Stone came to the 
United States in 1871, some years before her 
parents, who came after her marriage and 
made their home with her for about one 
}ear, when they moved to New Chester, 
Adams county. Her father died in March, 
1892, and is buried at New Chester, and the 
mother survives him. 

Six children, all of whom are at home, 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stone, as fol- 
lows : Henry, born September 15, 1876; 
Carrie, born August 27, 1878; Frank, born 
October 11, 1880; Lizzie, born August 21, 
1882; Samuel, born December 7, 1884; and 
Mary, born June 12, 1888. 

Mr. Stone passed from this life in 
Springville township, Adams county, Wis- 
consin, May 30, 1890. His exemplary life 
and ability are well known to the people of 
Adams county, where he spent so many 
years, and they recognize in his name a 
gentleman whose unbiased mind and public 
spirit entitle him to more than passing men- 
tion. He was progressive and his ideas were 
attended by a oneness of purpose which 
made him every man's friend, and he wield- 
ed an influence for good which was felt not 
only in his own township l)ut throughout 
the county. 



IRA C. LUCE. 



The Luce livery, feed and sale stable, 
of Poynette, is well known throughout Co- 
lumbia county, and the proprietor of that 
establfshment has spared no pains to make 
his business one of the first in the village. 
He is a gentleman who commands respect 
and his genial nature and pleasant manner 
makes every man his friend. 

Mr. Luce was born in Chautauqua conn- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



705 



ty, New York, November i, i860, and is the 
son of Charles and Mary (Barnard) Luce, 
v'ho were natives of the same county. His 
father was l>orn December 14, 1838, and 
was a farmer by occupation, and the motlier 
was born October 22, 1840. Our subject is 
tlieir only son now living, and the family 
came to Wisconsin and settled in Columbia 
county, in 1868, and purchased a farm two 
miles east of Poynette, where they remained 
until 1881, when they removed to the village 
of Poynette, where they still reside. 

Our subject received a good education, 
and in 1884 engaged in the hardware busi- 
ness. He disposed of his business in 1890 
and erected a fine livery barn, and stocked it 
with a full outlay of livery, and now enjoys 
a good patronage. He handles some fine 
fast horses, and is one of the wide awake 
men of his calling. His father has been en- 
gaged for some years in the business of mov- 
ing buildings, and is well equipped for that 
trade. 

Mr. Luce was married, February 20, 
1888, to Ella Price, daughter of James 
Price, of Poynette. Three children have been 
born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Luce, 
upon whom the}^ have bestowed the names 
of Mary, Jasper and Luena. Mrs. Luce is 
a member of the Methodist chuch, and the 
father and mother of Mr. Luce are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Luce 
holds membership in the Modern Woodmen 
of America. He was constable for nine 
years, and has also served as city marshal. 
He is a Democrat in political sentiment, and 
takes an active part in the affairs of his par- 
ty. He is prominent, and in all public mat- 
ters is ready to wield his influence for the 
welfare of his community. He is yet in the 
prime of vigorous manhood, and is destined 
to become one of the leading men of his 
county. He has known this state as his 
home for the greater part of his life, and his 
career has been one of uprightness and hon- 



or, and his character is Ijeyi^nd reproach. 
Practical business sense has placed him 
among the substantial men of the commu- 
nity and his energy and enterprise are ap- 
parent in the management of his establish- 
ment. 



PAUL LACHMUND. 

Paul Lachmund, a worthy representative 
of the business interests of Sauk City, and 
a prominent citizen of that place, is a na- 
tive of Muenden, province of Hanover, Ger- 
many, and came to this country in 1854 with 
his parents. Dr. Henrich G. and Bertha (Do- 
cile) Lachmund. The father was a well edu- 
cated man of literary tastes and was a skilled 
physician and surgeon. For a year and a 
half the family made their home in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, and for the same length of time 
in Sigourney, Iowa, after which they came to 
Sauk City. For many years the father was 
one of the most popular and successful phy- 
sicians of this part of the country, his prac- 
tice extending over a wide range of territory. 
In 1 88 1 he retired from active life and made ' 
his home for a time in St. LouiS; ^lissouri, 
but finally returned to Sauk City, where he 
died in 1890. The mother of our subject 
had passed away in 1871. Of the four chil- 
dren born to them, three are still living, 
namely: Karl S., a resident of New York 
city; Agnes; and Paul. 

Paul Lachmund, of this review, ob- 
tained his education principally under the di- 
rection of a private tutor in the family, and 
through the excellent instruction of his fa- 
ther, only attending the public schools for 
one term in Sigourney. In 1859 he com- 
menced his business life with a man who 
was engaged in tailoring and conducting a 
general store, and he obtained a knowledge 
of both occupations. Later he clerked for 
George Pratt, in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, 



706 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



for one year, and for the same length of time 
assisted his father, who had opened an apoth- 
ecary shop in Sauk City, where he gained 
a good knowledge of drugs and chemicals 
and also Latin. The following two years he 
engaged in clerking in a general store at 
Cross Plains, and from there went to Mil- 
waukee, where he attended a commercial col- 
lege and then entered a life and fire insurance 
office, where he was employed two years. He 
next accepted a position in a dry-goods 
house, with which he was connected until 
the dissolution of the firm, being engaged in 
clerking and traveling on the road By this 
time he had gained a good practical knowl- 
edge of business in general, and on his re- 
turn to Sauk City, in 1870, opened a general 
store, which he conducted for five years. 
Subsequently he accepted a position in Mil- 
^vaukee with the Mechanics' Insurance Com- 
pany, and in January, 1878, returned to 
Sauk City, where he has since been engaged 
in the lumber trade with most gratifying 
success, dealing in all kinds of lumber, sash, 
doors, blinds, etc. 

Mr. Lachmund married Miss Bertha 
Hallazs, by whom he has seven children, 
namely: Victor, Edwin, Irnia, Herman, 
Robert, Bruno and Clara. In religious be- 
lief he is liberal and is connected with the 
Free Congregational society of Sauk City. 
His political support is always given the men 
and measures of the Republican party, and 
he has served as a -delegate to county and 
state conventions, has been a member of the 
state central committee, and in 1896 was 
an elector-at-large on the Republican ticket. 
He has filled the office of justice of the peace, 
was president of the board of trustees, a 
member of the county board, and chairman 
of the latter board. He also has been connect- 
ed with the school board twelve years, of 
which he was secretary and treasurer a part 
of the time, and his advice and judgment 
are often sought in public affairs. He is a 



modest and unassuming man, but is widely 
and favoraljly known, and is ver_v popular 
with the people. 



JOEL BARRETT WRIGHT. 

Strength of character and activity of 
mind, two of the characteristics which have 
predominated in the life of our subject, have 
given to Adams county her more influential 
citizens, and prominent among them stands 
this gentleman. He has been a conspicuous 
figure in the history of that region, and' 
needs little introduction to those among 
whom he has passed nearly forty-five years. 
He was a pioneer of Adams county, and his 
home is now located in New Chester town- 
ship, where he has gathered around him a 
pleasant home and fine estate. 

Mr. Wright was born in Mount Holly, 
Vermont, October 8, 1829, and was the son 
of Elijah and Lucy (Wright) Spaulding. 
His father was accidentally killed when our 
subject was but a young boy, and -an uncle, 
Joel Wright, adopted him, and he took the 
uncle's sirname as his own. Joel Wright 
was a farmer by occupation, and died Jan- 
uary 14, 1867, at Chelmsford, Massachusetts. 
After her husband's death our subject's 
mother married Calvin Sargent, -and later 
married Mr. Taylor. By the second mar- 
riage she was the mother of nine children. 
She was the daughter of Zacheus Wright, a 
prosperous farmer of Chelmsford, Massa- 
chusetts, probably of English descent. Her 
death occurred in Vermont, October i, 1874, 
aged sixty-seven years, four months and 
twenty-seven days. Our subject's grand- 
father, Zebulon Spaulding, was a man of 
great physical proportions and strength, and 
was a farmer by occupation. He removed 
from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to Lud- 
low, Vermont, where he resided until his 
death. Our subject's parents had four sons 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ro7 



and one daugiiter, as fnllows : One son died 
in infancy; Calvin W. ; Elijah, who after- 
wartl took the name of Wilder; Joel ?>.. onr 
subject; and Ahioail, wjio married Mr. 
rJifjelDW, and died in Connecticut. Our sub- 
ject is the only sur\-iving member of the 
family. Two of his brothers were also 
adopted by other families whose names they 
Kiok as their own. 

At two years of age our subject removed 
with his foster-father to Chelmsford, Mas- 
sachusetts, wliere he spent his boyhood days 
01! a farm. lie was employed a part of the 
time in a cotton factory at Lowell, and was 
also one season in the match factory at Bos- 
ton. He came to Wisconsin in the spring of 
1855, and located in Adams county. In i860 
he purchased his present homestead in New 
-Chester township, and of the wild land he 
then purchased he has made a well impreived 
farm. His estate covers eighty acres, sixty 
acres of which is under a high state of culti- 
vation. He has erectecj commodious and con- 
venient farm buildings, and in every manner 
made it one of the first farms of the vicinity. 
For several years he marketed his protluce 
at Grand Rapids, and spent one or two sea- 
sons lumbering on the Yellow river. 

Mr. Wright enlisted in October, 1861, 
i"ii Company H. Eles'enth \\'isconsin \'olun- 
teer Infantry, and served nearly four years. 
Before leaving Madison, Wisconsin, he suf- 
fered an attack of pneumonia, and upon his 
recovery was appointed steward of the field 
liospital, and was later employed in the hos- 
pital at Mound City, Illinois, for two months. 
He then went with his regiment to Texas, 
where he re-enlisted as a veteran in the same 
company and regiment. From boyhood he 
was an adept at surgery, and was offered the 
position of assistant surgeon in the service 
but declined. He accompanied his regiment, 
doing hospital duty at Bayou Cache, Port 
Gibson, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black 
River, siege of Vicksburg, Fort Esperan- 

38 



za, Spanish Fort, Blakeley, and Mobile. 
Most of the time he was on tlie field in charge 
of the stretcher bearers. 

Mr. Wright was married, April 11, 1S50, 
at Nashua. New Hampshire, to Ann Ware, 
daughter of Parker and Maria (Cowdry) 
Ware. Mrs. Wright was born in Hillsboro, 
?\ew Hampshire, and spent most of her child- 
hood at Billerica, Massachusetts. Her father 
was a native of New Hampshire, and served 
in the war of 1812. Mrs. Wright's grand- 
father, Joseph Cowdry, was a farmer, who 
removed from New Hampshire to Billerica, 
Massachusetts, and his wife, Lucy (Brown) 
Cowdry, was the daughter of Thomas 
Brown, a farmer of Billerica. Two chil- 
dren were born to I\Ir. and Mrs. Wright, as 
follows : Joel Jefferson, postmaster of Ox- 
fonl, Wisconsin, and Annetta S., now Mrs. 
Hon. Clarence Pierce, of Germania, Wiscon- 
sin. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have eight grand- 
children and one great-grandchild. Both 
our subject and Mrs. Weight are members, 
of the Jonesville Congregational church, 
which they assisted in organizing, and Mr. 
Wright is a trustee and treasurer of the 
cliurch. They were formerly connected with 
the New Chester Congregational church. 
Mr. Wright is a member of J. C. Miller Post, 
G. A. R., at Oxford, and also the Masonic 
fraternity. He has been a Republican since 
the organization of that party, but cast his 
presidential vote for Pierce in 1852. Soon 
after the Adams county poor house was 
established, in 1876, he was appointed over- 
seer and spent two years in charge of the in- 
stitution. Although he had but few con- 
veniences on which to depend, he conducted 
the place satisfactorily and declined appoint- 
ment the third year. He has filled numerous 
township offices and served as county super- 
intendent of the poor for six years. His act- 
i\-e public spirit and faithful service for the 
welfare of his community commend him to 
the respect of his many friends. 



ros 



COMPUNDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



WILLIAM T. KINNEY. 

William T. Kinney, ex-soklier an:l prom- 
iiient citizen of Lavalle, Sauk cdunty, will 
readily be recognized as one of the leading 
merchants of that village. He is engaged 
in the furniture business and mulertaking, 
and has resided in Laville for over twenty 
years. In that time he has done much to 
promote the interests of the A'illage, and is 
one of the substantial men of Sauk county. 
Mr. Kinney was bom in Whitby, Ontario, 
April I, 1843, and was the son of Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Stevens) Kinney, natives of 
Nova Scotia. His father was born August 
8, 1 801, and was the son of Samuel Kin- 
ney, who was in the United States during 
the Revolutionary war. Thomas Kinnc}' was 
a cooper by trade and mo\-ed to \\'hitb}'. 
Ontario, in 1837, and to New Berlin,. \\'au- 
kesha county, Wisconsin, in 1850, where he 
followed his trade. He moved to Richland 
Center in 1855, where he died in yVpril, 
1878. 

Our subject stayed at hc>n>e until the 
breaking out of the Civil war and then en- 
listed in January, 1862, at the age of eight- 
een years, in Comjiany F, Secontl Wiscon- 
sin Cavalry. He saw service under General 
C. C. Washburn, at the siege of \'icksburg, 
was in the expedition under Sherman at 
Meridian, and was in numerous skirmishes, 
and went to Houston and Austin, Texas, 
under Custer. He was taken prisoner, and 
detained at Vicksburg until paroled about 
January i, 1863. He was exchanged and 
returned to the service and was mustered out 
at Austin, Texas, December 17, 1865. For 
nine years after his return from the war he 
was engaged in farming in Richland county. 
Wisconsin, afterward moving to a farm one 
mile fr(.)m the x'illage of La\'alle, which he 
occupied three years. He moved to Lavalle 
in 1878, and engaged in the furniture and 
undertaking business. 



Mr. Kinney was married October 9, 
1870, to Emma Potter, daughter of Elisha 
and A. (Calkins) Potter, natives of Madison 
county, New York, who moved to Lavalle 
township in 1852, and engaged in farm- 
ing. Two children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Kinney, as follows; \Valter W., born 
October 3, 1871, now U. S. railway mail 
clerk; and Frederic E., born May 16, 1875. 
He was a tinner by trade, and enlisted in the 
Spanish-American war in Company B, One 
Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana \'olun- 
teers, and went to Fernandina, Florida, 
where he died of malarial fever, August 15, 
1898, and was laid to rest at Lavalle. He 
was probably the first victim of the war 
from Sauk county. 

Mr. Kinney has served as member of the 
county board, and is prominent in public af- 
fairs. He is a member of A. A. Matthews 
I'ost, No. 49, G. A. R., of Lavalle, and has 
lield all of the offices connected with the 
post, and is present senior vice-commander. 
He is a Republican in political sentiment and 
stands firmly for the principles of his party. 
He is a man who commands respect wher- 
ever known. As an old soldier he can look 
back over an honorable military career, spent 
in defending the L^nion. During those times 
he was a bra\'e and true soldier and served 
his country faithfully and well, and tij-day 
ho is a true and faithful citizen, and ably 
seconds all projects which tend to the pro- 
tection and upbuilding of the interests of the 
\'illage in which he lives. 



EDWARD MURPHY. 

Edward Murphy, a resident of Kilbourn 
City, Columbia county, Wisconsin, was born 
in the town of Dell Prairie, and is a son of 
David and Mary (Cusack) Murphy. He has 
won for himself a good standing in Killiourn 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



709 



City, and bids fair to attain still more marked 
success in the not distant future if health 
and strength remain. 

David Mur]jhv, the father of our subject, 
was one of the remarkable men of his time. 
Born in humble circumstances, oppressed 
with poverty and privation, he reared a large 
family to maturity, gave them a good educa- 
tion, and prepared them for an active and 
honorable career, and passed away at last, full 
of years and honor. He was born near Lim- 
erick, Ireland, November 2y, 1835, and died 
September 27, 1898, leaving the priceless 
legacy of a good name and an upright char- 
acter. He came to America in 1841, when 
his father, John Murphy, brought his fam- 
ily across the ocean and settled near Mont- 
real. He was a shoemaker, and worked at 
his trade. In 1848 the family came to Wis- 
consin, and settled on a large farm near 
Madison. Here John Murphy was very suc- 
cessful. He worked hard, managed wisely, 
and became c^uite prosperous. ^Vhen his wife 
died he came into Madison and retired from 
active life. He died in Duluth at the home 
of a "son in 1880. 

David Murphy was well educated, receiv- 
ing instruction in the public schools of Can- 
ada and Wisconsin, and finishing in the high 
school at Madison. At the age of seven- 
teen he began life for himself, and for a time 
worked in the lumber woods. He Ijecame 
foreman of the ^^'. H. Knox Luml)er Com- 
pany, and by strict attention to business 
gained a very good position. In 1857 he 
located in the town of Dell Prairie, where he 
had secured one hundred acres of choice 
farm land. Upon this he made substantial 
improvements, including a fine residence, and 
it is now one of the choicest farms in this 
highly cultivated region. Seventy-five acres 
are under cultivation, and the place is very 
attractive. He was an honored member of 
the Catholic church, and a trusted ofificer of 
the town. He possessed a genial spirit and 



a social disposition, and was a popular char- 
acter. He was not an active party man. 
though interested in public affairs, and ever 
free to express himself. He was a great 
reader, fond of the best literature, and fully 
informed on current affairs. 

David Murphy and Mary Cussack were 
married, in July, 1861. She is a daughter 
01" Edniond and Katherine Cusack, pioneer 
settlers in the town of New Haven, Wiscon- 
sin, who did much to improve the country. 
Mrs. Murphy was born in August, 1845, 
and is the mother of ten children, nine of 
whom are still li\-ing: Jnhn A., born May 
5, 1863, is an engineer and a resident of 
Dakota. Edward, born July 29, 1865, is the 
subject of this article, and a resident of Kil- 
bourn City. Margaret E., born August 10, 
1868, was educated in the common schools 
and the Kilbourn high school. She was a 
successful school teacher for ten years, and 
is now the wife of Juseph Donahue, a suc- 
cessful farmer in New Haven, Adams coun- 
t}', Wisconsin. David J., liorn April 2, 
1871, li\-es in Winton, Alinnesota, where he 
is working for a lumber company. Mary, 
born January i, 1873, ^^''^s educated in Kil- 
bourn, where she graduated from the high 
school, and began teaching when seventeen 
years old. She was a successful teacher for 
five years, and in 1895 became a student of 
the Caton Business College at Minneapolis, 
from which she graduated in two years. She 
took a position as stenographer with the N. 
A. Publishing Company, which she held a 
year. When her father died she returned 
home, and resumed teaching in the neighbor- 
hood. Celia R., born December 6, 1875, 
graduated from the Kilbourn high school, 
and taught school a year. She went to the 
College of Journalism a year, received a di- 
ploma, and is now employed in New York 
city where she is very popular. Thomas P., 
born February 2, 1878, lives at home and 
has charge of the old homestead. William 



710 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



C, born June i, 1880, works at liome. Eliza- 
beth, born October i, 1882, is a student at the 
Kilbourn hig-Ji school. Harry, born April 
8, 1885, died October 4 1893. 

Edward Murphy was educated in the 
common school, and when fifteen years of 
age struck out for himself. He worked first 
as a lumberman along the Green Bay Rail- 
road for a year, and then went west for 
some months. He came back to Wisconsin 
again, and resumed his work in the lumber 
trade. He was with the same company ten 
years, and by close application to the inter- 
ests of the company gained a responsible po- 
sition at Auburndal.e. He kept a boarding 
house at Sherry, for the Sherry Lumber 
Company, at Sherry, Wisconsin, four years, 
and in 1894 located on a farm in the town 
of Newport, Columbia county. It consist- 
ed of eighty-six acres, and received substan- 
tial improvements at his hands. He sold it 
out after a time arid moved to Kilbourn, 
where he was engagefl in business for a 
year, when he sold out. 

He was married, October 2, 1888, to 
Miss Maggie Holihan. She is a daughter 
of Michael and Margaret (Nugent) Holi- 
han. Her parents were pioneer settlers in 
the town of Dell Prairie, where she was 
born, and where her father was widely 
known as a successful farmer. She was ed- 
ucated in the common schools of Adams 
county, and is a lady of many excellent 
traits of character. They are the parents of 
one child, Mary E., who was born May 27, 
1899. 



URBAN HUBER. 

Urban Huber, an industrious and pa- 
triotic citizen of Jackson township, Adams 
county, is one of the first farmers of that 
vicinity, and he has pushed Steadily forward 
to success. He is now enjoying his declin- 



ing years, surrounded by more than usual 
comforts, and is a respected citizen. 

Mr. Huber was born in Nesselwangen, 
Uberlingen, Baden, Germany, May 25, 1832, 
and was the son of Peter and Josepha (My- 
ers) Huber. His father served in the Ger- 
man army and was a prisoner in France for 
several years. He was afterward employed 
as a drix'er for an English missionarv for 
many years, and died during the earl_\- child- 
liood of our subject. The mother came to 
America in 1848, and died at Killjourn, 
Wisconsin, 'about 1880, aged nearly sixty 
years. 

Our subject accompanied his mother to 
America and learned the shoemaker's trade 
in New York City, where he remained for 
aljout six years, and then went to \\'iscon- 
sin and located at Sharon, Walworth coun- 
ty, and engaged at farming and plied his 
trade. He came to Adams county in 1858, 
and settled in Jackson township, where he 
now resides. He owns two hundred and 
forty acres and has cleared a farm of one 
hundred and thirty acres, and added substan- 
tial improvements. He has a shop at his 
home and works at his trade more or less. 
He operated a shop at Kilbourn for several 
years, but later returned to his farm. He 
has witnessed the development of that re- 
gion anil rode on the first train e\er run be- 
tween Shar(_in and Janesville, Wisconsin. 
Mr. Hulier enlisted in Company B, Forty- 
fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantr}-, in the 
fall of "1864, and served in the Army of the 
Cumberland under General Thomas, and 
took part in the battle of Nashville. He be- 
came a sufferer from chronic diarrhea, while 
in the service, from which he has never re- 
covered. He was discharged in July, 1865. 
Mr. Huber was married, in 1854, to Mar- 
garitta Hoffman, a native of Bayem, Ger- 
many. Mrs. Huber died September 9, 1887, 
leaving eight children, as follows : Minea, 
now Mrs. Frank Whaley; Frank; Andrew; 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



711 



lulward; Jacob, of Minocqua, Wisconsin; 
Tuhii; Kate; and Richard. AH are residents 
ot" Adams county, with the exception of Ja- 
cob. ]\Ir. IIu1)er was married, January 5, 
1890, to Mrs. Lizzie Larson, daughter of 
Evan and Jolianna Larson, of Kilbourn. 
Mrs. Huber was born in Nies Prestsegjel, 
Hedemarken, Norway. She came to Amer- 
ica in 1868. Her father cHed in Norway, 
and lier mother came to America in 1871, 
and died in Kilbourn in 1889, aged seventy- 
one years. Mrs. Hnl)er, by her previous 
marriage to Daniel Larson, was the mother 
of one child, Emil Julius. i\Ir. and Mrs. 
Muber are the parents of one child, a daugh- 
ter, upon whom they have bestowed the name 
of Dina. Mr. Huber was reared in the Cath- 
olic faith and his wife is a member of the 
Lutheran church, and the family attend the 
Jonesville Congregational church. He is a 
member of John Gillespie Post, G. A. R. He 
has always been a public-spirited man, but 
not an aspirant for public office, antl in po- 
litical faith is independent. 



WILLLXM A. HUME 

William A. Hume is one of Cnlumljia 
county's native sons, and a represeniati\-e of 
one of the most highly respected and hon- 
ored families, whose identification with her 
history dates from an early period in the 
development of the count\'. He was bom in 
Fort Winnebago township, September to, 
1863, a son of James and Jane ( Leagel ) 
Hume. The father was born in Scotland, 
November 23, 1822, and in 1841 crossed the 
broad i\tlantic with his father, James Hume. 
They located at w hat was known as Twiggs 
Ferry, in Fort Winnebago township, Colum- 
bia county, W^isconsin, where the father of 
our subject bought one [lundred and sixty 
acres of wild land, upon which he erected a 



log cabin, and then set to work to improve 
his place. He cleared away the timber and 
broke sixty acres of his land, and later 
erected a good frame house upon the farm. 
He was one of the leading men of his town- 
ship, was public-spirited and progressive and 
served the town in almost every official ca- 
pacity. On first locating here he attended 
church in Oxford, was one of the main sup- 
porters of the church, and was a member 
of its official board. He helped organize the 
school district and ever bore his part in ad- 
vancing the interests of his adopted county 
and state. At one time he and his father 
served as bridge tender of the float bridge in 
Fort Winnebago township. He was a sol- 
dier in the Union army during the Civil war 
and i)articipated in many skirmishes. In 
1897 he removed to Portage, Wisconsin, 
where he is now living a retired life, enjoy- 
ing a well earned rest, free frdui the cares 
and responsibilities of business life. 

William A. Hume was educated in the 
common schools of Columbia county, and 
during his boyhood and youth he aided his 
father in the improvement and cultivation of 
the home farm. At the age of nineteen years 
he started out in lii'e for himself as an ag- 
riculturist, and meeting with excellent suc- 
cess in his undertakings, he was able, in 
1 89 1, to purchase a farm of one hundred 
and thirty-seven acres, kncjwn as the Van 
Brunt farm, upon which he made many sub- 
stantial improvements. In 1894 he sold that 
place and bought his father's old homestead 
at Hume's Grove, which originally belonged 
to his grandfather, and there he is now suc- 
cessfully engaged in general farming. He 
casts his ballot for the men and measures of 
the Republican party, and gi\-es his support 
to every enterprise which he belie\es will 
prove of public benefit or will in any way ad- 
vance the interests of his town and county. 

On the 23d of April, 1890, Mr. Hume 
led to the marriage altar Miss Emma Tip- 



Hi 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ler, who was born in Winchester, Winne- 
bago county, Wisconsin, December 9, 1869, 
but she was reared and educated in Adams 
county. Her parents, Mills and Caroline 
(Wise) Tipler, were natives of Lincolnshire, 
England, and on their emigration to Amer- 
ica, in 1857, located in N^eenah, Wisconsin, 
but in 1877 removed to Easton township, 
Adams county, where they are now highly 
esteemed and prominent citizens. Our sub- 
ject and his wife have four children: Willis 
M., born April 16, 1891 ; Blanche E., born 
June 21, 1893; Gladys C, born August 12, 
1897, and Jessie Irene, born May 22, 1900. 
Mr. Hume is a member of Sil\-er Lake 
Lodge, No. 19, A. O. L'. W., at Portage. 



IRA McWILLIAMS. 

Ira McWilliams has for nearly twenty 
years been closely identified with the business 
interests of La\-alle, Sauk county, as notary 
public, justice of the peace, United States 
pension agent, and also does conveyancing. 
He has resided in Wisconsin since the close 
of the Civil war, and is one of the loyal men 
of this state. 

Mr. McWilliams was born in Pamelia 
Corners, Jefferson county. New York, Sep- 
tember 13, 1842, and was the son of Ste- 
phen and Mary (Gardner) McWilliams. His 
father came from Canada in 1835 and went 
to Lake \\t\\\ Dane county, Wisconsin, in 
1855, removing to Richland county in 1859, 
where he resided on a farm until 1882. He 
then moved to the village of Lavalle, Sauk 
county, where his death occurred in 1884. 
He was a consistent member of the Method- 
ist church, and in political sentiment was a 
Republican after the close of the war. The 
mother was born in Canada in 1814. 

Our subject was not afforded opportunity 
for attending school, but by working hard 



on the farm in the summer he was enabletl 
to spend part of the winter months at school, 
and taking ad\-antage of every opportunity 
gained a lilieral education and taught school 
for several years after leaving the army. He 
enlisted August 18. 1862, in Company E, 
Eighth Regiment Wisconsin V'olunteers, the 
famous "live eagle regiment," and served 
until the close of the war, being discharged 
September 5, 1865, at Demopolis, Alabama. 
He saw hea\"v ser\ice under Sherman, Grant 
and A. J. Smith, in Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, 
and Missouri. The first battle was at Fred- 
ricktown, Mississippi, then followed the 
siege of New Madrid ; Farmington ; first 
siege of Corinth, ]\Iay 2%, 1862; luka; 
Corinth, October 3d and 4th, 1862; the 
important battle at that place; Jackson, I\Iis- 
sissippi, Alay 14, 1863; attack on \'icks- 
burg. Ma)' 22, 1863; Richmond, Louisi- 
ana, June 16, 1863; second battle of luka; 
Mississippi ; Barns\'ille, Mississippi : third 
battle of luka: Mississippi Springs. Mis- 
sissippi: V'icksburg. June 24, 1863. He 
engaged in all the important engagements of 
the Western department, and the last battle 
was Spanish Fort, Louisiana. The service 
Avas long and hard, but he did his duty man- 
fully for the preseTN'ation of the Lhiion. 

After leaving the army our suliject lo- 
cated in Forestxille, Door count)', Wiscon- 
sin, and engaged in farming and taught 
scIkioI during the winter months, and in 
January, i867,rem(jved to Richland county, 
where he was engaged in the same calling. 
He remained there until November 20, 1880, 
when he removed to his present home in 
the village of Lavalle, Sauk county, and has 
lield continuous r-esidence there since. 

Mr. McWilliams bad four sisters who 
died in infancy, and four brothers, as fol- 
lows: Edward: John died July 4, 1^94, in 
\ ernon county ; George, residing in New- 
ton, \'ernon count\' : and James, em- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ri3 



ploved in the flnur mill in La\alle. Ira Mc- 
W'illiams was married at Anna]:)ee, Ke- 
waunee county, Wisconsin, December i, 
1867, to Mrs. Eliza Greeley Hartman, daugh- 
ter of Ephraim and Catharine Greeley. 
Mrs. McWilliams' father was born July 
4, 1787, and died in Racine, Wisconsin, 
!May 28, 1846. Her mother was borii 
in Canada, March 22, 1812, and died 
in Richland county, W'iscdusin, June 10, 
1879. Ephraim Greeley was a nephew of 
Horace Greeley, and was of Scotch-Irish 
descent. Mrs. McWilliams was born in 
AJendon, New York, April 22, 1843, and 
went with her parents to Cleveland, Ohio, 
in 1844, antl to Racine county, Wisconsin, 
in 1845. ^J^r. McWilliams is a member of 
the G. A. R., and is commander of the local 
post. No. 49. He served as postmaster of 
Lavalle under Harrison's administraticju, 
and was \illage clerk f(jr a number of years. 
He is a stanch Republican in political faith, 
and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. 
He is efficient in business, honest in his deal- 
ings and respected by his fellow men. 



EDMUND N. SARGENT, Deceased. 

Edmund N. Sargent, deceased, for many 
years a prosperous farmer of New Haven 
township, who resided later in the village 
of Big" Spring, was one of the pn^minent 
settlers of Adams county, and did much to 
further the interests of his community. He 
was the fortunate possessor of a fine estate 
in New Haven township, and gained a com- 
petence sufficient to tide him through life, 
and gained for himself the respect of those 
who knew him in a social as well as finan- 
cial sense. 

Mr. Sargent was born in Madrid, Maine, 
March 23, 1820, and was the son of John, 
Jr., and Hannah (Dunham) Sargent. His 



f:.ther was burn in Hubbleston, INIassachu- 
setts, and was of luiglish descent. He was 
a farmer and watchmaker by occupation, and 
both he and John Sargent, Sr., were pmni- 
inent citizens of Maine, and the latter served 
as a member of the state legislature. The 
mother of our subject was born in Maine, 
and was the daughter of Joseph and Abigail 
( Bates) Dunham. 

Our subject resided on a farm in Maine 
until 1857, when he came to Adams coun- 
ty. Wisconsin, and located on land in Xew 
Ha\en townshij), where before his death he 
had a well im])ni\ed farm. He enlisted in 
Company V. Thirty-seventh Wiscmi'^in 
Volunteer Infantry, August 22, 1864, and 
ser\ed abmU ten months. He took part in 
numerous skirmishes in the vicinit}' of 
Petersburg, and although he escaped w ith- 
out a wound, was broken in health, from 
wdiich he ne\-er recovered, and during the 
past few years was an invalid. He was 
discharged from the service May 24, 1803. 
.V few years since Mr. Sargent remo\ed to 
the village of Big Spring, and retired from 
active farm labors. 

Our subject was married, i\Iarch 2^, 
1843, to Sybil Clough, daughter of Moses 
and Polly (Davenport) Clough, natives of 
I\Jaine. Mrs. .Sargent's parents came to 
Wisconsin in 1850, and after spending one 
summer in Walworth county, moved to 
.Adams county, and resided in Xew Haven 
township <luring the remainder of their 
lives. Mv. Clough served in the war of 
1812, and his fatlier, John Clough, was a 
Revolutionary veteran. Mrs. Sargent's fa- 
ther lost his sight while blasting rock in 
Maine. Three brothers of Mrs. Sargent 
served in the Civil war: John, wdio died at 
Afound Citv, illinois, from the effect of 
wounds; Orrin, a prisoner for some time in 
a Confederate prison; and Daniel, wounded 
in battle. One son was born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Sargent, ( ieorge S., born March 5. 



714 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



1844, and died FelM-uary 9, 1870. Mr. 
-Sargent died May 16, 1900. His remains 
were accompanied to their last resting place 
by the Kilbourn Post and many friends. 
Mrs. Sargent is a consistent member of the 
Methodist church of Big Spring, ]\Ir. Sar- 
gent was a member of John Ciillespie Post, 
G. A. R., at Kilbourn. In early life he was 
a Democrat and \-oted fur James K. Polk, 
in 1844, but from the organization of the 
Repulilican party was identifieil with its 
movements. He was a gentleman strong in 
his convictions, always to be found stand- 
ing on the side of right and justice. He 
risked his life for the cause of his coun- 
try, and at all times displayed a public spirit, 
and zealously worked for the upbuilding of 
tliC better enterprises. 



FERNANDO COUXCELAIAN. 

Fernando Councelman, at the present 
time the mail carrier Ijetween the railroad 
station and the villag^e postoftice in Fall 
River, is one of the older residents of this 
part of Columbia county, and has had a 
varied and eventful career. Throughout 
h.is life he has disphned manly and enter- 
prising qualities and cinnmamls the con- 
fidence and respect of all wIkj know him. 
He was born in [Maine, Broome county, 
New York, April 22, 18-15, and is a son 
of Jacob and Sarah (Howard) Councelman, 
both native New Yorkers. Flis ancestors 
were among the earliest settlers of the state, 
and are said to have broken the first ground 
in Glen Aubrey. They came originally from 
Fiolland and there are many people bear- 
ing the name of Councelman in that part 
of the state. The parents of our subject 
came west and settled in Beloit, \Viscon- 
sin, in 1853, and here they spent the next 
ele\-en years. In 1864 the}- removed to Co- 



lumbus, and shortly afterward settled on a 
farm in the town of Otsego. In 1867 they 
removed to ]\Iinnesota, antl took up land 
near Pelican Rapids. There the senior 
Councelman died February 2, 1884, and 
tliere his widow is still living, at the age 
of eighty years, and is making her home 
with her daughter. There were seven chil- 
dren in the family, of whom our subject is 
the oldest; Helen married Heath Harris, 
aivl fives in Pelican Rapids ; Adelbert, an 
engineer, lives at Stevens Point ; Chauncey 
died in 1862; Edwin settled in Chicago, 
and was killed in the service of the Mil- 
waukee Railroad, while engaged as a rail- 
road man ; Lavinia married and died at 
Brandon, Wisconsin ; Clement li\'es at Peli- 
can Rapids. 

Mr. Councelman received his early edu- 
cation in the high school at Beloit, \\'isc(.)n- 
sin. He enlisted March 22, 1862, in Com- 
pany K, Eighteenth Wisconsin \'olunteer 
Infantry, at Milwaukee. Immediately after 
its organizatiim the regiment was sent to 
Pittsburg Landing, and within a week after 
its arrival was precipitated into the bloody 
battle of Shiloh. Here he was wounded in 
three different places, in the neck, the knee 
ai:d the ankle. He was taken to the hos- 
pital at New Albany, Indiana, and after he 
liad somewhat reco\-ered was sent Imme im 

i leave of alisence, but as his health did not 
return to him he was discharged in the fall 
of 1862. Thus the e\-ents of five minutes 

i v.-ere sufficient to blight all thought nf an 
after career in the army. Then came some 
three years of enforced idleness awaiting 
the slow return of health. In 1865 he did 
some work in a drug store in Beloit, and 
became quite proficient as a druggist. He 
v.-ent to Minnesota and spent some time as 
a prescription clerk for a drug firm in that 
state. In 1868 he came back to Columbia 
county, and settled in the village of Doyles- 
town, which continued to be his home for 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



715 



the next twenty years. Here lie married Miss 
•Jcnnette Richardson, a daughter <if Henry 
and Electa (Howard) Richardson. She is 
tlie mother oi tive living chil(h-en, and one 
boy wiio died in infancy. Those who servive 
are h^hner E., station agent and telegraph 
operator at Hartland, ^Visconsin; Howard 
and May H\e at home; Henry J. is a tele- 
grapli operator in Mihvaukee; Laura is at 
home. In 1890 the family removed to FaU 
River, and our subject engaged in the sale of 
agricultural implements. He is now mail 
messenger between the depot and the village. 
He is a Republican, and has ahva^-s taken 
cjuite an active part in politics. He is fre- 
cjuently sent to the warious cnn\entii:)ns as 
a delegate, and his voict? cnmniands atten- 
tion. He is justice of the i)eace and has 
been an occupant of that position UKjst of 
the time since residing in the \illage. He 
belongs to the Grand Arm)- of the Republic, 
and is commander of the local post. He has 
a decided reputation for honor and integrity, 
and his famil\- stand well in the cunimunitv. 



JOHN McCULLOUGH GRAHAM. 

Jnhn AlcCullough Ciraliam, an influen- 
tial and leading citizen of Friendship, Adams 
county, \\'isconsin, is living in practical re- 
tirement, in th^ enjoyment of the means 
which he has gathered during a career of 
industry, business sagacity, and cmiscien- 
tious integrity rarely met with in the moilern 
business and political, world. 

John ]\IcCullough Graham was born in 
Brown township, Carroll cnunt}', Ohio, 
September 22, 1832, son of James and 
Elizabeth (Seaton) Graham, both natives 
of Ireland, the former born in county Down, 
and the latter in county Tyrone. He came 
to America while a boy, and lived for some 
years in Philadelphia, working as a dray- 



man. He also spent a few years in the 
manufacture nf snuff in the state of Dela- 
ware, and in 1S31 he remo\'ed to Ohio, 
where he was employed in a grist-mill. He 
died in Ohio in 1856, aged si.xty-six years. 
He preceded his parents in coming to Amer- 
ica, having arrived in this country about the 
year 1800, they fullowing a few years later 
and locating in Delaware. James Graham 
had accomi^anied an uncle, James Graham, 
on his voyage to this country. The mother 
of our subject came to the United States in 
1799, with her father, Ezekiel Seaton, who 
lived a number of years in Philadelphia, 
where he conducted a Imtel. Later the fam- 
ily moved to Carroll county, Ohio. Mrs. 
Elizabeth Graham died in Ohio in 1837. 

James AlcCullough (jraham left home 
at ten years, and l)egan to earn his own 
living at farm labor. At the age of twenty 
years he began to engage in other occupa- 
tions, and in 1868 he came to Wisconsin, 
and the following spring located in Jackson 
township, Adams county. There he fol- 
lowed farming until 1892, when he retired 
from acti\'e work and took uj) his residence 
in Friendship. He performed the duties of 
county treasurer for six years, two years of 
w hich he acted as deputy treasurer. He was 
for many x'ears one of the leading business 
men of Adams county, and still takes much 
interest in business and public affairs, 
though his active attentions are given chiefly 
to his farm. He voted for Fremont in 1856 
for the presidencv, since which time he has 
been a consistent Republican. He has al- 
ways enjoyed in a large measure the con- 
fidence and esteem of the people of his com- 
munitv and county. He has held most of the 
local public offices. 

Mr. Graham was married in 1855 to 
Rebecca Totten, daughter of Samuel and 
Rachel Totten. She was born in Carroll 
county, Ohio, and her parents were orig- 
inally from Maryland. To Mr. and Mrs. 



716 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Craliam seven children were born, namely: 
Scott Totten, now conducting tlie home- 
stead farm; Mag-oie I., now Mrs. S. K. 
Bement. of Adams county; Samuel R., of 
New Rockf^ird, X.irth Dakota; Eva R., 
now :\Irs. William A. Crothers, of 
Jackson township; Frank R., member of the 
First North Dakota Volunteers, recently re- 
turned from the Philippines; John Stanton, 
Annette, Pennsylvania; and Clyde, of 
Friendship, Wisconsin. The last three 
named were all born in Wisconsin. There 
are also five grandchildren. Mrs. Graham 
is a member of the Disciples church. 

Scott Totten Graham, the eldest 
child of John McCullough Graham and Re- 
becca (Totten) Graham, was born in Co- 
lumbiana county, Ohio, June 26, 1862. He 
accompanied his parents to Wisconsin in 
1869, and at the age of twenty-one years 
began life for himself as a farmer. In 1886 
he went to Macedonia, Pottawattamie 
county, Iowa, where he followed farming 
for ten years. He then returned to Wiscon- 
sin, ami has since managed the old home 
farm. This farm consists of two hundred 
and eighty acres, substantially improved 
with good farm Ijuildings and conveniences 
for the successful prosecution of agricult- 
ure, and he has succeeded admirably in gen- 
eral farming and stock raising. His atten- 
tion has been given largely to the breeding 
of better grades of stock. His farm in all 
parts shows evidence of thorough husbandry 
and a keen conception of the needs of modern 
farm life. 

Scott T. Graham was married February 
I S, 1 89 1, to Miss Molly L. Clayton, daugh- 
ter of William and Mary Clayton, of Potta- 
wattamie county, Iowa. She is a native of 
Nicholas county, Kentucky. To this union 
two children have been born, namely: E. 
]\Iaud and Jolm Cla_\t(jn. 

Mr. Graham is a member of the Alace- 
donia Lodge, No. 422, I. O. O. F. In po- 



litical views he is a Republican, and takes an 
active interest in all matters of a public 
nature. 



MONROE BENTLEY. 

]\Ionroe Bentley enjoys the distinction of 
lieing the oldest attorney in Baraboo, meas- 
ured in }-ears of continuous practice. He is 
a native of the Empire state, born at Bing- 
hamton, Ajiril 9, 1836, to Ephraim and 
Philena (Tinkelpaugh) Bentley. The fam- 
ily has always been distinguished for de- 
votion to patriotic sentiments, an earh- ex- 
ample being that of the paternal grandfa- 
ther, who was killed at the l)attle of Platts- 
burg during the war of 181 2. He was a 
native of New England, but his wife, Jo- 
hanna, was of Pennsyh-ania Dutch descent. 
She attained the age of over eighty }'ears, 
expiring at Carbondale, Pennsylvania. 

Ephraim Bentley was born September 
3, 1812, at the last named place, where his 
youth was spent. Soon after his marriage 
he removed to Binghamton, New York, and, 
a few years later, to Sodus Bay, Wayne 
count}-. He su])se(juently li\-e(I at William- 
son Corners, in the same county and state, 
following his trade (shoemaking) in each 
of these places. In 1848 he removed to La 
Grange county, Indiana, and, eight years 
later, to Poynette, Wisconsin, where he pur- 
ch.ased forty acres of land and engaged in 
farming to some extent, also carrying on his 
trade. In 1862 he enlisted as a recruit in 
Company G, Second W'isconsin Infantry, 
but after serving one year he was discharged 
owing to disability caused b}- rheumatism. 
Having recovered his health, in January, 
1864, he re-enlisted as a recruit in the 
Twenty-third Wisconsin \'olunteer Infan- 
try. He took ])art in General lianks' ex- 
pedition up the \\<n\ rix'er, an<l while at 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



il7 



Franklin, Louisiana, was attacked with 
bloody dysentery and , sent to the hospital 
ar New Orleans, where his death ensued 
March 31, 1864. He was a man of ready 
decision and pronounced convictions. Po- 
liticall}- he was for many years an ardent 
Whig and Abolitionist. While li\-ing in 
La Grange county, Indiana, he was a neigh- 
bor and coadjutor of the famous A. B. 
Waterhouse. A line of the "underground 
railroad" passed through that county and 
one of the principal stations was in the base- 
ment of Mr. Waterhouse's liarn. On several 
different occasions Mr. Bentley took his 
team at night and drove loads of colored 
refugees from this station to Sturgis Prairie, 
Michigan, where they to(_)k the train for 
Detroit and thence were assisted across into 
Canada. 

Mrs. Philena Bentley died at Poynette, 
Wisconsin, Alarch 8, 1864, at the age of 
forty-seven years. She was horn at Car- 
bondale, Pennsylvania. Her father, Peter 
Tinkelpaugh, was of German lineage and 
became a prominent farmer of Milford, Li- 
diana. His wife, Mrs. Mary Tinkelpaugh, 
died at Ontario, Indiana, at the age of six- 
ty-nine years. 

Monroe Bentley graduated from La 
Grange Collegiate Institute, at Ontario, In- 
diana, in 1853. Coming with his parents to 
this state a fev." years later, he was engaged 
in lumbering on the Wisconsin ri\-er for 
several seasons. He subsecjuently learned 
the carjienter trade and also taught for ten 
winters in the vicinity of Poynette. In 
1865 he removed to Baraboo and began to 
study law with C. C. Remington, though he 
was not admitted to practice until 1878. In 
the meantime he served two years as chair- 
man of the township board of supervisors 
and ten years as justice of the peace in the 
village of Baraboo, doing most of the busi- 
ness in that line. For more than a score 
of years he has been engaged in general 



practice, in addition to which he does more 
or less insurance business. ^ His professional 
duties ha\'e frecjuently brought him before 
the supreme court of Wisconsin and among 
other important cases he has handled may 
l)e mentioned the celebrated one of the 
Slate of Wisconsin vs. ]\'. A. Blackman, 
which was tried at Portage, Wisconsin, in 
1889. Since 1893 his son, F. R. Bentley, has 
been his partner. Like his progenitors, Mr. 
Bentley responded to the call of his country 
for aid in the way of military service, en- 
listing in the fall of 1863 in Company K, 
Tenth New York Heavy Artillery. During 
his eight months' service he was stationed 
at Fort Carroll on the Potomac river, suffer- 
ing much with chronic diarrhoea. 

He was married, November 16, 1858, to 
Susan A. Booth, daughter of Calvin L. and 
Julia A. Booth, of Poynette, Wisconsin. 
This lady, who was born near Cattaraugus, 
New York, died of consumption at Baraboo, 
August 27, 1869. She left four children: 
Charles D., a Baptist minister of Freder- 
icksburg, Iowa; Alice R. (Mrs. John (h-att), 
of Cresco, Iowa; Frank R., a well-known 
attorney of Baraboo; and Carrie A. (]Mrs. 
tTiarles Lamberton ), of Baraboo. Mr. Bent- 
ley was again married, April 18, 1871, to 
Mrs. Jennie Jenks, daughter of J. G. 
Cowles, of Baraboo, Wisconsin. She was 
born near Ashtabula, Ohio, and is the 
mother of one son, Ernest R. Bentley, a 
telegraph operator at Madison, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Bentley has long been identified 
with the Methodist church of Baraboo, and 
has ser\-ed for eighteen years as trustee, 
steward and chorister. He has likewise 
been su[)erintendent of the Sabl)ath school 
for many years. 

He is a menilier of the .\merican Pro- 
tective Association and discharges all his 
puljlic duties in a thorough and conscien- 
tious manner. A Prohibitionist in princi- 
ple, he supports worthy men for local po- 



718 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



sitions Dt" trust irrespecti\-e of party fealty. 
He lias ne\er used toljacco nor intDxicatins: 
liquors in any form and has led a consistent, 
exemplary life, worthy the emulation of ris- 
ine' P'enerations. 



FRAXK L. RITTER. 

Frank L. Ritter, well known throus^'h- 
out the eastern part of Columbia county 
as the genial and accommodating propri- 
etor of a general country store at the village 
01 Otsego, is a man who attends closely to 
business and well deserves mention in a 
book of the more prominent and upright 
citizens of the county. He was br)rn in 
the township of Hampden, Columbia coun- 
ty, June 30, 1859, and is a son of Horatio 
and Lenora (Eason) Ritter, both natives 
of Syracuse, Xew York. His uncle was 
prominent in agricultural and horticultural 
circles as a successful fruit grower and 
an interesting and liberal contributor to 
farm journals and other publications. His 
grandfather was a man who was accounted 
well-to-do, and (jwned large properties in the 
East.. The family is probably sprung from 
German sources and has long been repre- 
sented in this countrw Horati(.) Ritter came 
west about 1850 and lived for at least two 
years in Whitewater, \\'isconsin. He made 
se^'eral trips on foot into Columliia county, 
and finally bought a farm in the ti.iwn of 
Elampden. He settled upon this farm in 
1852, and made his home upon it until the 
day of his death. He died June 30, 1896, 
at the age of seventy-four years, and fol- 
lowed his wife into the great beyond by an 
interval of less than three weeks. They 
left a family of five children, all of whom 
are still living: JNIary married Charles Wal- 
lace and lives at Kansas City ; Ella L. is 
INIrs. Birnev Uefting, and \\\ts in Otsego; 



^\'illiam is the jjresident of a university in 
California : Frank is the subject of this 
sketch ; Flora O. is Mrs. Benton Babcock, 
of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. 

Frank L. Ritter received his education 
in the common schools of Hampden, and 
then remained at home and helped bis 
brothers and sisters secure such an ecjuca- 
tion as they desired and the family situation 
permitted. He resided on the home farm 
until April, 1899, when he Ijougbt out the 
general store of G. H. Lo\en in the \-illage 
of Otsego. Since that time he has Ijought 
another store. He also has charge of the 
postoifice and the public telephone, and his 
place of business is becoming quite a social 
center. Mr. Ritter and Clara A. Thomas 
were married December 24, 1885. She is 
a daughter of Dr. C. H. Thomas, then a 
leading veterinary surgeon of Columbus, 
Wisconsin. Mrs. Ritter was born Septem- 
ber 17, 1866, and is one of a family of six 
children. The others in the family are 
Merritt, Edward, IMelvin, Nellie and Edith. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ritter have one child, Will- 
iam, who is five years of age. Mr. Ritter 
is a progressive, active man, and is making 
a genuine success of his enter]>rise. He 
stands well in the community, and is a mem- 
ber of the Otsego Baptist church. His in- 
fluence is for good and he is outspoken in his 
con\-ictions. 



A. D. DORSETT. 

A. D. Dorsett was born in Schuyler 
county, Illinois, May 2, 1867. His early 
vears were spent on a farm, and he attended 
country school during the winter months. 
In 1883 his father retired from the stock 
raising business and moved to Rushville, 
where the son had the [irivilege of attending 
an excellent high school and from which he 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ri9 



graduated in 1886 as the valedictorian of 
his class. 

In the fall of 1886 Mr. Dorsett entered 
the preparatory school of DePauw Univer- 
sity at Greencastle, Indiana, and two years 
later was admitted to the freshman class. 
He graduated from the institution in 1892 
with the degree of Ph. B. 

Mr. Dorsett's newspaper experience be- 
gan in his early 'teens, when, seated on a 
plow while the horse rested, he wrote items 
for a county seat paper. During his junior 
}-ear in college he was exchange editor of one 
of the college weeklies and during his 
senior ^-ear was editor-in-chief of the paper. 
At that time he was also president of the 
Irdiana College Press Association and 
chairman of the executive board of the 
\\"estern College Press z\ssociation. 

After school days were ended he spent 
two years in newspaper work in Alton, 
Iowa, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, and in 
1894 became a partner in the publication of 
the Baraboo daily and weekly "News." 

On May 2t„ 1894, Mr. Dorsett was 
imited in marriage to Miss Addie Lane 
Priest, of Greencastle, Indiana, witli whom 
he became ac(|uainted while in college. To 
them one daughter, Dorothy D., was born 
June 16, 1897. 



CAIA'IX L. McELWAIX. 

Calvin L. ]\IcEl\vain, a large land owner 
and prosperous farmer of Adams county, 
Wisconsin, residing on section 8, New 
Chester township, was l)orn in the town of 
Stamford, Bennington county, Vermont, 
February 4. 1826, and is a son of John and 
Dolly (Goodrich) McElwain, natives of 
Massachusetts, the former born in 1788, the 
latter in 1782. The father was colonel of a 
regiment in the Massachusetts militia, and 



was a lawyer by profession. He engaged in 
teaching school for many years and was also 
interested in the manufacture of cotton 
cloth, but lost three mills at different times. 
Fraternally he was an active member of the 
Masonic order. He died at the age of forty- 
two, his wife at the age of seventy-two 
years. Their children were John, Dolly, 
Betsy, David, Mary Ann, Electa and Cal- 
vin L. 

Mr. McElwain, whose name introduces 
this review, was reared and educated in his 
native state, and at Stamford, Verninnt. he 
v,as married, November 13, 1841, to ]Miss 
BetS}- Forbush, a daughter of Che\ar and 
Elizabeth Forbush, who moved to Elgin, 
Illinois, in 1849, and three years later came 
to Adams county, Wisconsin, where they 
made their home for some years, but about 
a half century ago they went to [Minneapolis, 
[Minnesota, where they spent the remainder 
of their lives. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. 
McElwain were several children namely: 
Imogen ; Grace, deceased ; John ; Arabel ; 
Ruel Bruce; and Bertha. Those living are 
all residents of Adams county. \\'isconsin. 

It was in 1857 that Mr. McElwain came 
to this state and took up his residence on 
section 8, New Chester township, Adams 
county, \\here he now resides. He first pur- 
chased eighty acres of government land, to 
which he added from time to time as his 
financial resources increased until he had one 
thousand one hundred and twenty acres, but 
he has since disposed of a portion of this and 
now has seven hundred and twenty acres, of 
which one hundred and twenty acres are un- 
der e-xcellent cultivation and well improved 
with good and substantial buildings. He is 
a progressive and energetic farmer, whose 
success in life is due entirely to his own 
v.-ell-directed efforts, and his career is such 
as to commend him to the confidence and 
high regard of all with whom he has come 
in contact. In politics he always affiliates 



720 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



^\•itIl the Repu1)Iican party, and takes an 
acti\-e interest in liublic affairs. 



ALFRED \\'ILLCOX. 

Alfred Willcox, one of the most higlily 
esteemed citizens of Fort Winnebago town- 
ship, Columbia county, Wisconsin, is the 
possessor of a handsome property which now 
enables him to spend his declining years in 
the pleasurable enjoyment of his accumula- 
tions. The record of his early life is that 
of an active, enterprising, methodical and 
sagacious business man, who bent his ener- 
gies to the honorable acquirement of a com- 
fortalile competence for himself and famih-, 
but he is now living retired. 

A native of England, Mr. \\'illcox was 
born near ^^'ells, in the parish of Meare, 
Si)mersetshire, June 24, 1812, and is a son of 
Edward and Elizabeth (Dyer) Willcox, who 
spent their entire lives there. One of their 
sons, Edward Willcox, Jr., was a man of 
fine physique, being over six feet high, and 
was a soldier in the British army for a num- 
ber of years. He was one of the first to scale 
the Chinese wall, for which he received a 
medal, and he also received another for com- 
mendable service in the army. 

Alfred ^^'illcox was engaged in farming 
in his native place until 1855, when he 
crossed the broad .Atlantic and took up his 
residence in Fort \\'innebago township, 
Columbia county, \Visconsin, where he pur- 
chased one hundred and twenty acres of 
wild land, paying for the same twelve hun- 
dred and fifty dollars. From time to time he 
bought more land, owning in all se\-en hun- 
dred and twenty-eight acres, which is still 
in possession of him and his sons. When 
he bought the land only a few acres of tim- 
ber had been cleared, but he toiled diligently 
early and late until he now has one of the 



most desirable farms in the county. He 
eventually had the satisfaction of seeing his 
farm improved with first-class buildings, and 
his crops were always among the best in the 
county. Several veins of silver ore ha^•e 
been found upon his land in Marcellon town- 
ship, but have never been developed. Hav- 
ing well earned a respite from labor, he has 
of recent years lived in retirement, enjoying 
the fruits of former toil. 

On the 23d of May, 1844, Mr. Willcox 
married Miss Ann Savage, who was born in 
Polsom, near Wells, England, January 19, 
1810, a daughter of William and Sarah 
(Welch) Savage and granddaughter of 
James and Hester Savage. Her fatlier owned 
a fine farm at Polsom, upon \\hich be lived 
and died. While a young man he was a 
member of a troop organized at Wells, but 
was never called into active militar}- service. 
He received a silver_cup as a prize for ex- 
traordinary marksmanship, having hit the 
bullseye while riding at a gallop. His chil- 
dren were Ann, , James, William, Charles, 
Robert, Mary, Sarah, John, Hester, Jane 
and Christo]3her. The last named is a resi- 
dent of Toronto, Ontario, but Mrs. Willcox 
is the only one of the family living in the 
United States, though James has two sons, 
Albert and Sidney, living near Chicago, Illi- 
nois, and another son, James, in Kansas. 
Our subject and his wife have three chil- 
dren: John Alfred; Albert; and Sarah Ann, 
wife of Frank Day, all residents of Fort 
Winnebago township. They also have nine 
grandchildren, besides two adopted daugh- 
ters of Mr. and Mrs. Day. Some silver 
spoons over three liundred years old, once 
owned by Rebecca Brooks, the great-grand- 
nidther of ]\Irs. \\'illcox. are still preserved 
by her daughter, Mrs. Day. 

Notwithstanding their advanced age, 
Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox are still in excellent 
health and retain their mental faculties in 
a remarkable degree. Thev were reared in 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



(21 



the Episcopal faitli, but after coming; to 
Wisconsin helped organize the Xnrth Mar- 
cellon Baptist church, with which they are 
still identified. They are widely and fa- 
vorably known and well merit the high re- 
gard in which the\" are uniformly held. 
Since becoming a citizen of the United 
States Mr. Willcox has affiliated with the 
Republican party, but has always declined 
official honors. 



JAMES S. WORTHMAN. 

James S. ^\'orthman, an intluential and 
well-to-do citizen of Baraboo. Sauk county. 
Wisconsin, ani ex-soldier and present city 
clerk, was born at Edgartown, Martha's 
Vineyard, Massachusetts, May 17, 1841, and 
was the son of Samuel and Polly (Weeks) 
Worthman, the father a native of Galloway, 
Scotland, and the mother a native of Ed- 
gartown, Massachusetts. 

The father of our subject left his nati\e 
land before he reached his majorit}', and 
emigrated to Buenos Ayres, South America, 
v.here he was employed as foreman in a 
large cooper establishment, that being his 
trade. He remained there two years, and 
then came to the United States, and settled 
at New Haven, Connecticut, and later went 
to Martha's Vineyard, where he married. 
He became a seaman and spent about twenty- 
five years on the ocean, and owned con- 
siderable sea property, vessels, etc. Fearing 
his sons would take to the sea, he decided to 
seek a new Eldorado, and accordingly came 
to Wisconsin with his family, and located 
at the town of East Troy. He purchased a 
farm and gave up the sea, and after a few 
years his two oldest sons died, and he then 
sold the farm and moved to Mukwonago, 
where he loaned money and spent some' 
years, and afterward moved to Sauk coun- 



ty, where he died in the spring of 1868. 
He had made and saved a competence and 
liis last days were spent in comparative 
ease. His wife survived him until the fall 
ot the same year. Her maiden name was 
Polly ^^'eeks, and she was a daughter of 
Benjamin Weeks, a native of England, and 
a sea captain in the inerchant service, and 
during the Revolutionary war kept a hotel 
at Martha's Vineyard. He was a descendant 
of Sir George Osborn, of England. Mrs. 
Worthman's brother, James Weeks, fol- 
lowed the merchant service and died at 
Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Worth- 
man, while a sea-faring man, was a strong 
Aljolitionist. He was \-ery proficient in his 
business, and at one time was assistant 
ganger at Boston. He was a son of Thomas 
Worthman, a captain of his own boat, who 
was drowned in St. George's Channel. The 
family adhered strictly to the Presbyterian 
faith and the children were reared in that 
denomination. Cajjiain and Mrs. \Vorth- 
man were the parents of seven children, as 
follows; JMargaret, wife of Senator Starks, 
who was also state prison commissi(_)ner, and 
a very prominent man, both now deceased ; 
L)-dia P., who married Joseph Consal, of 
^Missouri; Mary, now ]\Irs. John Young, 
whose husband is a resident merchant of 
Reedsburg, Wisconsin ; Jane O. married 
Isaac Harland, of Waukesha, Wisconsin; 
Thomas died in 1848; Benjamin died in 
1848; and James S., our subject. All tlie 
children were born at Edgarton, Martha's 
Vineyard. 

J. S. Worthman resided at home on his 
father's farm until it was necessary to im- 
prove his education, \\hen he went to Bara- 
boo, Wisconsin, at the age of sixteen years, 
to attend school, and at the age of seven- 
teen he joined the expedition and went to 
Sidney A. Johnston's command to Utah to 
quell the Mormon uprising in that territory. 
He was employed by the government at 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



scouting and herding, and foi' any work 
whicli he was called upon to do, and suffered 
hardships and cold winters. He was located 
at Fort Bridger and made trips to Denver 
before that was a city of any size, and well 
understood the hardships of a soldier's life. 
Nevertheless, in 1S62. he enlisted in the 
Badger Guards, which afterward became 
Company F, of the Twenty-eighth Wiscon- 
sin Infantry, and he was with his regiment 
in all their engagements and skirmishes. 
He' was assigned to the Western department 
and was in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, 
Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, 
and Texas. He entered as corporal and re- 
turned as first lieutenant of Company F, 
Twenty-eighth \Visconsin Volunteer Infan- 
try. He was never wounded or captured, 
and after the close of the war returned to 
Wisconsin and settled on a farm at Excel- 
sior, Sauk county, and engaged in shipping 
live stock, grain and produce, and cooperage 
stock for several years, and in 1876 moved to 
Baraboo, where he has since resided. 

Mr. Worthman was married, in 1864, 
to Miss Ursula A. Bixby, a native of Sus- 
quehanna county, Pennsyhania. Mrs. 
Worthman was rearetl on a farm and her 
father died when she was a young girl and 
she and her widowed mother settled in Wis- 
consin, where the mother died, leaving the 
following children: lidmund ; Alvina; and 
Ursula, our subject's wife. Mrs. Worth- 
man was a lady of good education and was a 
public school teacher. She died about 1871, 
and was the mother of three children : Lu- 
ella, who died in childhood; Theodore J., 
■wdio is now an express agent; and Arthur 
J., the station agent of the Chicago & North- 
western Railroad at Baraboo. She was a con- 
sistent member of the Congregational 
cluirch. Air. Worthman married Miss Mary 
E. Martindale, of St. Lawrence county. 
New York, about 1873. Mrs. Worthman 
came west with her father and acquired a 



liberal education, was a teacher and was 
unexcelled in her profession. Two children 
were born of this union, as follows : Harry 
L., niiw employed by a railroad company; 
and Keid, attending high school at Bara- 
boo. IsIy. \\'orthman holds membership in 
the Masonic fraternity. Ancient Order of 
United \Vorkmen, and Ci. A. R. In the last 
named he has been a member of Joe Hooker 
Post for sixteen }ears, and has been ad- 
jutant and cc immnnder of the post and prom- 
inently identilied with tlie G. A. R. At the 
incorporation of the city of Baraboo, in 
1882, Mr. \\'orthman was elected alderman 
from the second ward, which office he held 
three years, and in 1885 was elected town 
clerk, which office he yet holds. He is close- 
ly identified with the important movements 
in that city, and is deservedly held in high 
esteem. 



JOSIAH HEMMINGWAY ROGERS, 
LL. B., B. A. 

Josiah Hemmingway Rogers, LL. B., 
B. A., has attained distinction as one of the 
ablest members of the Portage, Columbia 
county bar. In this profession, probably 
more than in any other, success depends 
upon indi\-idual merit, upon a thorough un- 
derstanding of the ])rinciples of jurispru- 
dence, a ])ower of keen analysis, and the 
ability to present clearly, concisely and 
forcibly the strong points in his case. Pos- 
sessing these necessary qualifications, Mr. 
Rogers is accorded a foremost place in the 
ranks of the profession in Columbia county, 
and stands to-day as one of the most es- 
teemed meml)ers of the Portage bar._ 

He was born in Whitby, Ontario coun- 
ty, Canada, July 27, 1841, a son of Benja- 
min Joslyn and Esther (Hemmingway) 
Rogers. On both sides he is of English 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ris 



descent. His parents' ancestors came to this 
country from London, England, during tlie 
seventeenth century, and located in Connect- 
icut. His grandfather, Benjamin Rogers, was 
a native of Massachusetts, and removed to 
Canada during the latter part of the eight- 
eenth century. His son, Benjamin J., the 
father of our subject, was born in Eaton, 
Quebec, and spent his later years in tlie 
province of Ontario, dying at Oshawa, in 
1887, at th? ripe old age of eighty-five years. 
He followed the occupation of farming and 
aiso engaged in preaching as a minister of 
the Christian church. As a business man 
he met with excellent success, and as a citi- 
zen took an active and prominent part in 
public affairs and political movements. His 
estimable wife, wdio was a native of ^lark- 
ham, Ontario, died in 1885, at the age of 
seventy-five years. She was a daughter of 
Moses Hemmingway, whose ancestors were 
from New England and who removed to 
Canada from Cayuga county. New York. 

After completing the course in the gram- 
mar schools at Oshawa, Ontario, Josiah H. 
Rogers entered Victoria University, at Co- 
burg, Ontario, where he pursued a classical 
course and was graduated in 1866, with the 
degree of B. A. He also received the gold 
medal for the highest scholarship in his 
class. Subsequently for a year and a half 
he studied law at Osgood Hall, in Toronto, 
and then entered the law department of the 
Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, where 
he was graduated with the degree of LL. 
B., in 1868. The same year he came to 
Portage, Wisconsin, and was at once ad- 
mitted to the bar. He began practice at 
Poynette, Columbia county, but since April, 
1 87 1, has made his home in Portage and 
has engaged in the general practice of law 
at that place with most gratifying results. 
For three terms, from 1874 until 1880, he 
served as district attorney, being the only 
incumbent in the office for that length of 



time. As such he secured eleven con\'ic- 
tions at one term of court, and seven of those 
sentenced to the penitentiary at that time 
were taken to that institution by the sheriff 
at one trip. One of the most co.nspicuous 
criminal cases with which he has been con- 
nected was the defense of Clarence H. Wells, 
a brakeman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul Railroad, who was accused of 
criminal negligence in connection with a 
w-reck at East River, Wisconsin, in 1886, 
v.dien twenty-five or more lives were lost. 
The case naturally attracted much public at- 
tention and Mr. Rogers succeeded in secur- 
ing the acquittal of his client. 

On the 1 2th of June, 1872, Mr. Rogers 
was united in marriage with Miss \'iola J. 
Padley, who was born in York Mills, near 
Utica, New York, a daughter of Abraham 
and Mary A. (Walker) Padley, of Portage. 
The father, who was a teacher of music and 
gave instruction in that art to more people 
in Columbia county than any other ten per- 
sons, came to Wisconsin in 1856, and died 
in Portage, October 15, 1897, at the age of 
s-'xty-nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers 
liave three children : Edith Ethelyn, born 
September 19, 1875, is now the wife of A. 
'\\'. Pollard, of Portage; Sheldon Wallace, 
born September i, 1877, is a student in the 
law department of the State University, 
Madison, Wisconsin; and Harlan Bethune, 
born December 9, 1886, is at home. 

Mr. Rogers and his family are connect- 
ed with the Presbyterian church, and he has 
served as trustee of the same for a num- 
ber of years past. Socially he affiliates with 
the Masonic fraternity and Poynette Lodge, 
>Jo. 173, A. O. U. W., and politically is 
prominently identilied with the Republican 
party in his county. He has served as chair- 
man of the county committee several years, 
as a delegate to a number of state conven- 
tions, and has frequently been called upon 
to make political speeches in Columbia and 



ri'4 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



adjoining counties. He represented the 
tliird ward of Portage on the county board 
of supervisors for eight years, and for three 
years of that time was chairman of the 
board. He also served as mayor of Port- 
age in 1887, and iiUed the office of city at- 
torney for five or six years. As district at- 
tornc}' the affairs of tiie county were never 
better managed in that direction than under 
his prosecution, as he proved a most efficient 
man for the place and was a veritable terror 
to evil doers. He is not only an able law- 
yer, but is also a good business man, and is 
one of the directors of the City Bank and a 
stockholder and director of the Portage 
Hosiery Company, both of Portage. 



THOMAS PETTIGROVE COLBY. 

The vast farming interests of Adams 
county have been prominent factors in the 
business world of Wisconsin, and among 
tliose who have spent the greater part of a 
useful career within the borders of that 
county, the gentleman whose name heads 
this per,sonal history should l)e accorded a 
prominent place. He came to this region 
Vv'ith his parents when the land was not yet 
surveyed, and assisted in bringing the agri- 
cultural pursuit to its present high standard 
in Adams county. Mr. Colby was engaged 
in general farming in Quincy township, and 
possessed a fine estate comprising two hun- 
dred acres, all of which he acquired by dint 
of his own energetic efforts, supplemented 
Ijy his honest dealings. This he held until 
lately. He is now a resident of Thorp, Wis- 
consin. 

Our subject w-as born in Topsfield, 
Washington county, Maine, February 12, 
1840, and was the son of Jonathan Corliss 
and Sarah Ann (Pettigrove) Colby. His 
father was born in Bradford, Vermont, Oc- 



tober 2, 1806, and died July 23, 1887, at 
Easton, Adams county, Wisconsin. The 
mother of our subject was born at Calais, 
Maine, August 27, 1809, and died at Easton, 
Wisconsin, July 9, 1895. The father was 
a farmer by occupation and settled in Tops- 
field, Maine, where he remained until 1850, 
when he moved to what is now Easton, 
Adams county, Wisconsin. At that time it 
was Indian land and' not on the market. 
He was the first settler with land on the 
banks of White Creek, and his family of 
five children were the first white children to 
reside in that region. They were as follows : 
Thomas, our subject ; William, now residing 
in Clark county; Harriet A., now Mrs. 
Waterman, of Kilbourn; Lucy, now Mrs. 
W. Eddy, of Easton; and Mary, now Mrs. 
F. York, of Monroe Centre. Two other chil- 
dren were born, as follows : Annie E. died 
April 20, 1897; and Warren L, now resid- 
ing on the old homestead in Easton town- 
ship. On his arrival at Easton the father 
surveyed one hundred and sixty acres of 
bnd and entered a claim, and cleared the 
land and erected a shanty, into which he 
moved his family, and remained (in the 
farm until his death. When the township 
of Easton was organized he was chosen 
supervisor. He was a man of retiring dis- 
position and did not accept public office. 
He was a hard worker and accumulated a 
good estate. He was a consistent member 
of the United Brethren church, and a man 
respected by all in the community for his 
honesty and good citizenship. 

Thomas P. Colby was the oldest of the 
children and of necessity was early put to 
work to assist in the support of the family. 
He had gained some schooling before com- 
ing to Wisconsin, but afterward did not 
have the opportunity to attend school. He 
remained with his parents until he reached 
his majority, when he married, and he and 
his family resided on land which his wife 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



owned, for eigliteen years, in Easton town- 
s\.\\). In 1878 he purchased two hundred 
acres in Ouincy township, and moved his 
family to tliat estate, and he is still living 
on the farm. 

!Mrs. Colby's maiden name was Louisa 
(ioodrich. Her parents died when she was 
but a young girl, and she \vas adopted by 
a family of the name of Raney. At the 
time of her marriage she was in possession 
of one hundred acres in Easton township. 
Her death occurred June 18, 1891, aged 
sixtv-four years. Four children were born 
to Air. and Mrs. Colby, as follows: Francis 
E., born April 7, 1861, now residing in 
Thorp, Clark county, Wisconsin; Clara A., 
born April 27, 1862, now Mrs. A. H. Green- 
wood, of Quincy; Daniel G., born April 3, 
1864, now a resident of Thorp, Clark 
county; and Charles L., born November 24, 
1867, now residing on the homestead. 
Charles L. Colby was married September 
8, 1890, to Josephine A. Mihm, daughter of 
Constantine and Margaret Mihm, of Quincy. 
Three children have been born to Mr. and 
Airs. Colby, as follows: Charles K., born 
March 13, 1891 ; George D., born April 11, 
1892; and Alfred D., born October 4, 1896. 
They are an interesting" group of boys and 
complete a pleasing family circle. 



CHRISTOPHER EDWARD BOHN. 

Christopher Edward Bohn, who is suc- 
cessfully conducting various business enter- 
prises, is a man of more than ordinary en- 
ergy and ability. He is one of the most ex- 
tensive lumber manufacturers of Sauk coun- 
ty and is also proprietor of a fine estate, on 
which he conducts cheese making together 
Avith general farming. His buildings on the 
])lace form a portion of the town of Lime 
Ridge, and the estate is a valued and pro- 
<luctive one. 



Mr. Bohn was born in Remdendorf, prin- 
cipality of Reis, Prussia, May 21, 1843, ^"^ 
was the son of Henr}^ Carl and Hendricka 
(Kachel) Bohn, natives of the same lo- 
cality. His grandfather was a justice of the 
peace and one of the most prominent citi- 
zens of Remdendorf. The father of our 
siibject was a farmer in his native land, and 
took a prominent part in the Rebellion of 
1848. He was a leading citizen of Remden- 
dorf, and came to the United States in 1852, 
settling near Cleveland, Ohio, and his death 
occurred at Olmsted Falls, Ohio, April 12, 
1896, aged nearly eighty years. He was a 
Republican in political sentiment and a faith- 
ful citizen, and made a success of the pur- 
suit of agriculture. The mother died about 
1867, aged forty-eight years. 

Our subject was nine years of age when 
the family came to America, after which he 
attended the public schools, and was also 
\ersed in the language of his mother coun- 
try. He made good use of his opportunities 
and is an intelligent and capable business 
man. He enlisted in November, 1861, in 
Company C, Sixth Ohio Cavalry, and served 
three years in the Army of the Potomac, 
taking part in all the leading campaigns of 
that army. At Upperville, Virginia, in May, 
1863, he was ca]itured and kept one month 
in Libby prison, when he was e.N;changed on 
account of wounds received previously, and 
thus escaped Andersonville. Leaving the 
hospital at Annapolis in November, 1863, 
he rejoined his regiment, and at Hawes' 
Shop and Yellow Tavern he received other 
wounds which disabled him for a short time. 
His record shows thirty-six battles and 
skirmishes, and in all he did his duty as a 
Icyal and true soldier. 

After his return from the army Mr. Bohn 
spent eighteen months learning the machin- 
ist's trade at Cleveland, Ohio, going from 
thence to Fayette county, Iowa, where he 
purchased and operated a saw-mill in company 



726 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



with liis brotlier, Richard Bohn, and cousin, 
Herman Miesgier. He went to Lime Ridge, 
Sauk count}', in the fall of 1867, and. built a 
steam saw-mill, which he began to operate 
the following spring. For some years he 
manufactured large quantities of staves for 
the Chicago market, and still is extensively 
engaged in lumber manufacturing. He also 
owns and operates a saw-mill at Cazenozia, 
in Richland county, and his establishments 
are well known throughout the state. He 
owns one hundred and forty acres of tillable 
land, aside ivoxn timber and pasture land, 
and his residence on the farm and his barn 
are among the largest farm buildings in the 
county, while the cheese factory on the place 
and other buildings are prominent features 
of the estate. 

Our subject was married September 6, 
1 87 1, to Jennie Martin, daughter of David 
B. and Rachel (Dearholdt) Martin. Mrs. 
Bohn \A-as of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, 
and her father settled in Wisconsin near 
Lmie Ridge, in 185s- He enlisted in Com- 
pany I, Thirty-fifth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, and died at Memphis, Tennessee, 
while in the service. Mrs. Bohn's mother 
was of German descent and was born in 
Baltimore county, Ohio. She died at Lime 
Ridge, February 9, 1889, in the seventieth 
year of her age. Mrs. Bohn was born at 
Westfield, Ohio. The fullin\ing children 
have been Ijorn to Mr. and Mrs. Bohn : 
Edith L,, burn No\ember 16, 1873, now 
Mrs. Clark Miner; Edward A., born May 
14, 1875; Arthur G., born July 26, 1877; 
Henry J., born January 27, 1881; Cora M., 
born April 8, 1885; Frank B., born Novem- 
ber II, 1887; a twin brother, Francis, died 
November 13, 1887; Bessie B., born July 
9, 1890; Amy v., born May 17, 1892; Ches- 
ter E., born May 26, 1894; and Freda L., 
born December 27, 1896. One child died 
in infancy, unnamed. Mr. Bohn leads a 
quiet life, and is not an aspirant for public 



favor. l)ut ad\-ances the interests of his cnm- 
rinmity in e\"ery possible way. Politically 
lie is a Republican. 



DANIEL HENRY GRADY. 

Daniel Henry Grady, of Portage, is one 
t'f the 3-ounger members of the Cohunliia 
ci.iunty bar, but his prominence is In- no 
means measured by his years ; on the con- 
tiary he has won a reputation wJiich many 
an older practitioner might well en\-y. It 
is largely to its young men that the west 
owes its prosperity and progress. 

]\Ir. Grady is a native of Columbia cnun- 
t}- in whom many of her citizens feel a just 
pride. He was born in Columbus, .Vugust 
13, 1872, and is a son of Daniel and Honora 
(Lavery) Grady, both natives of county 
Lnnerick, Ireland. When a young man the 
father came to this country and made his 
home in Tro)-, New York, for a time, but 
soon after the Civil war came to Wisconsin, 
locating at Colum1)US, where he has since 
resided. 

At the age of eighteen years our subject 
entered the law office of John S. Ma.xwell, 
ui' that place, who was then serving as dis- 
trict attorney of Columbia county. Subse- 
(juently he became a student in the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was 
giaduated from the law department of that 
famous institution in 1894. On the 26th of 
May, the same year, he was admitted to 
practice before the supreme court of Mich- 
igan. 

Soon after leaving the university l\Ir. 
Grady opened an office at Portage and pur- 
chased the law library of A. G. Cook, of 
Columbus, which contains, among other 
valuable liooks, a set of Ivent's Commen- 
taries published in 1826, which was brought 
to Wisconsin by ex-Governor James T. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY, 



121 



Lewis, who obtained them from Governor 
Selden, of New York. Mr. Grady has a 
th.orough and comprehensive knowledge of 
the fnmkimental principles of law. is ne\er 
at a loss for a precedent, and has alreatlv 
bnilt up a large and lucrative practice. Me 
liandles most of the criminal cases of the 
county, and has also given considerable at- 
tention to railroad litigation. He was ap- 
pointed city attorney in April, 1897. lie 
was reared in the Catholic faith, and in i)o- 
litical sentiment is a Democrat. He takes 
ari active and prominent part in the agita- 
tion of public questions, has delivered a num- 
ber of political addresses in Columbia and 
adioining counties. 



HENRY M. SHANAHAN, Deceased. 

Henry M. Shar.ahan, deceased, who was 
an influential and well-to-do farmer, who 
formerly resided on section 30, in Dell 
Prairie township, Adams county, is entitled 
to more than passing mention as a gentle- 
man whose force of character placed him 
in the lead. He pursued the calling of an ag- 
riculturist from his boyhood, and reached a 
degree of perfection which marked the pros- 
perous man. His estate, although not among 
the largest, was one of the best in this re- 
gion and is a testimonial to the painstaking 
care exercised by our subject while alive. 

Mr. Shanahan was born in Milton, Mich- 
igan, October 2, 1843. His father, Hon. 
Edward Shanahan, was born in Sussex 
county, Delaware, in 1806, and died Octo- 
ber 24, 1891, at his home in Dell Prairie 
township, Adams county, Wisconsin. He 
married Miss Rebecca M. Kimmey, in 1829, 
the daughter of James and Sarah Kim- 
mey, of Quaker descent, who was born near 
Dover, Delaware, July 13, 1810, and died 
October 24, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Shanahan 



lived in Delaware until 1832, when they 
moved to the territory of Michigan, mak- 
ing- the journey in a cart drawn by two 
horses, one hitched ahead of the other. They 
resided in Michigan until 1883, when they 
again mo\-ed west and settled in the town- 
ship of Dell Prairie, Adams county, Wis- 
consin, where the}' owned large landed in- 
terests until their death, respected and loved 
bv all who knew them. Mr. Shanahan was 
a farmer all his life, serving as overseer of 
a large farm for a number of years before 
leaving Delaware. He purchased two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land at Milton, 
Michigan, which he improved, and later pur- 
chased five hundred and sixty acres of land 
at Jefferson, Michigan, where he also made 
valuable and substantial improvements. He 
became the owner of a large tract of fertile 
land in Dell Prairie township, Adams coun- 
t}-, and was a successful farmer, industrious 
and honest, and gained a comfortable com- 
petence. He gained a good education, but 
liad very restricted opportunities for attend- 
ing any institutions of learning, and was 
decidedly a self-made man. He represented 
Cass county, Michigan, in the house of rep- 
resentatives in the session of 1860-61, and 
took an active interest in public affairs 
where\'er he resided. He was a Republi- 
can in political sentiment and stood stanchly 
for the principles of his party. Fifteen chil- 
dren were born to Mr. ar.d Mrs. Edward 
Shanahan, seven of whom are living. Three 
reside in Dell Prairie township, as follows : 
Julia, now Mrs. Raymond ; Clifford ; and 
Edward. 

Henry M. Shanahan settled in Dell 
Prairie township, Adams county, in 1879. 
He possessed at the time of his death sev- 
enfy-two acres of land, all of which is in a 
h-igh state of cultivation, and his residence 
and beautiful, well-kept grounds bear evi- 
dence of his thrift and success. 

In 1861 Mr. Shanahan enlisted in Com- 



728 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



pany M, Fourth Micliigan Cavalry, remain- 
ii';g until the close of the war, and was mus- 
tered out August II. 1865. Mr. Shanahan 
was in one hundred and three engagements, 
the following hard fought hattles among the 
number: Ft. Donelson, Ft. Henry, Pitts- 
burg Landing. Perryville. Xashville, Stone 
River. Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, 
Peach Tree Creek, Dallas, Atlanta, Jones- 
ville and in Kilpatrick's raid, and with Gen- 
eral Wilson on his raid. He was wounded 
at Chickamauga. and again on Kilpatrick's 
raid at Lovejoy Station, and the thir*l time 
at Selma, Alabama. He was one of the 
men chosen by Lieutenant-Colonel Prichard 
to go in pursuit of Jeff Davis, and was in 
the aft'ray which occurred between the First 
Wisconsin and the Fourtii Michigan Cav- 
alry, by mistake. In the early morning just 
before dawn, at Irwinsville, the First Wis- 
consin supposed the Fourth Michigan Caval- 
ry was Jeff Da^■is' body guard and charged 
them, when se\-eral were wounded and two 
killed. Our subject had a remarkable mili- 
tary record, and was a brave and gallant 
soldier, and faithful to his duty. 

Mr. Shanahan was married to Miss Mary 
F. \\'est. October 2, 1866. Mrs. Shanahan 
was the daughter of Edward and Rachel 
West, and was Ijorn near Dover, Delaware, 
July 18, 1843. She is a lady of good edu- 
cation and taught several years in the imb- 
lic schools of Michigan. Mr. and Airs. 
Shanahan are the parents of the following 
children: Willie, born February 23, 1872, 
died in infancy; Ina M., born December 
25, i<i/"/", Millie Belle, born September 22, 
1879: and Earl M., born ]\Iay 11, 1882. 
Mr. Shanahan was a member of the G. A. 
R. lie held the office of supervisor of Dell 
Prairie township, and also served as town- 
ship assessor. He was deeply interested in 
the educational affairs of his district, and 
was a school ofificer many years. He well 
merited the success and the high regard in 



which he was held liv his associates. Air. 
Shanahan died July 7. 1900, and was buried 
in the Spring Gro\-e cemetery at Kilbourn. 
His remains were accompanied t<i tlie gra\'e 
by John Gillespie Post, G. A. R.. and bv 
a very large concourse of friends and rela- 
ti\-es. 



PATRICK HICKEY. 

Patrick Hickey is the first settler of the 
town of Dellona and one of the most worthy 
and esteemed pioneers of Sauk county. 
Though he has passed the ninetieth mile- 
stone in life's journey, he is still reinarkalilv 
active in Ixith mind and Ijody and recalls 
many interesting reminiscences of his early 
life and of the development and progress of 
Sauk county. He was born at Ballycroy, 
county Mayo, Ireland, March 17, 1809. 
His parents, Martin and Mary (Barrett) 
Hickey, li\ed and died in county Alayo, 
where their ancestors had been prosperous 
and respected farmers for many generations. 
Many memljers of this family have been 
conspicuous for great Ionge\-ity. Among 
those who came to this country was Mrs. 
Alice Fadden, a sister of Martin Hickey, 
who died in the town of Dellona, at the 
age of ninety-one years. Four children of 
Martin and Mary Hickey became residents 
of Wisconsin. Besides Patrick, these were : 
Michael, who died in the town of Dellona in 
1850, at the age of thirty-eight years; Mary, 
widow of Michael Conway, now living at 
Elroy; and Honora, Mrs. James McHugh, 
who died at Dellona. 

Like most boys of that time. Patrick 
Hickey had very limited educational ad- 
vantages, but, determined to better his con- 
dition in life, he made the most of his many 
opportunities for observation and experi- 
ence and eventuallv Ijecame one of the most 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



successful farmers of Sauk county. In com- 
pany witli his brother, Michael, in 1837, he 
left his native land and came to America. 
Landing at Quebec, they proceeded to Ken- 
nebec county, Maine, where two of their un- 
cles were then living. For the next few years 
he was employed for the most part upon 
public works. While working on a dam in 
the Kennebec river at Augusta he was ac- 
cidentally knocked from a ladder into the 
stream and narrowly escaped drowning. 
He was carried by the current for some 
distance down the river, but eventually suc- 
ceeded in reaching shore. The ne.xt year 
he went to New York City and was em- 
ployed for a time on tiie construction of the 
Croton water works. Owing to the failure of 
a contractor, by whom he was employed at 
Yonkers, New York, he was unable to obtain 
his pay, and in 1840 he came to Chicago 
and spent one winter on the Illinois and 
Michigan canal. His pre\-ious experience 
was repeated here, fur the contractors be- 
came financially embarrassed and he and his 
brother were compelled to take their pay 
in due bills upon which they never realized. 
Thence he walked by way of Janesville, 
Wisconsin, to Sugar river. Arriving on the 
bank of that stream in March, 1841, he 
found it much swollen and full of floating- 
ice and as there was no bridge he was obliged 
to remove his clothing and swim across. 
By the time he reachetl the nearest house 
he was nearly frozen. The following sea- 
son he worked a farm on shares and spent 
two or three more years in lead mining in 
Green county. 

About 1845 he and his brother, with 
several other men, went land hunting in the 
interior of the state, driving a team from 
Green county. Selecting the site of his 
present home they camped there for two 
weeks while building a small shanty. In 
the meantime the balance of the party re- 
turned to the settlements, believing this por- 



tion of the state too far removed from civili- 
zation to e\'er become a desirable place of 
residence, l)ut the Hickey brothers had great 
faith in the future of Sauk count}' and their 
foresight and wisdom were demonstrated in 
due time. Two years later they became resi- 
dents and set about the improvement of 
tlieir farm. There were a few habitations 
between there and Baraboo, but neighbors 
v.-ere by no means numerous. At one time 
be owned a half-section of land, but a jjor- 
tion of this was sacrificed by being ni;irt- 
gaged to assist in the construction of the 
Milwaukee & La Crosse Railroad, now the 
La Crosse division of the Chicago, M Iwau- 
kee & St. Paul Railroatl. His present farm 
consists of two hun<lred and eight\' acres 
with first-class buildings and other imjirove- 
ments. Since coming to this county he has 
confined his attention to agriculture, with 
the exception of one winter spent as a log- 
ging contractor on the Lemonweir ri\er. 

Mr. Hickey has ahva\'s enjoyed the 
confidence of his neighbors and business as- 
sociates to a remarkable degree. He some- 
times acted as agent for diiTerent dealers 
in the purchase of farm products from his 
neighbors, and was frecjuently entrusted 
with considerable sums of money for that 
purpose. ^V few years after its erection his 
log house, which w as a substantial and com- 
fortable building of the kind, took fire and 
burned with all its contents, including sev- 
eral sums of money belonging to other par- 
ties and the funds of the school district, of 
which he was treasurer. Though his own 
loss was a serious one, he did not permit 
any of these parties to suffer by this disaster, 
but conscientiously repaid them in full, and 
this action greatly strenghtened the credit 
which had previously been reposed in him. 
He donated five acres of ground from his 
farm for the site of St. Michael's Catholic 
church, now known as All Saints' church 
of Dellona. He also contributed liberallv 



rso 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of cash toward the erection of the Iniilding 
and was one of the first trustees of the so- 
ciety. He has always consistently supported 
the Democratic party, havin^^ cast liis first 
presidential ballot for ^Martin ^^an Buren 
in 1840. He has filled numerous offices in 
Dellona and represented the town upon the 
county board for a number of years. 

In 1855 he was married to Catherine 
Crowley, daughter of Dennis Crowley, an 
early settler in the town of Winfield. Mrs. 
Hickey was borii in count\- C"r>rk, Ireland, 
and departed this life January 11. 1SS6, at 
the age of fifty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hickey were the parents of three sons and 
three daughters: Mary is the wife of Will- 
ic'un Hayes, of the town of Dellona; Cath- 
erine died December 20, 1894, at the age 
of thirty-six years; Martin is a well-known 
business man of Reedsburg; Michael car- 
ries on the homestead farm ; John is also in 
business at Reedsburg; and Anna also re- 
sides on the homestead farm. Nine grand- 
children also delight the heart of Mr. Hickey 
and an extensi\-e circle of friends unite in 
^\ishing him continued life and happiness. 



DAVID ROBERTSON. 

David Robertson, now leading a quiet 
and retired life at Rio, Columbia county, 
has been one of the chief promoters of the 
growth and development of that thriving vil- 
lage. He was born in Beath. Scotland, in 
1839, and was a son of Robert and Marian 
(King) Robertson. His father li\'ed on a 
farm owned by his grandfather, but was not 
willing to spend his life amid the narrow 
opportunities of the old world, and about 
1840 came to Canada, settling near Ham- 
ilton, Ontario. There he claimed and 
cleared a farm out of the virgin forest. 
He was a man of much character, and al- 



most reached the age of ninety-two years. His 
wife died many years before him, when she 
was only about fifty. She was a descendant 
or' the Kings of Giffen Mills, Scotland, and a 
sister of William King, of Cambria, of 
whom notice appears on another page of this 
record. She was the mother of five sons 
and five daughters : James, Winnebago 
City, Minnesota; Janet, Mrs. William Chis- 
holm, deceased ; Robert, Arlington, Wis- 
consin; Margaret, widow of Robert Mc- 
Conochie ; Jane, Hamilton, Ontario ; Will- 
iam, Arlington, Wisconsin ; John, Lancas- 
ter, Ontario ; David ; Marian, Mrs. Ji ihn 
Stewart, Lancaster, Ontario; Agnes, Mrs. 
Peter Stewart, Lancaster, Ontario. 

Mr. Robertson left his home in Canada 
in 1 861, and came into Columbia county, 
and spent the next five years at farm labor. 
After this time had passed he engaged in 
lumbering at Mannville and Warrens. Wis- 
consin, in company with F. M. Thompson. 
The firm did an extensive wholesale business 
for a number of years. In 1882 Mr. Rob- 
ertson settled in Rio, and established a lum- 
I>er business in this village, dealing also in 
grain and farm produce. He was very suc- 
cessful in this venture, and in 1893 retired 
from everything except lumber. Five years 
later he gave up all business activities and 
is now spending his last years in peace and 
comfort. He has led an active and honorable 
career, working hard and giving ah his en- 
ergies to his business, and now he is getting 
what rest and satisfaction there can be 
found in the reflection that he has "fought 
a good fight, and has kept the faith." When 
he came to Rio it consisted of about a dozen 
houses on the south side of the railroad. 
He bought one hundred and twenty acres, 
which he platted and subdivided, and the 
best part of the village now stands upon that 
ground. He has erected a number of resi- 
dences and business places, several of which 
he still owns. His own commodious and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



731 



elegant home was put up in 1892, and stands 
upon one of the principal streets of the 
town. He was married in Tf^73 to Miss 
Emily S. Brown. She has made him the 
father of four children, one of whom, 
Daxid, died in infancy. Those living are: 
John; Alice Emma (Mrs. George Phelps), 
Rio; and Essie Isabella, who is. at home. 
There are four grandchildren in the family. 
Mrs. Robertson's father, David Brown, was 
born in London, England, and was em- 
jjloyed as a tea tester b\- a whnlesalc house 
in that city. He came to \\'isciinsin in 1855, 
and settled on a farm near Dekorra, where 
he died when over eighty years of age. An 
ancestor of his wife was a steward on the 
estate of Lord Salisbury, a progenitor of the 
present premier of England. Mr. Robert- 
son is a Mason of most excellent standing, 
and is affiliated with the Rio lodge. Since 
coming to the United States he has been a 
Republican, and is proud of the fact that 
he was able to vote for Grant in 1868. He 
has never been an active politician, though 
he has from time to time filled certain local 
offices. He retains, however, what he has 
always exhibited — a keen interest in any 
measure calculated to advance the interests 
of the village of Rio. 



THOMAS C. KERSHAW. 

Thomas C. Kershaw is one of the hon- 
ored veterans of the Ci\il war, whose de- 
votion to his country was tested not only 
by service on the field of battle but in the 
still more deadly dangers of southern pris- 
ons. This gallant soldier is now success- 
fully engaged in agricultural pursuits on 
section 3, New Ha\'en township. Adams 
county, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Kershaw' was born June 22, 1833, 
in Larne, county Antrim, Ireland. His fa- 



ther, William ]\I. Kershaw, was born in the 
same place, in February, 1807, and in his 
native land folIowe<l the r(>])e-maker's trade. 
In 1845 lie came to the United States and 
located in \\'est Troy, New York, where he 
remained eight years while working on the 
canal. In 1853 he came to New Haven 
township, Adams county, Wisconsin, where 
he entered two hundred and eighty acres of 
government land, which he at once l)egan 
to improve, but was not long permitted to 
enjoy his new home, as he died March 15, 
1862. In 1829 he married Miss Catherine 
Clark, A\ho was born in Newtownards, 
county Down, Ireland, in January, 1798, and 
to them were born children : Wdliam 
J., Thomas C, Catherine and Mary A. The 
latter is the w^ife of Robert Warner, of 
Trempealeau county, Wisconsin. William 
J. was for siime years a prominent citizen of 
Adams county, and represented his district 
in the lower house of the state legislature 
and also in the senate. In the fall of 1862 
lit was commissioned captain of Company 
K, Eighteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infan- 
try, and joined the army in Tennessee, In 
the battle of Shiloh he w'as slightly wound- 
ed and in the fall of 1862 he came home on 
a sick furlough. After his recovery he was 
deputy provost marshal for this section of 
the state, and ser\-ed in that capacity for 
four months. Later he was commissioned 
major of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Vol- 
unteer Infantry. In the battle of Peters- 
burg he was shot through both legs and 
sent to Alexandria hospital in the District 
of Columbia. .After his recovery he re- 
joined his regiment and took part in the 
battles of Hatcher's Run, Deep Bottom and 
Chapin's Farm, and \vas mustered out in 
the spring of 1865. He died in Kilbourn 
City, April 5, 1883. 

Thomas C. Kershaw accompanied his 
parents on their emigration to America, and 
came with them to Adams countv, Wiscon- 



ISi 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



sin. He received a common-school educa- 
tion and in early life worked on the home 
farm, in the pineries and upon the river. 
He is now the owner of a good farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres on section 3, New 
Haven township, sixty acres of which are 
under excellent culti\ation and forty acres 
in meadow land. He is engaged in di\'er- 
sified farming and is meeting with well mer- 
ited success. 

(3n the 5th of August, 1879, Mr. Ker- 
shaw was united in marriage with Miss 
Adaline Stafford, who was born in Madison, 
Wisconsin, June 26, 1852, a daughter of 
Daniel Stafford, of New Haven township. 
She was educated in the common and high 
schools of her native city, and was granted 
the first teacher's certificate under Thomas 
Freeman, county superintendent of schools 
for Adams county. Before she was sixteen 
years of age she began teaching and suc- 
cessfully followed that profession in Adams 
county for eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Ker- 
shaw have three children: Robert \V., born 
August 5, 1880, is at home; Jennie K., born 
December 10, 1882, was educated in the 
Kilbourn high school, and is now engaged in 
the pul:)lic schools of Adams county; and 
Katie, born November 7, 18S7, is at home. 

In 1864 Mr. Kershaw joined the boys 
in blue as a member of Company K, Thirty- 
seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and 
was in front of Petersburg from June 29 to 
July 30, when he was taken prisoner. After 
being held at Petersburg for a time, he was 
sent to Danville, Virginia, where he re- 
mained six months, and then to L-il)l)y prison, 
where he was incarcerated for six weeks. 
He was then paroled at Richmond and sent 
to the parole cam]) in Annapolis. He was 
mustered out at St. Louis, May 30, 1865. 
He is an honored member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic. He is a quiet, un- 
assuming citizen, but his friends and neigh- 
bors recognize his worth and abilitv and 



have called him to several local offices, the 
duties of which he has most capably and sat- 
isfactorily discharged. He has been town 
supervisor several times, has filletl a number 
of school ofiices, and is now district treas- 
urer. 



\\TLLIAM ANDRUS. 

William Andrus, the well-known and 
efficient superintendent of the Sauk county 
poor farm and insane asylum, was born in 
Avon, Lorain coinitv, Ohio, October 21, 
1840, a son of Edwin and ]\Iacena (Abjure) 
Andrus, who were among the prominent 
pioneers and highly respected citizens ui 
Sauk county, ^\'isconsin. The name of An- 
drus or Andrews is one of the oldest in his- 
tory and has been common in England for 
several centuries. The founders of the fam- 
ily in America were John Andrews and his 
wife, Mar}-, whu settled in Farmington 
(then called Tunxis), Connecticut, in i()40. 
Me died in i08i and she in 1694. Their de- 
scendants h'cwe modified the spelling of the 
name; Andrus, Andros and Andrews being 
the most pre\alent forms. The posterit^■ of 
John Andrews included some of the most 
conspicuous citizens of Connecticut during 
the colonial period and in more recent times. 
Edwin Andrus, father of our subject, 
was a natixe of Glastonbury, Connecticut, 
whence he went to Sullivan county. New 
York, and in 183 1 to Ohio, where he carried 
on a sawmill for a numljer of }-ears. In 
1854 he came to Sauk comity, Wisconsin, 
and cleared up a large farm in Reedsburg 
township, owning two hundred and forty 
acres at the time of his deatli, which oc- 
curred A])ril 14, 1883, when he was se\'- 
ent3r-seven years of age. He was reared 
in the Baptist faith, but liecanie a Unitarian 
in. his religious views, and was always a 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



7b3 



Christian in practice and precept. In po- 
litical sentiment he was a Democrat. He 
was always very kind to the Indians, who 
c;im]ied in considerable numbers near his 
house and held him in high reg'ard. He 
first married Susan Gillett, by whom he had 
one daughter, Mrs. Frank Avery, of Bara- 
boo, now deceased. Mrs. Macena Andrus, 
the mother of our subject, was born at Wills- 
boro, New York, July 22, 1810, and died 
May 20, 1896. She was also reared in the 
Baptist faith. Her father, Joseph Moore, 
who sprang- from an old colonial family, 
was a native of Massachusetts, and at the 
age of sixteen entered the Continental army 
during the Revolutionary war. in which he 
served six years or more. His brcjther, John, 
was killed in a massacre by the Indians dur- 
ing that struggle. Four sons of Joseph 
Moore, Norman, Theron, Joseph and Seth, 
were all soldiers of the war of 1812, as well 
as two sons-in-law, and all participated in 
the battle of Lake Champlain. 

The subject of this sketch is the third in 
order of birth in a famih' of five children, 
the others being Ranson M., a resident of 
Baraboo, Wisconsin; /Amelia, wife of F. M. 
McClure, of Reedsburg township, Sauk 
county; Adelaide, wife of O. B. Titus, of 
Reedsburg; and Rosette, deceased wife of 
H. Sorge. 

W^illiam Andrus was a lad of fourteen 
years when he came with his parents to 
Sauk countv, and for fifteen years he op- 
erated the saw-mill which his father erected 
two years after their arrival, manufactur- 
ing considerable hard wood lumber. In 
1864 he purchased a 'farm of one hundrcil 
and sixty acres in Reedsburg township, 
which he still owns. He alsn li\"ed several 
years in the city of Reedsburg while edu- 
cating his children. 

On the 26th of March, 1864, Mr. An- 
drus married Miss Adarene C. Terrall, who 
was b(irn in North Ridgevillc. Ohio, and 



came to Wisconsin in 1863. Her parents 
were Gillespie and Lucretia (Tucker) Ter- 
rall, the former born in North Ridgeville, 
Ohio, in 1824, the later in Canandaigua 
countv, New York. Her grandfather, Icha- 
bod Terrall, removed from New England 
to Ohio in 1810, and took with him the coat 
of arms of the fanfily. The children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Andrus are as follows: 
Mary Belle is now the wife of Jolm Brum- 
mitt, of Spokane, Washington. .Vdelaide 
Amelia is the wife of Charles Umsted. of 
the same place. William Terrall, who at- 
tended the Wisconsin University for three 
years, is now carrying on the homestead 
farm. Frank C, who was connected with 
the Merchants Retail Collecting Agency for 
some time, died December 22. 1893. aged 
twentv-four years. He is supposed to have 
Ijeen murdered, as his body was found in 
the Chicago river in March, 1894. Ruliert 
C. has for .several years been emplnyed in 
the Sauk county institutions of which his- 
father has charge. All of the children re- 
ceived good high school educations. In 
religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Andrus are 
Unitarians, and in his social relations he is 
a member of the Ancient Order of United 
Wiirkmen. I'lilitically he aftiliates w^th the 
Democratic [larty, but is not a politician in 
the sense of oi^ce seeking, though he has 
held a number of township offices. 

Since December, 1891, Mr. and ?\lrs. 
Andrus ha\"e been in charge of the Sauk 
county poor farm and insane asylum and 
have wrought many remarkable reforms in 
the conduct of those institutions and in 
their equipments. The county farm com- 
Ijrises three hundred and twenty acres of 
land, one-half of which is co\cred with 
timber, and from this fi\e hundix-d cords of 
wood are cut and used annuall\-. Since our 
subject took charge the buildings have been 
more than douliled in size, and man\' con- 
veniences and impro\ements ha\e been in- 



7M 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



troduced. An adiiiiraljle system of water 
works and electric lights have been fitted up 
aiKl the work of carrying- on the institution 
hias been greatly simplified, while adding 
very much to the comfort and convenience 
of both inmates and employes. Telephone 
connection has been established with the city 
of Rccdsburg, five miles distant. There is 
an average of forty inmates in the county 
house and one hundred in the asylum, pa- 
tients from six other counties being accom- 
modated in the latter institution. The most 
noteworthy feature of the establishment is 
the uniform quiet and harmony wdiich pre- 
vails among the inmates. Both Mr. and 
]\Jrs. Andrus have the peculiar faculty of 
securing the confidence and exerting a pow- 
erful influence over the unfortunates (jlaced 
in their charge. The patients are allowed 
the utmost liberty and take pride in merit- 
ing the confidence reposed in them. Doors 
are ne\er locked night or day, and force is 
A'ery rarely ref|uired to carry out the rules 
of the establishment. In this respect the 
Sauk county asylum is a model of its kind. 
Tliough many insane patients are i^ro- 
nounced incurable Vv'hen returned from the 
state hospital at Mendota, a number have 
been jiractically cured by the humane meth- 
ods ])racticed by Mr. and Mrs. Andrus. Re- 
ligious services are conducted regularly, and 
though attendance is not compulsory, most 
o: the inmates participate. There are some 
talented musicians among them and the ex- 
ercise of this and other wholesome amuse- 
nients is encouraged. 



HON. WINSLOW BULLEX. 

This gentleman, whose home is in Ar- 
lington, Columbia county, caiuKit rightfully 
be rimitted from any list pretending to re- 
capitulate the names of the honored and 



helpfiU citizens of Columbia county. He 
has been an industrious and upright farmer 
litre for many years. He h.as taken an act- 
i\c [lart in public affairs, and his actions 
have been determined by motives of right 
and public welfare. He has dealt in trade 
and conducted a considerable ctjmmercial 
eitablishment, and his reputation as a busi- 
ness man is unblemished. He has been a 
member of the genera! assembly of the state 
of Wisconsin, and his vote and voice were 
always for higher and better public inter- 
ests. 

\Vinslow Bullen was born in Oswego 
county. New York, April 27, 1826, and is 
a son of David and Jane (Murdie) Bullen, 
the former being of English descent and 
the latter Scotch. The grandfather of the 
subject of this article, Captain Bullen, was 
an. officer in the American Revolutionary 
forces, and the family traces its ancestry back 
to Queen Anne Boleyn. David Bullen and 
family came west in 1836. He made -the 
journey overland in the winter in a cov- 
ered sleigh, wdiile his family followed by 
boat to Milwaukee, and there the boat drift- 
ed ashore in a storm. From there they pro- 
ceeded by wagon to Pike River, Kenosha 
county, where Mr. Bullen had settled. They 
remained there, doing fairly well until 1850, 
\^'hen Mr. Bullen mo\-ed himself and family 
to \\'ashington county. In 1857 Mrs. Bul- 
len died in that county, and her death broke 
up the home. Mr. Bullen came to Arlington, 
v.'here his sons were already settled, and 
niade his home with them until his death in 
1870. He was the father of three girls and 
five boys : James, deceased ; Winslow, the 
subject of this narrative; Jane married Nel- 
son Hull, and has her home in Marathon 
county, Wisconsin; David, Arlington; Mary 
became Mrs. Brown and is now dead ; Will- 
iam lives at Sioska, Wisconsin; and Sarah- 
is Mrs. W^estcott, of Marathon county. 

When Mr. Bullen came to Wisconsin Mil- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ri35 



waukee had but one house with a shingled 
roof, and Racine was but a collection of 
iiuts. He was then about ten years old 
and had attended school in New York. So 
wild and unsettled a i"egion as Wisconsin 
at that time could afiford little or no opportu- 
nity for school work for some years. Finally 
there was a select school opened near his 
hiome in Kenosha county, which he was glail 
to attend. Me remained at home and worked 
with his lather until he was about twenty- 
eight years of age, when he bou.ght a quar- 
ter-section of land in Washington county, 
to which he devoted himself for some years. 
He also purchased a hundred and twenty 
acres of especially choice land in the town 
of Arlington, and he made it his home in 
1856. Here he lived and labored until 1882, 
\vhen he moved into the village of Arling- 
ton, and entered int(> a store, and established 
c|uite a reputation as an honorable and up- 
right tratlesman. He has now^ given up act- 
i\e business laljors, and is spending his last 
days in [)eace and (juiet among the neigh- 
bors and scenes of his most busy day. 

Mr. Bullen and Salina F. Gilmore were 
married November 27, 1852. She was a 
daughter of Kelsey and Clarinda (Hins- 
dale) Gilmore, natives of \'erniont, who 
came to Kenosha county at an early date. 
Mr. Gilmore died April 21, 1850, and hi^ 
wife, October 29, 1846. They were the jwr- 
er;ts of nine children, all of whom have 
passed o\'er to join the great majority. Mr. 
and Mrs. Bullen have had five children, all 
of whom are living: Sarah Ellen, William 
Kelsey, David Murdie, Mary Eleanor and 
Jennie Elmira. They all reside in Arling- 
ton. Mr. Bullen is a Republican through 
and through and has held many public of- 
fices. He has been town clerk and was 
chairman of the town board some four or 
five years; and in 1869 was elected to the 
state legislature from the second assembly 
district of Columbia county. DuiMug his 



term the important ciuestions of the removal 
cl the capital to Milwaukee and the control 
of the Eau Claire river came up, and he was 
much interested in the result, as imi>i >rtant 
interests depended upon the outcome, ^^''ill- 
iam Price, afterwards a member of con- 
gress, was a colleague of his at that time. 
He has taken an active part in public labors, 
and has been a leading man in his com- 
munity. Very largely a self-educated man, 
bv his native force of character and executive 
aljility he has made himself felt in the 
ci.'unty. 



NED C. WOOD. 

Among the sturdy, energetic and suc- 
cessful farmers of Adams county, who 
thoroughly understand the vocation which 
they f(_illi)W and are consequently enabled to 
carry on their calling with profit to them- 
selves, is the subject of this sketch, who is 
actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in 
Springville township. 

Mr. Wood was born in Ludlowville, 
Tompkins county. New Y(jrk, iVugust 4, 
1851, a son of Amasa and Isabella (Clark) 
Wood, prominent citizens of that county, 
where the father was engaged in the manu- 
facture iif furniture. The maternal grandfa- 
ther, Daniel Clark, was a quartermaster in 
the war of 1812, and the great-grandfather, 
Colonel Ji-ihn Harper, served with distinction 
as a C(>l(Tnel in the Revolutionary war. The 
latter was very wealthy. 

During his boyhood Ned C. Wood re- 
ceived a good common-school education, and 
he worked in his father's furniture shoj) un- 
til sixteen years of age, when he came to 
Wisconsin, locating in Friendship, Adams 
county, May 4, 1868. After living with his 
Ijrother-in-law, J. W. Shaw, for a short time, 
he worked for James Hinman, a well-known 



rsG 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



farmer, for several _vears, durino- wliich 
time by industry and economy he managed 
ti; save some money. Later he spent sev- 
eral years on the J- !'• Shultz farm, and had 
charge of the Shaw farm one year. At dif- 
ferent times he lived on other farms, and 
in 1887 purchased the Murray Hay farm at 
Twin \'alley, upon which he has made many 
impro\cnients and which he now success- 
full}- operates. 

jNlr. Wood was married, September 17, 
1879, to Miss Anna E. Cook, who was born 
near Ibirnellsville, Steuben county. New 
York, May 24, 1857, a daughter of Ora 
and Rosella (Donaldson) Cook. The Cooks 
were land owners and well-to-do farmers 
of Steuben county, and people of prominence 
in the community. Mrs. \\'ood's father was 
b(jrn in New York, and when four years 
old Mrs. \\'ood came to Wisconsin with 
her mcither. locating at Billings Ferry, 
Adams county. Her mother lived on the 
Hinman farm for a time, in a house on the 
west side of the road, and then bought prop- 
erty in Ulin. She died May 29, 1869, and 
the daughter, now Mrs. Wood, then made 
her home with James Hinman. She attend- 
ed the country school and the high school of 
Kilbourn City, and at the age of seventeen 
began teaching school in Twin \'alley. 
Later she taught in several different coun- 
ties and successfully followed that pursuit 
for six years. Our subject and his wife 
have two children : Glen C, born May 20, 
1881, and John F., born May 12, 1891. 
The former is now in Delton, Sauk county. 
Politically Mr. Wood affiliates with the 
Republican party and he has capably filled 
several township and school offices. Frater- 
nally he is a member of the Masonic order, 
the IModern Woodmen of America, and both 
he and his wife are charter members of the 
Dells Home Forum, No. 181 3, of which he 
was elected treasurer, but declined to serve. 
]\Irs. Wood has been a member of the Meth- I 



odist Episcopal church since seventeen years 
of age and has served as superintendent of 
the Sabbath school, in wdiich position she has 
done much toward starting the young in the 
right course. She ever takes an active and 
prominent part in all church work, and she 
and her husband well merit the high regard 
in which they are uniformly held. 



HON. JOHN KELLOGG. 

Perhaps no man in Reedsburg is better 
known or more highly esteemed than the 
present postmaster, John Kellogg, who has 
resided at that place for nearly half a century 
and from time to time has been prominently 
identified with a number of the most import- 
ant industries of that progressive citv. He 
has also taken quite an active and influential 
part in public affairs, and has been honored 
with a number of responsible offices. 

He was born in Dix, Steuben county, 
New York, December 11, 1833, a son of 
George and Hannah (Kellenger) Kellogg. 
His paternal grandfather, John Kellogg, 
lived and died on a farm in Cornwall, Con- 
necticut, and filled numerous local offices. 
His ancestiirs came from England to the 
new world and settled in Boston during the 
earlier days of the colony. The father of our 
subject \\'as a native of Cornwall, Litchfield 
cijunty, Connecticut, removed to New York 
al)out 1830. and in 1850 came to Wiscon- 
sin. After one season spent in Whitewater, 
he took up his residence in Reedsburg, and 
about i860 removed to a farm in Sumner 
township, Sauk county, upon which he spent 
the remainder of his life, dying in February, 
1899, at the extreme old age of ninety years. 
Politically he was first a Whig and later 
a Republican. He was a man of decided 
\'iews, was a consistent member of the 
Methodist church, and was honored and re- 
spected by all who knew him. His wife 
and the mother of our subject was born 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



737 



near the head of the Cayug-a Lake, in 
CaA'uga county, New York, and died in 
Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in 1853, at the age 
(if forty-one years. 

John Kellogg came witli his parents to 
Reedsburg and completed his education in 
its public and select schools. He continued 
to assist his father in the operation of the 
home farm until the fall of 1857, when he 
opened a restaurant and grocery in Reeds- 
burg, which he successfully conducted for a 
time. Later he became a partner with A. 
L. Harris in a general mercantile store, and 
on selling his interest ni 1880 he purchased 
the Reedsburg Flouring Mills, which he 
carried on for several years with marked 
success. In 1882 he also became one of the 
l^artners in tlie Reedsburg Building & Lum- 
ber Company, and built a planing-mill on 
their property, but some time later the plant 
and a c|uantity of their lumber was destroyed 
by fire at considerable loss. After rebuild- 
ing the mill, Mr. Kellogg sold out to the 
present proprietors. Subsequently ill health 
I'jrevented him from engaging in active busi- 
ness for some years. 

On the 1st of Janaiary, 18 — , Mr. Kel- 
logg was united in marriage with Miss 
Sarah J. Chandler, of Beaver Dam, Wis- 
consin, who was born near Lake George, 
New York, and they have become the par- 
ents of two children, namely : Hettie M., 
now the widow of Bertine Pew and a resi- 
dent of Reedsburg; and Iva M., wife of 
A. K. Kellogg, of Fort Atkinson, W'iscon- 
sin. The family hold membership in the 
Methodist church of Reedsburg, which Mr. 
Kellogg assisted in organizing. He was one 
of the chief contributors to the erection of 
the present house of worship, and has also 
given liberally to the building of all other 
churches of Reedsburg. Socially he is an 
honored member of the blue lodge and chap- 
ter of the Masonic order of that city, for 
many years was secretary of the former 



branch ; and also belongs to St. John's Com- 
mandery, K. T., and has been financier of 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen for 
some years past. 

'Mv. Kellogg's political support is always 
gi\en the men and measures of the Republi- 
can part}', and on its ticket was elected to 
the general assembly in 1873, in which au- 
gust body he served for one term with credit 
to himself and to the entire satisfaction of 
his constituents. He was a member of the 
Republican county committee during the 
Greenback campaigns of 1876 and 1878, and 
has always worked efi:'ectively for the inter- 
ests of his party. In 1868 he was first ap- 
pointed postmaster of Reedslnn-g liy Presi- 
dent (irant and held the office until 1873, 
when he resigned in favor of A. L. Harris. 
He was again appointed to the same position 
in 1884, but was removed as an "offensive 
partisan" by President Cleveland the fol- 
lowing year. In June, 1898, he again took 
the office and is its present incumbent. When 
he first took charge of the same, in 1868, he 
was able to transact all the business alone, 
but two assistants are now required. He 
has been called upon to fill a number of 
town and village offices, including that of 
justice of the peace, which he held for four 
or five years, resigning upon his last ap- 
pointment as postmaster. While in that 
office he did most of the justice business in 
the city, was absolutely fearless in the dis- 
charge of his duties, and favor could not 
tempt him fnmi the straight path. His pub- 
lic and ])rivate life are above reproach, for 
his career has ever been one characterized 
l)y the utmost fidelity to duty. 



CAPTAIN GIDEON L0\^^ 

Among the gallant officers of the United 
States army, who were successfully placed 
in command of Fort Winnebago during the 



738 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



maintenance of the garrison at that place, 
none are more kindly remembered by their 
contemporaries and none perhaps are better 
entitled to honorable mention in the annals 
of Columljia county than Captain Gideon 
Low. 

He was born in Ulster county, New 
York, November 15, 1779, and died at Port- 
age May 8, 1850. At an early age he en- 
tered the United States regular army and 
was commissioned an ensign June i, 1812. 
He served with distinction through the war 
of 1 81 2- 1 5, being promoted to second lieu- 
tenant of the Twenty-second Infantry in 
April, 1813, and ten months later became first 
lieutenant. He was v>-ounded in an engage- 
ment on Lake Ontario, receiving a scar which 
he bore to his grave. After the war his com- 
pany was disbanded and he spent about 
three years in private life at Easton, Penn- 
sylvania. 

Li 1 819 he was reinstated in the army 
and ordered to St. Louis. During the next 
nine years he was successively stationed at 
Jefferson Barracks, Ft. Edwards, Ft. Arm- 
strong and Fort Shelling. Li August, 
1828, he receivetl a captain's commission and 
the same year was ordered to Green Bay. 
He made the trip to that place from St. 
Louis with his wife and two daughters in 
a small boat, going by way of "The Port- 
age," w'hich at that time could have been 
the habitation of no more than a few Li- 
dian traders, and probal^ly was not the home 
of a single white woman. 

In 1 83 1 Captain Low was ordered to 
Fort Winnebago, the construction of which 
had been commenced the previous year, but 
it was not completed when he arrived. Here 
ho served under Major Plimpton and other 
officers and eventually succeeded to the com- 
mand himself. 

During the Black Hawk war he saw 
considerable active service, and was sent at 
one time to reinforce Fort Atkinson while 



the notorious Sac chief was operating in that 
vicinity. It would probably be impossible 
to write a better account of life at the Fort 
than the description by Mrs. Kinzie in her 
famous book, "Wau-Bun." 

Among Captain Low's associates here 
were a number of men who afterwards 
achieved great distinction in both the United 
States and Confederate armies, as well as 
in civil life. February 29, 1840, he resigned 
his comniissi(.>n and spent the balance of his 
da_\"s in practical retirement. When the 
Winneljago Portage began to develop as a 
place of some commercial importance. Cap- 
tain Low realized the need of a place of 
entertainment fur travelers, and in 1838 he 
built the "Franklin House," the first regular 
hiitel in the ])lace. It was long famous as 
a place of entertainment and social inter- 
course. A store and postoffice were con- 
nected with the establishment and it was also 
used as a court house and for the transac- 
tion of other public business, until better 
accommodations could be provided. 

Captain Low also speculated to some 
e.xtent in lands, but was never very success- 
ful as a business man, being too free-hearted 
and hospitable to thrive in the capacity of 
landlord, and often extended shelter to peo- 
ple from w hom he never expected to receive 
any remuneration. He was ever fearless in 
the discharge of his duty, whether of a mil- 
itary or a civil nature. 

Captain Low was first married July 14, 
1805, to Melissa Scriber, of Pleasant Val- 
ley, Dutchess county, New York. She died 
a few years later, leaving one son, Jacob, 
who became a prominent citizen of Colum- 
bia county, also a daughter, Mary Ann, who 
married, first. Captain Thomas Winship 
(by whom she had one son, George Henry 
Winship), second, John Schaumberg. 

On August 10, 1 81 5, Captain Low was 
married to Miss Margaret C. Foulk, daugh- 
ter of Stephen Foulk and Sarah (DeLap) 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



r39 



Foulk, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Two 
daughters were born of this union, Mar- 
garet Foulk (now Mrs. Charles Temple), of 
Chicago, and Elizabeth Missouri (Mrs. 
Henry Merrellj, both of wIidui are now de- 
ceased. 



MARVIN E. LATHROP. 

Marvin E. Latlirop, whose pleasant home 
is in the town of Colburn, where he has a 
fertile and well-cultivated farm on section 
12, near the postoffice of Hancock, is one 
of the successful agriculturists of Adams 
county, and he has been identified with its 
interests for many years. He is a native 
of the state, and was born m the town of 
Ontario, Waushara county, March 29, 1850. 
He is therefore in the very prime of his 
manly powers, and though fifty years have 
passed away, still the natural fire of his youth 
is not abated nor his strength exhausted. 

Mr. Lathrop comes of good old American 
stock, his ancestral lines running back into 
old colonj^ times. Ira R. Lathrop, his fa- 
ther, was born in Genesee county. New 
York, March 21, 1823, and his mother. Avis 
Alvira Foster, in the town of Greenwich, 
Hampshire county, Massachusetts, May 14, 
1830. They were married September i, 
1847, i" Winnebago county, Wisconsin, and 
at once took a prominent position in the 
community, a position they always main- 
tained. They were the parents of seven 
children, two of whom died in infancy. 
Marvin, their eldest child, is the subject of 
this sketch. Annie is the wife of S. E. 
Brown, a prominent farmer and leading citi- 
zen of Brown county, Kansas. Frank 
moved to Emmett county, Iowa, where he 
has long been recognized as an upright and 
worthy citizen and a most capable farmer. 
His wife was known when a girl as Louisa 
Jenkins. Edgar married Mary Davis, and 
lives in Washington county, Kansas. He 



liad his home for a time in Brown count)^ 
of that state. Charles found his wife, Kate 
Ames, at Burnett, Dodge county, Wiscon- 
sin, and was long a resident of this state, but 
is now register of deeds at Algona, Iowa. 
Of these four boys, widely scattered and ex- 
posed to the temptations of frontier life, 
it is somewliat ren^arkable that they have 
all grown tu middle age without one nf 
them so much as learning the taste of malt 
or spirituous liquors. It is a fact that 
s]jeaks well for the high moral character of 
the home in which they were nurtured. 
The paternal Lathrop accompanied his fa- 
ther and mother to Indiana when he was 
only twelve }"ears old, and remained with 
them until he attained his majority. He 
was strong and sturdy, not afraid of hard 
work, a fact evidenced by his entering the 
Wisconsin pine woods, following a lumber- 
man's career for the winter. In 1846 he 
made his home in Green Lake county (then 
Marquette), where he lived for more than 
thirty 3'ears. In 1S79 he removed to Adams 
county, where he took possession of a choice 
farm of one hundred and fifty acres, which 
still continues to be his home. Throughout 
his life he has been an active and intelli- 
gent farmer. His upright character and 
manifest ability ha\e always commanded 
respect, and his neighbors have repeatedly 
commanded his services in public position. 
For many years he was a member of the 
board of super\-isors of the town of Berlin, 
Green Lake county. He was also treas- 
urer of Leola township, Adams county, one 
year. His father, Abiel Lathrop, was a 
miller in early life, and followed his trade 
in Connecticut, his native state. When 
somewhat advanced in years he removed to 
Indiana, took up a farm, and died after a 
long and godly life. He was for many )-ears 
a deacon in the close communion Baptist 
church, and was always found on the side c; 
right. 



r40 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Marvin Lathrop came to Adams county 
in 1 87 1, and from tliat time he lias been 
an honored resident of tlie count\'. Miss 
Orvilla A. Flyte became his wife, January 
21, 1 87 1, and has proved everything that a 
loyal and devoted wife should be. Mr. 
Lathrop was county surveyor for nearly 
twenty years, and has also served on the 
county board. It is also worthy of note that 
there has not been a year since he entered 
the county that he has not held some town 
office of more or less importance. He lives 
on the old home farm, and in its manage- 
ment displays both industry and a compre- 
hensive knowledge of the possibilities of the 
agricultural world. Here he has a good 
house, a large barn and ample outbuildings, 
and at the present moment has some ninety 
acres under cultivation. He gives much at- 
tention to the raising of high-grade Jersey 
cattle, and has won considerable distinction 
as a breeder of desirable stock. He is a Re- 
publican, and a prominent Mason. He was 
a charter member of the Edwards Lodge, 
No. 268, at Hancock, and with his wife be- 
longs to the Eastern Star. He is now 
master of the local lodge, and has long been 
a faithful worker in the order. They are 
the parents of one child, Harry A., and have 
manv friends in the communitv. 



HENRY STECKELBERG. 

Henry Steckelberg is entitled to promi- 
nent mention among the progressive farm- 
ers of Sauk county. He has spent the 
greater part of his life in that region, and 
his labors for the advancement of the com- 
munity in which he has chosen his home 
make him one of the prominent and re- 
sjDected citizens. He is a son of the German 
Empire, but gives his services for the cause 



of his adopted land, and in every possible 
way has aided in transforming the wilder- 
ness which first met his eye into a pleasant 
and beautiful farming country. He has a 
home of more than usual comforts in West- 
field townshi]:). and his residence is on sec- 
tion 27. 

Our subject was born in Kirchweihe, 
Hanover, Germany, November 14, 1850, and 
was a son of Jahn G. and Mary (Lichte) 
Steckelberg, who were natives of the same 
locality. His mother died in her native 
land, at the age of forty-six years. The 
father was a farm laborer in Germany and 
came to the United States in 1868, and set- 
tled in Sauk county, Wisconsin, where he 
died in Westfield township in 1887, aged 
sixty-six years. 

At the age of eighteen years our sub- 
ject came to Sauk county, Wisconsin, since 
which time he has lived in Westfield town- 
ship. He attended school two winters in 
Lodi, and soon acquired a knowledge of 
American ways and customs and the Eng- 
lish language. He purchased his present 
farm about seven 3'ears after coming to the 
county, and at the time there were but four 
or five acres of the land cleared for culti- 
vation. He is now the possessor of two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land, and has about 
one hundred and sixty acres cleared and 
tillable. He erected a commodious and sub- 
stantial brick house in 1884, and in 1896 
built one of the largest barns in the county. 
It measures 40x104 feet and has a base- 
ment under the entire structure. He makes 
stock raising and dairying the features of 
the place, and does not engage extensively 
in grain raising. 

INIr. Steckelberg was married January 
24, 1874, to Catharine Meyer, daughter of 
George and Catharine (Freese) Meyer. 
Mrs. Steckelberg was born in Repdorf, 
Hanover, Germany, and came to the LTnited 
States in company with her parents in 1872. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



741 



The family settled in Westfield township, 
where the parents still reside. Six children, 
two of whom died in infancy, have been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Steckelberg, the four sur- 
viving children named as follows : Henry ; 
Ida, now Mrs. Herman Licht, of Westfield 
township; Emma; and Rosella. 

The family are connected with the Lu- 
theran Zion church, of Westfield, and Mr. 
Steckelberg is an elder of the society. He 
is a man of great force of character and 
under his charge many of the substantial 
new bridges have been built and other im- 
provements made in the highways of the 
township. He has served as chairman of 
the township board since 1891, and his effi- 
cient service is appreciated by the citizens 
of his community. Politically he is a Demo- 
crat, and stands firmly for the principles of 
his part}'. 



FREMONT JAY CROSS. 

Fremont Jay Cross, a well-known busi- 
ness man of Cambria, is a native of the 
Badger state and traces his lineage from 
some of the oldest families in the United 
States. A number of his progenitors have 
won distinction in professional and military 
circles and their record as a whole is one to 
which any citizen might point with pardon- 
able pride. 

Mr. Cross was born in the town of 
Greenfield, Milwaukee county, January 9, 
1857. His parents were William Wallace 
and Jane H. (Strong) Cross and his pater- 
nal grandparents were Levi and Loa (John- 
son) Cross. Levi Cross was an industrious 
farmer, who lived and died in Jefferson 
county, New York. He was remotely of 
English lineage, but the exact time of the 
emigration of the family to America is un- 
known. Loa Johnson represented the sev- 
enth generation of her family in this countrv. 



being descended from John Johnson and his 
wife, Susanna, who came from Hern Hill, 
county of Kent, England, and settled at 
Andover, Massachusetts, previous to the 
year 1635. Their posterity is now scattered 
through nearly every state in the Union, 
and in many other places. Among the num- 
ber may be mentioned Professor Osgood 
Johnson, who was principal of Phillips 
Academy at Andover, from 1833 to 1837, 
Josiah Johnson, grandfather of Mrs. Loa 
Cross, served as a lieutenant in the Sixteenth 
Company, Fifth Regiment of Massachusetts 
Militia, during the Revolutionary war and 
his son, Othniel, father of Mrs. Cross, was 
a captain of infantry during the war of 1812. 
William W. Johnson, a brother of Mrs. 
Cross, was commissioned a lieutenant of 
]\Iassachusetts militia in 1836, but as far as 
known was never called into active service. 
This gentleman, who is still living, is dis- 
tinguished for his literary tastes. He has 
prepared a volume of family genealogy, to 
which we are indebted for much of the infor- 
mation contained in this article. He is a 
remarkably fine penman, as shown in a let- 
ter written to the subject of this notice when 
he was eighty-two years of age. In this 
letter he gives the fohowing description of 
the coat of arms granted to William John- 
son, B. D. "Ar, a chev. az. between three 
Pheons gu. On a chief of the second an 
open book representing the Holy Bible ppr. 
edged and sealed or., thereon inscribed 
Proverbs XXII, verse 6, between two crosses 
flory of the last. Crest : a Pheon as in the 
arms, surmounted by a star of eight points 
or." 

William W. Cross was born at Rossie, 
Jefferson county. New York. In 1849 he 
came to Wisconsin and located at North 
Greenfield, near Milwaukee, where he car- 
ried on a blacksmith shop for over forty 
years, dying there in December, 1897, 
al the age of sixtv-four years. He inherited 



742 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the patriotic instincts of his ancestors, and 
when the o-reat Civil war broke out prompt- 
ly offered his services and spent two years 
in the Twenty-fourth Regiment, Wisconsin 
\'olunteer Infantry, at the end of whicli time 
he was discharged owing to disabilities. 
He had four brothers, each of whom did 
military service for two )-ears or more dur- 
ing the same conflict. JMrs. Jane H. Cross 
is now living in Cambria, at the age of sixty- 
four years. She was born in Onondaga 
county, New York. Her father, Reuben 
Strong, was probably of English descent. 
His wife, I'armelia (Fuller), was of Dutch 
lineage. This, family came to NVisconsin 
in 1836, settling at Greenfield, where they 
were among the earliest pioneers. Two 
brothers uf Mrs. Cross served in the Union 
army during the Ci\'il war, a third being too 
young for militar}- duly at that time. Mrs. 
Cross is the mother of two sons and one 
daughter : the latter, Emma Loa, became the 
wife of Edwin A. James, of Brandon, Wis- 
consin, and Clarence was accidentally killed 
b\- a train of cars while crossing the tracks 
near his home at Greenfield. This sad event 
occurred in 1897, when he had reached the 
age of twenty-seven years. 

Freiuont Jay Cross, who is the eldest 
and only survivor of his father's family, at- 
tended the public school at Greenfield and 
at an early age began to manifest an aptitude 
for fine mechanical work. When twenty 
years of age he went to jNIihvaukee and 
studied dentistry with Dr. David Ritchey. 
With the exception of a few years he has 
jiracticed his ])rofession since that time; he 
also learned the jeweler's trade, which was 
more to his taste. After working a few 
years at McHenry, Illinois, ^ and elsewhere, 
in 1883 he located in Cambria, bringing the 
first stock of jewelry to that village, where 
he continues to be the only workman in that 
l:ne. He had been here but a short time 
when he resumed the practice of dentistrv 



and still carries on the two occupations con- 
jointly, his skill in both pursuits having at- 
tracted a liberal patronage. 

In 1879 Mr. Cross was married to Miss 
Ella E. James, daughter, of John T. and 
Eliza (Braithwaite) James, of Greenfield, 
Wisconsin. ]\Ir. and Mrs. James came to 
that place from England. One son and three 
daughters brighten the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Cross, named, respectively: Wilfred 
James, Cordello Eliza, Ethelyn Jane and 
Elva Enola. Wilfred J. is now his father's 
assistant in the jewelry store, for which he 
evinces a decided taste. Mr. Cross is iden- 
tified with the Masonic fraternity and is a 
past master of Cambria Lodge, No. 15J. 
He is also connected with the local organi- 
zations of the Ancient Order of United 
^^'orkmen and of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. A Republican in sentiment, he at- 
tends numerous political gatherings, but 
sometimes supports worthy candidates with 
whom he disagrees in matters of national 
policy. He has several times been elected a 
member of the \'illage board of trustees and 
lias also ser\-ed as president of that body. 
He has also been a meml:)er of the county 
board of supervisors and is the present treas- 
urer of the village. 



DAVID THOMPSON BONNELL. 

Da\'id Thom])son Bonnell, one of the 
most popular public oflicials of Adams coun- 
ty, was born in Mendon, Morris county. 
New Jersey, July i r, 1849. ^^^ nearly 
half a century he has been a resident of 
Adams county, and enjo_ys a large acquaint- 
an.ce and the respect of the entire community. 

Mr. Bonnell was the youngest son born 
to Charles Pinkney and Jane (Garrabrant) 
Bonnell. His father was a brick mason and 
plasterer by trade, and followed it in New- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



743 



nrk. New York, Brooklyn, and other cities 
of the east, and in 1853 moved to Wiscon- 
sin, settling on his farm in Adams county,, 
and plying his trade in the town. He laid 
the foundation of several of the first build- 
irigs in Kilbourn, and was forced to abandon 
that line of work on account of an injury 
received by falling from a scaffold. He died 
Xovember 14, 1876, aged seventy-one years. 
}le led an honorable and useful life and was 
resjiected where he made his home. The 
n^other of our subject was born in Morris 
enmity, Xew Jersey, and her ancestors were 
among the pioneer settlers of that state. Her 
<leath occurred in June, 1872, aged sixty- 
nine years. Mr. and Mrs. C. P. Bonnell 
reared a family of ten children, nine sons and 
one daughter. Seven sons served in the Civil 
var, and their service aggregated over nine- 
teen years. John W. died in Detroit, ]Min- 
ntsota, in 1899: Charles H., deceased, the 
onl}' one of the sons who did not enter the 
service; William T., deceased; Cornelius, of 
Rochester, New York^ wounded in the knee 
at Fredericksburg; Aaron H., killed in the 
battle of Antietam, July 24, 1864; Edward 
J., wounded at Marietta, Georgia, now re- 
siding in Tomah, \Visconsin; Octavius, of 
Blanchard, North Dakota ; Sarah J., now 
Mrs. Edward Lawrence, of \Vonewoc, Wis- 
consin; and David T., our suliject. One 
other son died in childhood. Four of the 
sons, John ^^^, Cornelius, Edward J., and 
Octavius, re-enlisted as. veterans, after the 
expiration of their first terms of service. 

David T. Bonnell attended the public 
.schools, and later Brunson Institute, at Point 
BiuiY, and resided on the farm with his par- 
ents until he enlisted, July 24, 1864, in Com- 
pany E, Thirty-eighth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry. He was in the army of the Po- 
tomac and in active service through the clos- 
ing campaigns of the war, at Petersburg, and 
^\■eldon R. R., and was discharged July 26, 



1865. After the war he engaged in lumber- 
ing on the Wisconsin river for several years, 
and then followed the carpenter's trade four- 
teen years. He then purchased a dairy farm 
near Point Bluff, comprising two hundred 
and two acres, which he improved and still 
owns. He was elected county registrar in 
the fall of 1898, since which time he has 
been a resident of Friendship. 

Our subject was married October 3, 1869, 
tc Marilla Morris, a native of New 
York, and a daughter of Morgan L. 
and Marilla (Butler) Morris, of Adams 
county. Mr. and IMrs. Bonnell are the par- 
ents of two children: Alfred L., a resident 
of Kansas City, Missouri; and Bertha W'ini- 
fred, now Mrs. WilHam Graves, of Han- 
cock, W^isconsin. Mr. Bonnell is an hon- 
ored member of Badger Post, G. A. R., and 
Ouincy Lodge, A. F. & A. M. In political 
sentiment he is a Republican, and takes an 
active interest in the movements of his party. 
He has filled the office of town clerk in 
Springville township for nianv years, and 
is always awake to the general welfare of his 
communitv. 



DANIEL S. HASKINS. 

Daniel S. Haskins, a representative 
farmer and leading citizen of Richfield town- 
ship, Adams county, W^isconsin, was born in 
St. Lawrence county. New York, Septem- 
ber 28, 1843, and is a son of Allen and 
Eleanor (Schrever) Haskins, the former a 
native of Vermont, born 1789, and the latter 
in Oswego county. New York. The father, 
who was also a farmer by occupation, came 
to Wisconsin in 1855, and took up his resi- 
dence on Burr Oak Prairie, Adams county, 
where he spent the remainder of his life. 

Daniel S. Haskins, of this review, was 
rcaretl in nnich the usual manner of farmer 



744 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



boys of his day, and since attaining to 
man's estate has devoted his energies to ag- 
ricultural i)ursuits, now owning and operat- 
ing a good farm of eighty acres in Rich- 
field township, Adams county. He was 
married, July 27, 1871, to Miss Mary Eliza- 
beth Parks, of Richfield township, a daugh- 
ter of \\'illiam and Mary (Mead) Parks, 
the former a nati\e of Germany, the latter 
of New York. Her father gave up his life 
for his adopted country in the Civil war, 
being killed at the battle of Shiloh. He 
had enlisted in the fall at Richford, \Vau- 
shara county, \\'isconsin, in the Sixteenth 
Wisconsin N'olunteer Infantry. Mr. and 
Mrs. Haskins ha\e two children : Henry 
wedded Mary A. Burdick and lives in Rich- 
field townshi]), Adams county ; and Emma, 
wife of Charles Payne, who is living on the 
home farm in the same township. 

The Haskins family has been well rep- 
resented in the wars of this country and has 
been noted for its patriotism and loyalty. 
Our subject's father was a soldier of the 
war of 1812, and his grandfather, John Has- 
kins, valiantly fought for the freedom of 
the colonies during the Revolutionary war. 
'1 he latter was thrown from a horse and 
killed. Our subject was one of the boys in blue 
during the Civil war, enlisting August 8, 
1864, in Company K, Thirty-eighth Wiscon- 
sm Volunteer Infantry, under command of 
Captain Thomas Marsdin. The regiment was 
assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and 
spent the winter of 1864-65 in the ditches 
in front of Petersburg. They began the 
siege five hundred strong, but when the fort 
surrendered only eighty were aljle to en- 
gage in active duty. When the war ended 
and his services were no longer needed, Mr. 
Haskins was honorably discharged June 
2, 1865. He is an ardent Republican in 
politics, and gives his support to every en- 
terprise which he believes will prove of pub- 
lic benefit. 



WILLIAM HENRY YOUNG. 

William Henry Young, a prominent rep- 
resentati\-e of the agricultural interests (if 
Reedsburg t(jwnship, Sauk county, Wiscon- 
sin, was born in Minden, Montgomery coun- 
tv. New York, May 10, 1824, and is a son 
of John Christian and Hannah (Dlngman) 
Young, also natives of the Empire state, born 
in Minden and Kinderhook, respectively. 
Our subject's great-grandfather, Godfrey 
\'oung, a native of Wurtemburg, German}-, 
served his king as collector of tithes, and 
his discharge, signed by the king, is still 
preserved by our subject. About the mifldle 
of the eighteenth century he came to Amer- 
ica and settled in Montgomery county. New 
\'ork, becoming one of the pioneers of that 
region. He and four of his sons, Christian, 
Godfrey, John: and Daniel, served through 
the French and Indian war and also fought 
in the Revolution for the independence of 
the colonies. Godfrey Yoimg, Jr., the grand- 
father of our subject, was wounded at the 
battle of Oriskany and ilied from the eft'ects 
of the same forty years later. A fiiwling 
])iece, which he captured during the war from 
an Indian shari)shooter, who had been armed 
by the English, is also in the possession of 
our subject. John C. Young, the father, 
was a soldier of the war of 1812 and partici- 
pated in the battle of Sacket Harbor. Dur- 
ing his youth he learned the blacksmith's 
trade, which he followed for many 3'ears. In 
1856 he came to Sauk county, Wisconsin, 
and lived near Reedsliurg until calleil from 
this life in February, 1877, at the age of 
eighty-six years. His wife passed away 
two or three years previously at the age of 
eighty-four. Her father was John Ding- 
man, a farmer, who had descended from an 
old Dutch family of New York. 

In early manhood, William H. Young, of 
this review, went to Springfield Stone Mills, 
New York, where he worked as a stone ma- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



745 



son and carpenter until coming to tliis state 
in .1854. He lived for a short time in White- 
water and other places, but in January. 
1855, came to Reedsburg, and the fnllnwing 
year purchased eighty acres of his present 
farm in Reedsburg township, to the cultiva- 
tion and improvement of which he has since 
devoted his energies with marked success. 
As his financial resources have increased he 
has extended the boundaries of his farm 
from time to time until he now has two hun- 
dred acres of valuable land under a higli 
state of cultivation and well improved. 

In December, 1856, Mr. Young married 
Miss Adelaide Crawford, a daughter of 
James Crawford, of Baraboo, Wisconsin, 
who was from Ohio. She died in July, i860, 
at the early age of 4;wenty-four years, leav- 
ing one son, Clarence Orville, now a resident 
of Wigg, Minnesota. Mr. Young was again 
married in i86j, his second union being with 
Miss Lydia Dewey, a nati\-e of Oconomo- 
woc, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Henr} 
Dewey, of Reedslnirg. Two children have 
been born to them, namely: George; and 
Winnie, now the wife of Alliert Xinnaman, 
of fronton, Wisconsin. 

During the Ci\ il war Mr. Young served 
for a time in the ([uartermaster's department 
as a carpenter at Little Rock, Arkansas, but 
becoming disgusted with the dilatory tactics 
of the office he resigned. In politics he has al- 
ways been a pronounced Democrat, and for 
several years he has served as a member of 
the town board of super\-isors and as chair- 
man of the same for two years. He has ever 
taken a deep and commendable interest in 
puljlic affairs, and was very active in the 
management of the Reedsburg Grange, P. of 
H., while that organization existed. For a 
quarter of a century he has affiliated with the 
Masonic fraternity, having united with the 
order at Stone Mills, New York, and he is 
now a prominent and honored member of 
Reedsburg Lodge, F. & A. M., and Reeds- 



burg Chapter, R. A. ^I., having filled the 
principal offices in the former. He is sup- 
posed to be the oldest Mason in Wisconsin, 
and is a man highly respected by all who 
know him. 



ADELBERT EDWARDS, M. D. 

Adelbert Edwards, M. D., was born near 
Elmira. Chemung county. New York, No- 
vember 22. 1860. He is a son of David 15. 
and Amanda ( Ketchum ) Edwards, and on 
the paternal side is doubtless of English in- 
Welsh lineage. 

David B. Edwards is a native of New 
York. In the early "sixties he came to \\"is- 
cousin and lived on a farm in Adams coun- 
ty until 1889. when he went to Phillips coun- 
ty. Kansas, where he still resales at the age 
of eighty-six years. His wife died soon 
after their removal to that state, aged about 
seventy years. 

Adelliert Edwards spent most oi his 
early life in Adams county. Wisconsin, de- 
veloping a rugged constitution, for the 
formation of which the climate and environ- 
ment of the Badger state seem to be peculiar- 
Iv adapted. After leaving the public schfiols 
he spent two years at the State Normal 
School at Oshkosh and devoted four or li\e 
years more to teaching in .Vdams county. 
He began to study the healing art with Dr. 
Jenkins, of Kilbourn, and, after a time, went 
to Thayer, Kansas, where he was associated 
in practice with Dr. Houston. He aijplied 
himself to the work with considerable /-eal 
and enthusiasm and, with a view to fitting 
himself thoroughly for the art, took a course 
at the Medical school of the Iowa University 
at Iowa City, graduating in 1885. He then 
engaged in practice at Kingston, W' isconsin, 
and later located at Plainfield, in the same 
state. Desiring to perfect himself in the pro- 
fession, be went to Rush Medical College. 
Chicago, and received a diploma from that 



746 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



famous institution in 1889. At that date he 
located in Sauk county, opening- an office 
first at Loganville. From there he removed 
to Lime Ridge, where he practiced for three 
)-ears, also conducting a drug store. His 
growing patronage admonished iiim to seek 
a wider field for its development and. in 
1894, he opened an office at Reedsburg 
where he has since pursued a general prac- 
tice. He keeps fully abreast of the latest 
developments in medical science and for a 
dozen A-ears past has taken post-graduate 
courses semJi-annually, making a special 
study of surgery, gynecology and diseases 
of the eye, ear, nose and tlu-oat. Having 
a practical, as well as a theoretical knowledge 
of these subjects, accounts in a measure for 
his remarkable success and the increasing de- 
n-^and for his services. 

Dr. Edwards was first married to Miss 
Ella Jones, of Oxford, \Visconsin. She was 
a daughter of Norman Jones, a prominent 
farmer near that village, in Adams county, 
of wlioni an extended biographical notice 
a])pears elsewhere in this \-olume. The mat- 
rimonial joys of Dr. and Mrs. Edwards were 
severed by the death of the latter, which oc- 
curred in 1883. She was twenty-two years 
of age and left one daughter, Ella .M. The 
Doctor married j\Iiss Nellie Jones, a sister 
of his first wife, and the present partner of 
Ins joys and sorrows. She has borne him 
two daughters, named, respectively, Ethel 
and Jessie, and a son, named Har\ey. Dr. 
and I\Irs. Edwards are connected with the 
Congregational church. Their ])leasant 
home is a very popular resort for children, 
vlio always meet a hearty welcome there. 
The Doctor is a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. He has been a sup- 
porter of the Republican ])art}- from boy- 
hnod, but is in no sense a ijolitician. Un- 
tiring in his professional lal^ors and genial 
in disposition, he certainly merits the popu- 
larit\- which he has won. 



HON. LEMUEL PUTNAM HINDES. 

Lemuel Putnam Hindes, the j^resent pop- 
ular and capable postmaster at Lodi, Wis- 
consin, is a gentleman of much force of char- 
acter. He has been a resident of this com- 
munit}' for many years, and has impressed 
himself ujion its business interests in a man- 
ner that attests his worth and integrity. 

Mr. Hindes was born at Cameron, Steu- 
ben county. New York, April 3, 1848, and ia 
a son of Dexter Henry and Sarah (Bab- 
cock) Hindes. The father was born in Ot- 
sego county. New York, October 26, 181 5, 
and is still an active and industrious man, 
notwithstanding his great age. Darius 
Hindes, the great-grandfather of the Lodi 
postmaster, was in the Revolutionary army, 
and the musket which he carried during that 
war is still preserved, and is in the posses- 
sion of L. P. Hindes. His son, Lemuel 
Hindes, the father of D. H., was born in 
New York, and was a farmer. D. H. Hindes • 
became a merchant in Cameron and was 
very successful in his business ventures. In 
1856 he came to Lodi. ^^'isconsin, and 
opened a grocery store, and Ijuilt up a very 
extensive trade. After the passing of a 
number of years he found his health demand- 
ed a more vigorous and out of door life. He 
disposed of the store and engaged in farm- 
irig for a time, and then opened a blacksmith 
shop in Lodi, and carried on a very extensive 
business. In 1888 he gave up active busi- 
ness, and has lived a retired life since that 
time, and presents a remarkable example of 
the retention of health and vigor to a great 
age. Mrs. Sarah Hindes died in Lodi, \\'is- 
consin, in November, 1894, at the age of 
seventy-nine \-ears. She was Ixjrn at Exe- 
ter, Otsego county. New York, and was a 
daughter of Elijah Babcock, a farmer, who 
lived and" died in that communit}'. She was 
the mother of three sons and one daughter : 
Sherman H., a merchant in Lodi; Eliza M. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



747 



married S. A. Koonce and lives in Sliarjis- 
ville, Pennsylvania; Elijah B. li\-es in Lodi ; 
and L. P., who is the suhject of this sketch. 
Elijah and Lemuel both wore Union blue, 
and served in the Federal armies during the 
\\ar of the Rebellion. Elijah was in the Sev- 
crth ^^'isconsin \^)lunteer lnfantr\-. and was 
a i^art of the famous Iron Brii^ade. lie spent 
four years in the ser\'icc, and was nine 
months a jirisoncr of war in .Vndersonville. 

Lemuel Plindes has ])eeu a resident of 
Lodi since he was seven years old, and grad- 
uated from the high school of this place 
when he was twenty years old. His school 
days were broken into by service as a sol- 
dier. He enlisted Auoirst 27, 1864, as a 
member of Comjxuiy C, Forty-second \\'is- 
consin Volunteer Infantr)-, being just ])ast 
the age of sixteen years, and was assigned to 
the army in the southwest. He served much 
of his time at Cairo, Illinois, and was dis- 
charged June 20, 1865. When he left school 
iie took charge of his father's farm, and hat! 
become largely interested in hn]) culture 
when the great collapse came in that Imsi- 
ness in 1869. Mr. Hindes gradual!) worked 
into the produce business, bought and 
shipped large quantities of butter, eggs and 
cheese. He is still actively interested in this 
line. In the month of February, 1899, he 
disposed of his store interests, which had 
grown very large, and de\-otes himself as- 
siduously to the duties of his official position. 
Lie has erected a number of business blocks 
in Lodi, and is one of ihe public siiirited and 
-aggressive business men dl the tnwn. 

Mr. Hindes was elected a member of the 
General Assembly in 1896 and was an able 
arid influential member of that body. He 
served on the committee on education, and 
largely secured the defeat of the measure to 
prohibit retail trading in the dairy products 
of the University of Wisconsin. He fought 
the license tax on teachers' certificates, and 
helped to pass the bill prohibiting railwa}' 



passes to public officials. He was a member 
of the county board nine years and justice of 
the peace twenty years. In December, 1898, 
he was ajjpointed jjostmaster, and has filled 
that position to the very general satisfaction 
of the public. He is a stanch Republican, and 
is regarded as one of the leading men of his 
party in this end of the county. 

Mr. liindes and Miss Sylva A. Sawyer 
were married, October 19, 1870. She was a 
daughter of Prescott and Zeriua Sawyer, 
and was born in ^^'illiams county, Ohio, 
June 24, 1844. She died in Lodi, March 9, 
1896. She was a member of the Presbyterian 
church, and a good woman in every sense 
of the word. She was the mother of three 
children: Etta Dell, the wife of C. J. Knut- 
son ; Nellie Zeriua, the wife of Edmond Per- 
ry ; and Edward Lemuel. They are all liv - 
ing in Lodi, where they were born and 
reared. Mr. Hindes contracted a second 
matrimonial alliance in May, 1898, ■with, 
Mrs. Emma Du Bois, of Reedsburg, \Vis- 
consin, the widow of Charles Du Bois. Mrs. 
Hindes is the daughter of John C. and ]\Iary 
(Worthman) Young, and is a nati\'e of 
Mukwonago, Wisconsin. Her father was 
born in Orange county. New York, and was 
left an orphan when very young. He went 
to sea very early, and spent thirteen years 
on the water. He received a captain's com- 
mission, but never commanded a vessel. He 
married and came to Wisconsin. He located 
at Mukwonago, where he kept store and 
served as postiuaster for many years. At the 
present time he is li\'ing at Reedsburg at the 
\-enerable age of eighty-six. For many 
years he took an active part in Reedsburg 
politics. His wife, Mary Young, died in 
1880, at the age of fifty-four. She was born 
in Massachusetts, and was a lady of much 
character and many attractive traits. The 
present Mrs. Hindes is the mother of two 
sons, Floyd M. and Claude A. Du Bois, both 
now residing in Lodi. The late Charles Du- 



74S 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Bois was born in Niagara connty, New- 
York, and died in Reeds1nn-g-, October 8, 
1888, at the age of forty-two. His progeni- 
tors came from France, but have had a home 
in this conntry fmrn the early part of tlie 
sixteentli century. The family are connect- 
ed with the Presbyterian churcli, where Mr. 
Hindes is a trustee. He belongs to George 
H. Irwin Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the 
Republic, and also the Modern Woodmen 
of America. 



DAVID HENRY R(3BERTSON. 

Da\-id Henry Robertson is one of the 
leading capitalists of Lodi, Wisconsin, and a 
representative of one of the old pioneer fam- 
ilies which has always been influential in both 
Columbia and Dane counties. He was born 
in the town of Vienna, Dane county, Wis- 
consin, October 7, 1849, and is a son of Da- 
vid and Marietta (Mcintosh) Robertson. 
David Robertson was a native of Ayrshire, 
Scotland, where his father was a farmer and 
a dealer in cheese. He died when David 
was lint twelve years old. The young 
Scotchman came to the United States in 
1842, and located in Dane oxuitv, Wiscon- 
sin, where he began his career in this coun- 
try by taking a place as a farm laborer. In 
Ins home country he had been engaged 
in mercantile business, but owing to a wide- 
spread financial depression found it impos- 
sible to maintain himself. He was obliged 
to liegin anew in this country, and a i^art of 
the meager capital he brought with him was 
loaned to irresponsible parties, and liecame 
a total loss. In 1847 'le bought government 
land to which he had made a squatter's claim 
two years before. From time to time he add- 
ed to his real estate holdings until he was 
possessed of twelve hundred acres of real 
estate, and a large amount of personal prop- 
erty at the time of his death. He was eighty- 



one years old at the time of his death, Au- 
gust 21, 1895, and througiiout his long and 
singularly successful life he was an activiT 
and vigorous man, in the best of health, and 
methodical in his habits. He was a stock 
liolder in the bank at Lodi, but his chief at- 
tention was given to agriculture, and he be- 
came one of the most successful farmers of 
Dane count}-. He was alile to extend \-aluable 
financial assistance to his less fortunate 
neighbors, but never sought to take undue 
advantage of their necessities. He was dis- 
tinguished not only for fairness and justice 
but for generosity in his dealings with his 
debtors. His wife died ^larch 7, 1863, at 
the age of thirty-four years. She was born 
near Elangor. Elaine, and was a daughter 
of \\'illiam Mcintosh, whn came to Wiscon- 
sin in 1845, '^ii'l settled near Mr. RuliertSDU 
in the town of Arlington, LVilumbia cnunty. 
He was interested in lumbering for a time at 
Wausau, Wisconsin, but kept his residence 
on his home farm where he died when aljDUt 
eight}- years old. His wife, Ruth (Caleb) 
Mcintosh, reached the age of ninety-tln-ee. 
She and her husband were born in Massachu- 
setts, and were Imth of Scotch descent. Mr. 
r.nd Airs. David Robertson were the jiarents 
of fi\-e children : David H. ; Jennie M. (Airs. 
James Baird), deceased; John A., of Lodi; 
William \\'., of Morrisonville, Wisconsin; 
and Frank L., deceased, of tlie town of A'i- 
enna. After the loss of his wife in her early 
youth, Air. Robertson married Aliss Hannah 
Thomas, a daughter of Jacob and Roxy 
Idiomas, of the town of Dekorra. She was 
l)orn in the state of New York. Alay 18, 
1828, and is now li\-ing in Lodi with the 
subject of this sketch. 

David H. Robertson grew to manhood 
on the paternal estate, and kept his home 
there until the spring of 1900. He attended 
the Lodi high school, and afterward the 
L^'niversity of Wisconsin. He became the 
owner of the home farm and (jthcr lands. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



749' 



and as a farmer devoted himself extensively 
to stock breeding of all kinds. For some 
years past he has made a specialty of short 
horn cattle, and his herd is widely known 
as it has carried off many premiums at fairs 
and exhibitions, and this in competition 
with some of the best herds in \\'isconsin. 
He was one of the stockholders in the de- 
funct bank of Lodi, his interest in that in- 
stitution being- augmented by his share of 
his father's estate. He finally became presi- 
dent of the bank. Owing to mismanage- 
ment on the part of its previous officers, the 
affairs of the bank became hopelessly in- 
volved. ]\Ir. Ro])ertson and his colleagues 
decided it would be wise to suspend business 
after paying all the depositors in full, though 
this was accomplished at a heavy loss to him- 
self and the other responsible stockholders. 
In 1897 he became one of the incorporators 
of the State Bank of Lodi, and was elected 
itspresident. Lender his careful and conserva- 
tive management, together with that of hij 
colleagues, it has become one of the most 
solid financial institutions of Columbia 
county. In politics he has always been a 
Republican. 

Mr. Robertson and Miss Daisy J. Don- 
berg were married March i, 1900, and im- 
mediately following their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Robertson established themselves in 
Lodi. Mrs. Robertson was born in Wells, 
Minnesota, and is a daughter of George H. 
and Mamie A. Donberg. She is a lady of re- 
fined and cultivated tastes and many accom- 
plishments. She and her husband attend 
the Presbyterian church of Lodi. 



JOHX SCOTT. 



John Scott, a public-spirited and enter- 
prising member of the farming community 
of Columbia countv. has devoted his life to 



the pursuit of agriculture, in which he has 
been very fortunate, and is now the pro- 
prietor of as good a farm as can be found 
within the limits of Dekorra township, where 
his homestead is located. 

Mr. .Scott is a native of Wisconsin, and- 
was Ijorn in Milwaukee, June i, 1862, and 
was tlie son of John and Mary (Hart) 
Scott. His father was a native of Scotland 
and was born about 18 10, and was a shep- 
herd in his native country, and also dealt 
in sheep. He came to America in 1857, and 
worked in a foundry at Fall River, Massa- 
chusetts, about one year, and then went to 
New York City, where he married INIary 
Hart, in i860. They came to Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, and the father worked for J. L. 
Mitchell, on the ])lace which the government 
later purchased for a site for the Soldiers'' 
Home. The}- came to Columbia county^ 
\A'isconsin, in 1869, and purchased a small 
farm in Dekorra townslii]). which is part of 
the farm now owned by our subject. ]\Ir. 
Scott, Sr., died at the homestead in Dekorra 
township, in 1890, leaving a widow and one 
son, J(jhn, our subject. The mother was 
born in Ireland. December 26, 1817, and now 
resides with her son. John, at an ad\-anced 
age. 

(3ur subject has a fine estate, comprising 
four hundred and five acres of land, and he 
makes a s])ecialt\^ of sti:)ck raising. His farm 
is \vell ke[)t, and e\idences thrift and pains- 
taking care. He is progressive and modern 
machinery and methods enter into the work 
incident to rural life. 

Mr. Scott was married Septemljer 6,, 
1894, to Mary J. Murphy, daughter of Mich- 
ael Murphy. Mrs. Scott was born in Buf- 
falo, New York, September 30, 1859, and 
her father, Michael Murphy, was born in Ire- 
land, and died May 11, 1887, aged seventy- 
three years, and her mother was born March 
15, 183 1, and still survi\-es. Two sons and 
one daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs.- 



750 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Scott, as follows : John A., born October 
18, 1895; Mary J., born September 19, 1896, 
and \\'alter H., born December 27, 1899. 
The family are communicants of the Catholic 
church. Mr. Scott holds membershi|) in the 
Order of Forresters. He is chairman of the 
t(.\vnship board, and is now chairman of the 
board of super\'i.sors of Columbia county, 
and in all matters of a public nature holds a 
prominent place. He takes an active interest 
in the affairs of his community and is a g'en- 
tleman of intelligence, and is progressive in 
his labors. He is a firm Republican in politi- 
cal belief, and works for the principles of his 
party. He has spent his entire life among 
the people of Wisconsin and thev have al- 
ways found him worth}- of respect, and 
Avielding an influence for good in his com- 
munity. His calling is one well suited to his 
nature, and he is among the better class of 
agriculturists who have done so much to 
gi\-e \\'isconsin a reputation as a thriving ag- 
ricultural state. He has pursued the even 
tenor of his way, asking of no man more 
than was his due, and willingly according 
every man justice and equity, and is one of 
the rising young men of Dekorra township. 



CHESTER JOXES. 

The farming community of Jackson 
township for many years numbered among 
its most esteemed members the gentleman 
whose name introduces this review. He now 
lives in practical retirement in the city of Ivil- 
bourn. 

Mr. Jones was born in Ixockingham, 
A\'in<lham county, Vermont, March 21, 
J 823. His parents were Asa K. and I^Iercy 
{Streeter) Jones, mentitin of whom will be 
found in the biography of Norman Jones. 
Chester Jones came to Wisconsin in the fall 
of 1848. After two years spent in Rock 



county, he located in Jackson township, in 
Adams county. He established a squatter's 
claim to a tract of land in 1849. At this time 
his nearest neighbor was seven miles dis- 
tant, and in 1852, the land having been sur- 
\eyed in the meantime, he purchased it from 
the government at the United States land of- 
fice at Mineral Point. He built a log cabin 
on his claim, and with the o.xen that had 
brought his movables from Rock county he 
made a trip to Stevens Point for lumber for 
roof and floor. On this trip he traveled all 
day until ten p. m. before seeing a house. 
For several j^ears he marketed his produce 
at Grand Rapids, forty-five miles distant, 
drew his grain to Oxford to lie ground, and 
thence to Grand Rapids, the round trip re- 
quiring fi\-e days. During nearly forty )-ears' 
residence in i\dams county he has \vitnessed 
wonderful development, and the improve- 
ments on his farm have kept pace with mod- 
ern ideas. He is now the owner of two hun- 
dred and thirty acres of land, the \-alue of 
which is enhanced by the addition of many 
improvements and conveniences, including 
first-class residence and farm buildings. 
Three years of this period were spent in 
Portage, \\'isconsin, and since 1891 he has 
lived in retirement in Kilbourn. 

Mr. Junes was married May 11, 1848, to 
Olive E. Williams, daughter of Josiah and 
Olive (Wakefield) Williams. I\Irs. Jones 
was born in Groton, Massachusetts. She 
died June 25, 1851, aged twenty-two years. 
She was the mother of two sons : Norman 
M., a prominent merchant and postmaster of 
Friendship, Wisconsin; and Homer, who 
died at the age of thirteen years. In 1853 
our subject married Mary E. Spaulding, the 
daughter of Abram and Elizabeth (Gibson) 
Spaulding, of Pelham, New Hampshire. 
She died in 1884, aged fifty-five years, leav- 
ing one daughter, Cora E., now Mrs. Os- 
borne, who lives on-the homestead farm in 
Jackson township. Mr. Jones was married 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



r5i 



September 3, 1891, to Mrs. Louise Seaman, 
widow of Andrew Seaman, and daughter of 
Charles and Abiah (Botsford) Clark. Mrs. 
Jones was born in ^Ve^dsport, Cayuga coun- 
t}^, New York. Her childhood days were 
mostly spent in Connecticut, and she came to 
Wisconsin with her parents in 1855. They 
located at Packwaukee, in Marquette county. 
Her father died in Sharon, Connecticut, and 
the mother died at Packwaukee. J\Ir. and 
Mrs. Jones are members of the Presbyterian 
church at Kilbourn, of which he has also 
been a trustee. JNlr. Jones takes an active 
interest in public affairs, and is an adherent 
to the principles of the Republican party, and 
has gi\'en his support to its candidates since 
the formation of the party. 



HEXRY RICH. 



Fortunate is he who has back of him 
an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and 
happy is he if his lines of life are cast in har- 
mony therewith. Our subject, now a lead- 
ing business man of Baraboo, ^^'is.. is Ijlessed 
in this respect, for he springs from an old 
and prominent Xew England family. He 
traces his ancestry back to Elisha and Mary 
(DavisJ Rich, wlm were married December 
21, 1737. Tlieir son, Charles Rich, was born 
November 9, 1738, and died August 22, 
1828. He was married on the 9th of August, 
1770, to Millicent Conant, who was born 
August 25, 1754, and died March 3, 183 1. 

Charles Rich, Jr., son of Charles and 
Millicent Rich, and grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was born September 13, 1771, and died 
October 16, 1824. He was a leading farmer 
and prominent and influential citizen of 
Shoreham, Vt., and represented his district 
in Congress several terms. He was first 
married, February 24, 1 791, to Molly Watts, 
who was born September i, 1774. and died 



April 24, 1817. The children bom of this 
union were as follows: Clark, born March 
17, 1792, died January 13, 1852; Davis, 
father of our subject, is next in order of 
birth; Polly, born June 15, 1796, died De- 
cember 14, 1820; Hiram, born September 15, 
1798, died March 2, 1858; John Thurman, 
born October 12, 1800, died October 12, 
1846; Charles, born July 30, 1802, died July 
16, 1873; Ouintus Cincinnatus, born Sep- 
tember 18, 1804, died in November, 1879; 
Clarissa, born September 30, 1806, died De- 
cember 23, 1822; Virtulon, born April 12, 
1809, died January 28, 1892; Gasca, born 
October 13. 181 1, died in 1895; and Cath- 
erine, born JNIay 29, 18 14, died in April, 
1817. The father of these children was again 
married in 1818, his second union Ijeing 
with Mrs. Phcebe Hewlet, by whom he had 
one daughter, Harriet. \\\\o was born in 
April, 1824. and died in January, 1826. 

Da\-is Rich, father of our subject,' was 
born in Massachusetts, February 17, 1794, 
and when a young man located in Shoreham, 
Vermont, where he engaged in mercantile 
business and also in farming, in both of 
which undertakings he met with good suc- 
cess. In his ]3olitical views he was tirst a 
\\'hig and later a Republican, and as one of 
the representative and prominent citizens of 
his community he served for several terms in 
the \ ermont Legislature. Plis death oc- 
curred on the 2^d of March, 1879. He was 
married December 7. 1815, to Miss Aftia 
Wright, a daughter of Warner Wright, a 
prominent farmer of Shoreham. She died 
at" that place at the age of forty-one years. 
In their family were the following children: 
Charles, born March 29, 181 7, died in St. 
Albans, Vermont, August 27, 1889; Ellen 
Douglas, l)orn February 10, 1819, died Octo- 
ber 28, 1837; Affia. wife of Miner B. Catlin, 
b,orn December 3, 1821, died in Burlington, 
Vermont, July 12, 1867; Clarissa, wife if 
John B. Wilson, Iiorn November 5, 1824, 



•752 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



died in Lapeer, Michigan, June i6, 1894; 
Davis Jefferson, born January 24, 1827, 
died in Raleigh, North CaroHna, February 
16. 1869; Lucina Artemisia, born September 
12, 1830, is now the widow of Archibald S. 
Dewey, and a resident of Burlington, Ver- 
nmnt: Jane Antoinette, born June 17, 1832, 
^\as a physician of New York city, where 
she died April 23, 1876; and Henry, our 
subject, is the youngest of the family. The 
father was again married July 17, 1845, li's 
second -union being with Mrs. Seraph S. 
Southniayd, and by her he had two children : 
^^'illisBush, born April 17, 1846, still living; 
and Sarah Ellen, born April 17, 1846, first 
married John T. Rich, and second John 
Chadwick, and died in Shoreham, Vermont, 
May 12. 1 89 1. 

Henry Rich, of this review, was born in 
Shoreham, Vermont, September 27,, 1838, 
and was educated in the public schools of that 
place and Newton Academy. Leaving home 
at the age of sixteen, he went to Burlington, 
Vermont, where he clerked in an express 
office for several years, and on his return to 
Shoreham in i860 succeeded liis father in 
the store. It was in 1865 that he came to 
Baraboo, Wisconsin, and soon afterward he 
purchased an interest in the Island Woolen 
JNIills, with which he has since been con- 
nected. For a number of years past he has 
owned a controlling interest in the business 
and has practically been proprietor of what 
is now the leading enterprise of the place. 
In business affairs he is energetic, prompt 
and notably reliable and carries forward to 
successful completion whatever he under- 
takes. 

On the 7th of March, 1867, Mr. Rich 
\\as united in marriage with Miss Emma 
Leonard, a daughter of John and Artemisia 
(Foster) Leonard, of Chipman's Point, Ver- 
mont, and by this union has been born one 
son. Robert, who is now connected with the 
Island Woolen Mills. The familv hold mem- 



bership in the Presbyterian church of Bara- 
boo, of which Mr. Rich has been a trustee for 
a number of years. In his political affiliations 
he is a Republican. He is prominent in 
business and social circles, his pleasant man- 
ner wins him friends, and he is one of the 
popular and honored citizens of Baraboo. 



THE ISLAND WOOLEN MILLS. 

The Island Woolen Mills i-epresent the 
most important manufacturing industry in 
the city of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and for 
man}- years past have furnished employment 
to many people. They have also draw'n 
to the city many skilled workmen from a 
distance, and have ser\-ed to increase the 
population of Baraboo by a most desirable 
class. The Baraboo river is a considerable 
stream the year around, and passes through 
the city in a succession of rapids. The most 
important of these are occupied by three 
water-power sites, all within the present lim- 
its of the city. The largest and most valuable 
of these is that where the Island \\'oolen 
Mills stand. The first dam at that point was 
built in 1840 by Aliram Wood and Wallace 
Rowan, who put up a saw mill. This plant 
had varying fortunes for many years, and in 
1863 gave way to a woolen mill, which was 
constructed and operated by M. J. Drown. 
The enterprise grew in importance, and Mr. 
Drown associated with him a Mr. Andrews, 
under the firm name of Drown & Andrews. 
After some },'ears Mr. Andrews retired in 
favor of D. S. Vittum, who became the 
junior partner in the firm of Drown & Vit- 
tum. In 1867 a decided advance was made 
by Mr. Henry Rich, who purchased an inter- 
est in the plant, and organized a stock com- 
pany, considerably enlarging the business. 
In 1873 Mr. Rich and D. S. Vittum bought 
out the corporation, and combined the vari- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



753 



ous branches of the business under the gen- 
eral name of the Island Woolen Company. 
Two years later James A. McFetridge 
bought the Vittum interest and gave his per- 
sonal attention to the management for many 
years. He died in 1893. but his heirs still 
retain a large interest in the mills. 

The establishment is conducted under 
modern metliods, and is one of the most im- 
]jortant in the west outside the great cities. 
It employs about one hundred and fiftj' peo- 
ple, and consumes yearly more than three 
hundred thousand pounds of wool, much of 
Avliich comes from a distance. Its goods 
have a high reputation and are sold through- 
out the United States. It is one of the 
most valuable enterprises of the city, and 
what it has done to give Baraboo and Sauk 
county steadiness in times of panic and peril 
no one can tell. Its pay roll has been large, 
and every month it has put into circulation 
a large amount of money, which has perco- 
lated through every department of trade and 
industry. 



ELIJAH L. SHAKER. 

Among the thorough rmd enterprising 
farmers of Adams county, the record of 
whose lives fills an important ]:)]ace in this 
Aolume. it gives us pleasure to commem- 
orate the name of this gentleman. He 
has borne an active and i)rominent part 
in the work of developing and improving the 
county, and from the wild land has made for 
himself a most desirable farm in Jackson 
township. 

Mr. Shafer was born in Blenheim, Scho- 
harie county. New York, March 19, 1845, 
and on the paternal side is of German descent, 
though generations of his ancestors have re- 
sided in this country. The great-grand- 
father was one of General Washington's 
body guard in the Revolutionary Vvar, and 



the grandfather, David Shafer, was a soldier 

in the war of 181 2. The father, 

Shafer, was one of the successful farmers of 
Schoharie county. 

During his boyhood and youth our sub- 
ject worked on his father's farm and attended 
the public schools of the neighborhood. At 
the age of eighteen he began life for himself, 
arjd with his wife's family came west, land- 
ings in Kilbourn City, Wisconsin, March 7, 
1864. He located on what is now known as 
the Tomlinson place, and soon afterward pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres, now 
owned by Frank Davidson, which at that 
time was ]5ractically unimproved. He lived 
in the first frame house built at Davis Cor- 
ners. At that place was an old log tav- 
ern known as the Downing house. It 
was owned by W . \. Davis, the first settler 
at Davis Corners, ami the man who laid out 
several of the roads leading from the place. 
In 1871 Mr. Shafer sold his first place and 
removed to the tract now occupied by Irvin 
Ambler, on which he made many improve- 
ments. In 1884 he purchased one hundred 
and sixty acres of wild land in section 31. 
Jackson township, upon which not a tree had 
been cut or an improvement made, but by 
diligence, perse\'erance and energy he has 
since converted one hundred acres of the 
amount into a fine farm, free from stumps 
and improved with good buildings. His 
place is supplied with modern machinery, 
and everything needed l)y the progressive 
farmer of the present day. 

Mr. Shafer was married Oct. 23, 1863, 
t.j Miss Jane M. Phillips, who was born in 
New York city, March 10, 1846, and is of 
English and German descent. Her father, 
William J. PhilliiJS, came to this state in 
1847, and located near Davis Corners. He 
is still living at the advanced age of ninety 
years, an honored pioneer and a highly es- 
teemed citizen of Adams county. Mrs. 
Shafer died at Davis Corners August 6, 



754 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



1899. and was there laid to rest. To our 
subject and his wife were born five children : 
Julia L., born at Davis Corners, February 
10, 1864, taught school for one year at the 
age of eighteen, and then married Alonzo 
Hosford, now a business man of Spokane 
Falls, Washington. George B., born No- 
vember 10, 1866, married Estella Nogle, and 
is engaged in the laundry business with Mv. 
Hosford at Six)kane Falls. Ida May, born 
April 17, 1869, who died November 2, 1889. 
Franklin O., born January 2, 1871, died 
March 26, 1872. Nellie E., liorn February 
I. 1874, was educated in the common schools 
of this state and the Northern Indiana Nor- 
mal School, and then began teaching at the 
age of eighteen, and successfully followed 
herprofession in the public schools of Adams 
county and the state of \^'ashington for seven 
years. She married Arthur Tyler, of Spo- 
kane Falls, Washington, July 21, 1899. Will- 
iam D., born March 13, 1876, was educated 
in the public schouls and the academy at 
Endeavor, and lives at home with his father. 
Mr. Shafer is a recognized leader in the 
local Republican organization, and has often 
'represented his township in the count}- con- 
ventions of the party. He was also a dele- 
gate to the state convention that chose the 
delegates to represent the state in the na- 
tional convention of 1896, and cast his vote 
for McKinley. He has most creditably filled a 
number of local offices of honor and has 
been officially connected with the schools of 
his district for over a c|uarter of a century, 
always giving his influence for good schools 
and competent teachers. During the Civil 
war, August 10, 1864, he enlisted in Com- 
pany K, Thirty-eighth Wisconsin Volunteer 
Infantry, and remained in the service until 
hostilities ceased, being mustered out June 
15, 1865. He was in the battle of Hatcher's 
Run, the siege of Petersburg, and many skir- 
mishes, and was at Fort Steadman at the 
time of the massacre. 



MRS. ELLA J. MARDEN. 

I\Irs. Ella J. Marden, widow of the late 
Rev. Alfred C. Marden, belongs to that type 
of woman that possesses all the noble cjuali- 
ties of a true mother, but who has found am- 
ple time to labor in behalf of her sex and to 
bring the moral and intellectual standard to 
a much higher plane. She was born Decem- 
ber 23, 1854, at Baraboo, Sauk county, \\'is- 
consin, and there received her education, 
later attending the high school at Ironton. 
Mrs. Marden, whose maiden name was Ful- 
ler, was a daughter of one of the first settlers 
in Baraboo, who came from the east. Her 
father, Putnam ]*"uller, was a member of the 
firm of Fuller & Tower, which operated a 
foundrv and iron works in Baraboo for two 
years. He departed this life at Ironton in 
1863, mourned by many friends and ac- 
quaintances. His wife survived until 1893, 
when she, too, passed away in the city of 
Oshkosh. 

February 14, 1875, '^^'''s celebrated the 
ceremony that united Miss Ella J. Fuller and 
.\lfred C. Marden in the holy bonds of wed- 
lock, and their union has been blessed by 
the presence of a bright and interesting fam- 
ily of four children, whose names are as fol- 
lows : Maggie M., born at Ithaca, February 
18, 1876, was educated in the common 
schools, and later attended the Wisconsin 
Endeavor Academy, from which she was 
graduated with honor, began teaching at the 
age of seventeen, taught for six years, and 
is still an active member of the profession; 
Freddie B., born September 22, 1877, ^^^^^ 
died September 22, 1879; Nellie G., born 
August 3, 1 88 1, and died August 3, 1884; 
and Katie R., born April 3, 18S4, was educat- 
ed in the common and high schools of Kil- 
bourn, and is now preparing to teach. 

Rev. Alfred C. Marden was born June 13, 
1 85 1, at Epsom, New Hampshire, and when 
six years of age he accompanied his parents. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



755 



wlio died when he was quite young, to Rich- 
land Center, Richland county, Wisconsin, 
lie worked for his father on the farm, and 
took charge of the same when he \\'as ten 
years old, as his father gave his services to 
aid in repressing the Rebellion. Mr. Mar- 
den v;as graduated from the Sextonville 
High School, and began teaching at the age 
of twenty-one, in the state of Minnesota and 
Richland county, Wisconsin. He followed 
this occupation four years, and was a very 
successful teacher. However, feeling that this 
was not to be his life work, he began pre- 
paring liimself for the ministry of the gospel, 
and devoted all his spare time and attention 
to acquiring the knowledge that would enable 
him to impress this knowledge on his fellow 
men. He studied for a long time, and was 
ably assisted in his work l^y the Rev. Simon 
Spiker, under whose tutelage he developed 
into an earnest and conscientious worker 
in the cause of Christianit}'. He was or- 
dained in 1886, to preach the word of God, 
and to the day of his death was an active 
worker in the Congregational church. Prior 
to his entering the ministry he had been act- 
ively engaged in Sunday-school work, and 
for thirteen years he was superintendent of 
the same at Ithaca, Richland count}', Wis- 
consin. The first charge he was intrusted 
with was nt X'eptuue, Little Willow and 
Loyd, Richland county, Wisconsin, and dur- 
ing the six years which he remained on this 
charge he erected a church and organized a 
membership of eighty communicants at Nep- 
tune, also organized a church at Little Wil- 
low, wath an enrolled membership of thirty- 
five. Called to \\'hite Creek upcm a two 
weeks' trial. Rev. A. C. Marden afterward 
came upon the unanimous call of that con- 
gregation, and it was during this charge that 
he organized the Adams County Sunday- 
school Association, wliich society was largely 
due to his untiring efforts, and the success 



achieved cannut be overestimated. He 
ministered faithfully to the spiritual needs 
of his people and gave powerful and effective 
aid to all influences which work for the ad- 
vancement of the community. Revered and 
loved l\v his own flock, he also.won the honor 
and esteem of all others who watched his de- 
votion to his noble calling, and the liard work 
and untiring efforts put forth by him in 
zealous ardor for his Itrethren undoulUedlv 
shortened his life. He was a true and sincere 
Christian and faithfully devoted his life to 
the. sacred cause of saving souls, and his 
death, which occurred without a moment's 
warning on February i, 1898, at White 
Creek, was a sad blow to the community, and 
he was sincerely mourned by all who knew 
him. 



^YILLIAM WALLACE FULLER. 

William \\'allace Fuller, of Merrimack, 
Sauk county, Wisconsin, was born October 
8, 1855, at Milford, Jeft'erson county, Wis- 
consin, and is a son of Alljert Fuller and 
Keziah (I'daj P^iller. His father was the 
son of David and Sallie Fuller, and was a 
native of Vermont, and was born in A. D. 
1829. Fie came into the west when about 
twenty years old, and settled at Milford, Jef- 
ferson count}-, Wisconsin, and died there 
March 2Ti, i860. His grandfather, David 
Fuller, ^\as liorn in X'ermont, March, 1784, 
and Sallie, his wife, was born mi the 1st day 
of May, 1792. Their union was blessed 
with eleven children, four of whom died in 
infancy; three survived them, two sons and 
one daughter. Albert Fuller, the fatiier 
of the subject of this sketch, died when but 
thirty-one years of age. 

W. W. Fuller grew to manhood in Jeffer- 
son county, and contracted an early marriage 
with Gertrude Carr, February 24, 1877. She 



75G 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



was the daughter of James C. Carr and Mary 
(Crocker) Carr, of Fountain Prairie, Wis- 
consin. Mr. J. C. Carr was one of the early 
settlers of Columbia county, Wisconsin, and 
was familiarly known as Esquire Carr. He 
owned a farm just west of Fall River, in said 
town. He was the first county clerk in 1846, 
its first treasurer in 1847, and again elected 
county clerk in 1848. Mr. Carr was born in 
Laurens, Otsego county. New* York, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1 81 7, came to Wisconsin and 
settled at Columbus in the early '40s. He was 
twice married, his first wife dying in August, 
1845, leaving one daughter five months old, 
now Mrs. C. B. Shepherd, of Winona, Min- 
nesota. 

Mary Crocker, of Columbus, became his 
wife in JNIay, 1846. She is the daughter of 
Samuel and Mar}^ Crocker, who became the 
jjarents of thirteen children, fi\-e daughters 
and eight sons. Her grandmother's maiden 
name was Mary Roe; her people were orig- 
inally from the state of New York. Mr. and 
Mrs. Carr were blessed with six children — 
fdur daughters and two sons, ]\'Irs. Fuller 
being the second child. The four youngest, 
two girls and two bo)-s, are now li\-ing in 
Idaho. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. 
I'uller was blessed with three daughters, 
Hattie Margaretta, born February 29, 1880, 
now Mrs. Emmett Anthon)^, residing at Rut- 
land, Dane county, Wisconsin ; Carrie May, 
burn June 5, 1882, is n<iw teaching school: 
I'.dna K., born June 29, 1884, living at home. 
. .\fter their marriage, in 1877, Mr. and 
Mrs.. Fuller rented a farm near Milford, Jef- 
ferson county, and began farming with little 
other capital than youth, courage and reso- 
lute spirits. There they remained four years, 
then moving to Sauk county, where they 
located on a farm two miles west of Merri- 
mack. They purchased this place January 
18, 1882, and ^Ir. Fuller has converted it 



into a valuable and productive establishment. 
Recently they lx)ught another farm lying on 
the south side of the road, opposite the home 
farm, which makes it a farm of one hundred 
and seventy-six acres, situated on section 3, 
of the town of Merrimack. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fuller never had a son, 
but have devoted their means and time to the 
education of three daug*hters, charming 
young women, in such a manner that they 
would be prepared for any station in life. 
Some years ago they took one of the wards 
of the state school into their family, and they 
are proving a father and mother to them. 

Mr. Fuller ceased his school attendance 
at fifteen and has largelv made himself what 
he is. a level-headed, sensible man of business 
nul a kind and obliging neighbor. 

Mrs. Fuller taught school some years, 
and, with her husband, has been deeply anx- 
ious that their children should share iathe in- 
tellectual privileges denied to them in their 
youth. 

Mr. Fuller is a Republican, l)ut takes a 
lilieral and generous view of life, both in 
pol.'tics and religion. The entire family is 
quite in sympathy Avith modern spiritualism, 
and bears a good reputation throughout the 
neighborhood. They are all known as hon- 
est, respectable and progressive. Mr. Fuller 
has one sister and two brothers : . Mary F., 
wife of Henry Black, of Rutland, Dane coun- 
ty-, Wisconsin. S'he was born July 18, 1857. 
Thev were married July i, 1S85, and are 
the parents of sjx children, fi\'e of whom are 
living. \\'esley Fuller was born Xox-ember 
1 1. T859. He was married in 1882, and li\cs 
on a farm near Berlin, Wisconsin. He is the 
father of four children. Aberto Fuller, the 
}T)unger brother, was born October 19, 1861. 
He married Fannie Sherman, of \\'in(lsor, 
Dane county, Wisconsin, and the}- are now 
living on a farm near that place, and are the 
l)arents of two daughters. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



1^1 



HENRY HUGH REACH. 

Henry Hugh Keach, a progressive and 
enterprising agricultvnnst, who resides in 
Jackson township, Adams county, Wiscon- 
sin, is one of the most inteUigent representa- 
tives of the farming community for which 
tliis part of the state is justly noted. He is 
a son of Israel and Margaret (Cook) Keach, 
the fomer being a native of Madison county. 
New York, of French ancestr}-. The grand- 
father of our subject, Israel Keach, Sr., came 
to this country from Canada, settled at Una- 
dilla. New York, at a time when that town 
was sixty miles from any other settlement, 
and endured many hardships and privations 
incidental to pioneer life, havLug been forced 
to live for six weeks on grain, without bread. 
He erected a saw mill, and did considerable 
lumbering business on the Susquehanna river 
and died at the ripe old age of ninety years. 

Israel Keach, Jr., the father of our sub- 
jtxt, was a nati\-e of Madison county. New 
York, where he followed the occupation of 
an agriculturist, and died in his native county 
at the age of forty-eight years. Both he 
and his father had been stanch members of 
the Democratic party, and exercised consid- 
erable influence in the local affairs of their 
community. Mrs. Margaret (Cook) Keach, 
ouf subject's mother, was a daughter of 
Uavid Cook, wlio was a lifelong resident of 
Madison county. New York. She departed 
this life at the age of forty-five. 

Henry Hugh Keach was born at Una- 
dilla, Otsego county. New York, July 23, 
1848. He received the rudiments of his 
education and passed his boyhood days in 
tliat locality, and in the fall of 1863 enlisted 
in. Company E, One Hundred and Fourteenth 
New York \'olunteer Infantry, where he re- 
mained until the term of .service for that 
regiment had expired, when he was trans- 
ferred to Company B. Ninetieth New York 
X'olunteer Infantry. His regiment was a 



part of the Army of the Gulf, and partici- 
pated in the Red river expedition under 
General Banks. He was detailed to work 
on the dams, by wdrich means the vessels 
were enabled to descend the river. In 1864 
he was ordered to Washington, from thence 
to Pennsylvania, and then up the Shenan- 
doah, under, the famed General Sheridan, 
being detailed as sharpshooter on the skir- 
mish line in the battle of Winchester. It 
was in this famous battle that he contracted 
the rheumatism, wdiich confined him to the 
hospital for a time. After his recovery he was 
sent with his regiment to Hawkinsville, 
Georgia, where he remained six months, as, 
owing to the ravages of the Ku Klux Klan, 
that region was kept under martial law, and 
constant vigilance was necessary in preserv- 
ing order in that locality. Mr. Keach re- 
ceived his honorable discharge from the ser- 
vice on the 9th of February, 1866. 

H. H. Keach came to Wisconsin from 
New York in 1866, located in the town of 
New Chester, where he remained until 1884, 
when he took up his residence in the town 
of Jackson, where he has made his home 
ever since. Fle has erected a fine house, new 
barns, and other buildings necessary for the 
housing of his grain and stock, on his well- 
improved farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres, of which one hundred acres are under 
a high state of cultivation, and, taken as a 
whole, presents as fine appearance as any es- 
tate in that vicinity, being well watered by 
the south branch of Neenah creek, which 
affords Iiim ample water power for his mill. 
In ciinnection with his agricultural pursuits 
Mr. Keach also operates a sorgham mill, 
p/iaiuifacturing as high as three thousand gal- 
lons per annum. 

On the 23rd of Jul}-, 1S66, Henry Hugh 
Keach was united in the holy bonds of matri- 
mony to Miss Viola Colton, a daughter of 
Benjamin and Lydia Colton, and ;i native of 
Unadilla, New "S'ork. Mr. and Mrs. Keach 



758 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



are the parents of the following" children : 
Mary, who died in her seventeenth year ; 
George ; Lucy, now ^Nlrs. E. \\'orden ; Scott ; 
Lee and John. 

Mr. Keach has filled numerous offices of 
trust and the confidence reposed in him hy 
his many friends and accjuaintances has 
never been abused. Politically he is a stanch 
adherent to the principles of the Republican 
jjarty, ha\ing been a loyal supporter of that 
cause since his youth. He has also been 



a member of the G. A. R. and the L O. 
O. F., but owing to his failing health during 
recent years he has severed his connections 
v.ith the above mentioned fraternal societies. 
Mr. Keach is a man of much energy and 
is one of the successful and systematic agri- 
culturists of the county. As a citizen he is 
loyal in his adherence to the principles of 
good government, and he has planted him- 
self firmly in the confidence and esteem of his 
fellow citizens. 




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■v^ 




